Zechariah 8; Zechariah 9; Zechariah 10; Zechariah 11; Zechariah 12; Zechariah 13; Zechariah 14

Zechariah 8

1 The LORD of Armies spoke his word.

2 This is what the LORD of Armies says: I am very jealous about Zion. I am fiercely possessive of it.

3 This is what the LORD says: I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth. The mountain of the LORD of Armies will be called the holy mountain.

4 This is what the LORD of Armies says: Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem. Each will have a cane in hand because of old age.

5 The city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.

6 This is what the LORD of Armies says: It may seem impossible to the few remaining people in those days, but will it seem impossible to me? declares the LORD of Armies.

7 This is what the LORD of Armies says: I am going to save my people from the land where the sun rises and from the land where the sun sets.

8 I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, who is faithful and just.

9 This is what the LORD of Armies says: Be strong so that the temple might be rebuilt, you people who are presently listening to the words from the mouths of the prophets who spoke when the foundation for the house of the LORD of Armies was laid.

10 Before that time there was no money to hire any person or animal. No one who traveled was safe from the enemy. I turned every person against his neighbor.

11 But now I won't deal with the few remaining people as I did in earlier times, declares the LORD of Armies.

12 Seeds will thrive in peacetime. Vines will produce their grapes. The land will yield its crops. The sky will produce its dew. I will give the few remaining people all these things as an inheritance.

13 Just as you, people of Judah and people of Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will now save you, and you will become a blessing. Don't be afraid. Let your hands work hard.

14 This is what the LORD of Armies says: When your ancestors made me angry, I made plans to destroy you, declares the LORD of Armies, and I didn't change my plans.

15 So now I have again made plans, but this time to do good to Jerusalem and the people of Judah. Don't be afraid.

16 You must do these things: Speak the truth to each other. Give correct and fair verdicts for peace in your courts.

17 Don't even think of doing evil to each other. Don't enjoy false testimony. I hate all these things, declares the LORD.

18 The LORD of Armies spoke his word to me again.

19 This is what the LORD of Armies says: The fast in the fourth month, the fast in the fifth month, the fast in the seventh month, and the fast in the tenth month will become joyful and glad occasions as well as happy festivals for the nation of Judah. So love truth and peace.

20 This is what the LORD of Armies says: People and citizens from many cities are going to come.

21 The citizens of one city will come to another city, saying, "Let's make a habit of going to ask the LORD for a blessing and to seek the LORD of Armies. I'm also going."

22 Many people and powerful nations will come to seek the LORD of Armies in Jerusalem and to ask the LORD for a blessing.

23 This is what the LORD of Armies says: In those days ten people from every language found among the nations will take hold of the clothes of a Jew. They will say, "Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you."

Zechariah 9

1 This is the divine revelation. The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and will rest on Damascus

2 and also Hamath, which borders on it, and Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. (The eyes of humanity and of all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD.)

3 Tyre built itself a fortress. It piled up silver like dust and gold like mud in the streets.

4 The Lord will take away its possessions. He will throw its wealth into the sea and burn the city down.

5 Ashkelon will see [this] and be afraid. Gaza will also be in great pain, also Ekron, because its hope will fade. Gaza will lose its king. Ashkelon will no longer be lived in.

6 A mixed race will live in Ashdod, and I will cut off the Philistines' arrogance.

7 I will remove the blood from their mouths and the disgusting things from between their teeth. Then only a few of them will be left for our God like a tribe in Judah, and Ekron will be like a Jebusite.

8 I will camp in front of my house as a guard against those who come and go. No oppressors will pass through them, because I have seen it with my own eyes.

9 Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion! Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal.

10 He will make sure there are no chariots in Ephraim or war horses in Jerusalem. There will be no battle bows. He will announce peace to the nations. He will rule from sea to sea and from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.

11 I will set your captives free from the waterless pit because of the blood that sealed my promise to you.

12 Return to your fortress, you captives who have hope. Today I tell you that I will return to you double [blessings].

13 I will bend Judah as my bow and draw my bow with Ephraim [as its arrow]. I will stir up your people, Zion, against your people, Greece, and I will use you like a warrior's sword.

14 The LORD will appear over them, and his arrow will go out like lightning. The Almighty LORD will blow the ram's horn and will march in the storms from the south.

15 The LORD of Armies will defend them. They will destroy and trample the stones used in slings. They will drink and shout as if they were drunk. They will be filled like a sacrificial bowl [used for sprinkling] the corners of the altar.

16 On that day the LORD their God will rescue them as the flock of his people. They will certainly sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.

17 They will be beautiful and lovely. Young men will prosper on grain, and young women will prosper on new wine.

Zechariah 10

1 Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime. The LORD makes thunderstorms. He gives everyone rain showers for the plants in the field.

2 The idols speak lies. The fortunetellers see false visions. They speak about false dreams. They give useless comfort. That is why people wander around like sheep. They are troubled because there is no shepherd.

3 "My burning anger is directed against the shepherds. I will punish the male goats. The LORD of Armies takes care of his flock, the people of Judah. He makes them like his splendid war horse."

4 From them will come a cornerstone, from them a tent peg, from them a battle bow, from them every leader.

5 Together they will be like warriors who trample the enemy in the mud on the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them. They will put to shame those who ride on horses.

6 "I will strengthen the people of Judah. I will rescue Joseph's people. I will bring them back, because I have compassion for them. It will be as though I had never rejected them, because I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them.

7 The people of Ephraim will be like mighty warriors. Their hearts will be glad as if they had some wine [to drink]. Their sons will see it and be glad. Their hearts will find joy in the LORD.

8 I will signal them with a whistle and gather them because I have reclaimed them. They will be as numerous as they have ever been.

9 Although I have scattered them among the nations, they will remember me even in faraway places. They will live with their children and then return.

10 I will bring them back from Egypt. I will gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and to Lebanon, and there won't be enough room for them."

11 The LORD will pass through a sea of distress, strike the waves in the sea, and dry up all the deep places of the Nile River. The pride of Assyria will be humiliated, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

12 "I will strengthen them in the LORD. They will live in his name," declares the LORD.

Zechariah 11

1 Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire will be able to burn down your cedars.

2 Cry, cypress trees, because the cedars have fallen and the stately trees have been destroyed. Cry, oak trees of Bashan, because your dense forest has fallen down.

3 Listen! The shepherds are crying, because their rich pastures are destroyed. Listen! The young lions are roaring, because the lush banks of the Jordan are destroyed.

4 This is what the LORD my God says: Take care of the sheep that are about to be slaughtered.

5 Those who buy them will kill them and go unpunished. Those who sell them will say, "Praise the LORD! I've become rich!" Even their own shepherds will have no pity on them.

6 The LORD declares, "I will no longer have pity on those who live in the land. I am going to hand the people over to their neighbors and their king, who will crush the land. And I won't rescue any of them from their power."

7 So I became the shepherd of the sheep that were to be slaughtered and also of the oppressed sheep. I took two shepherd staffs and named one Favor and the other Unity. And I took care of the sheep.

8 I got rid of three shepherds in one month. I became impatient with the sheep, and they also became disgusted with me.

9 So I said, "I won't be your shepherd. Let those that are dying die. Let those that are missing stay missing. And let those that are left devour each other."

10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it in pieces, to break the promise that I had made to all the nations.

11 So it was broken on that day, and the oppressed among the sheep who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.

12 Then I said to them, "If it's alright with you, pay me my wages. But if it's not, don't." And they paid me my wages--30 pieces of silver.

13 The LORD told me, "Give it to the potter." So I took the 30 pieces of silver. Such a magnificent price was set by them! I gave the pieces of silver to the potter at the house of the LORD.

14 Then I broke my second staff, called Unity, in pieces, to break off the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 Then the LORD said to me, "Use the equipment of a foolish shepherd again.

16 I'm about to place a shepherd in the land. He will not take care of those that are dying. He will not search for the young. He will not heal those that have broken their legs or support those that can still stand. But he will eat the meat of the fat animals and tear off their hoofs.

17 "How horrible it will be for the foolish shepherd who abandoned the sheep. A sword will strike his arm and his right eye. His arm will be completely withered. His right eye will be completely blind."

Zechariah 12

1 This is the prophetic revelation, the word of the LORD about Israel. The LORD--who spread out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit in a person--says,

2 "I'm going to make Jerusalem like a cup [of wine] that makes all the surrounding people stagger. They will attack Judah along with Jerusalem.

3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a stone too heavy for all the nations to lift. All who try to lift it will be severely injured. All the nations in the world will gather [to fight] against Jerusalem."

4 The LORD declares, "On that day I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with madness. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will strike all the horses of the nations blind.

5 Then the leaders of Judah will think to themselves, 'The people who live in Jerusalem are strong because of the LORD of Armies, their God.'

6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire on a pile of wood and like a burning torch among freshly cut straw. They will burn up all the surrounding nations to the right and to the left. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe in Jerusalem.

7 "The LORD will save Judah's tents first so that the honor of David's family and the honor of those who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the honor of Judah.

8 On that day the LORD will defend those who live in Jerusalem so that even those who stumble will be like David, and David's family will be like God, like the Messenger of the LORD ahead of them.

9 "On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations who attack Jerusalem.

10 "I will pour out the Spirit of blessing and mercy on David's family and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom they have stabbed. Then they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son.

11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as intense as the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

12 The land will mourn, each family by itself: the family of David by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself, and the wives by themselves;

13 the family of Levi by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and the wives by themselves.

14 All the families that are left [will mourn], each by itself, and the wives by themselves."

Zechariah 13

1 [The LORD declares,] "On that day a fountain will be opened for David's family and for those who live in Jerusalem to wash away [their] sin and stain.

2 "On that day," declares the LORD of Armies, "I will wipe away the names of the idols from the land. They will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

3 "If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother, who gave birth to him, will say, 'You don't deserve to live because you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' Then his father and his mother, who gave birth to him, will stab him when he prophesies.

4 "On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He won't deceive people by dressing [like a prophet] in a coat made of hair.

5 He will say, 'I am not a prophet. I'm a farmer. I've owned this land since I was a child.'

6 "When someone asks him, 'What are these scars on your chest?' he will answer, 'I was hurt at my friend's house.'

7 "Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my friend," declares the LORD of Armies. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones."

8 The LORD declares, "Throughout the land two-thirds will be cut off and die. Yet, one-third will be left in it.

9 I will bring this third [of the people] through the fire. I will refine them as silver is refined. I will test them as gold is tested. They will call on me, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people.' They will reply, 'The LORD is our God.'"

Zechariah 14

1 A day is going to come for the LORD when the loot you have taken will be divided among you.

2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half of the people in the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people won't be taken from the city.

3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as he does when he fights a battle.

4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will be split in two, forming a very large valley from east to west. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half will move toward the south.

5 Then you will flee to the valley of my mountains, because this valley between the mountains will go as far as Azel. You will flee as you did from the earthquake at the time of King Uzziah of Judah. The LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones will be with him.

6 On that day there will be neither heat nor freezing cold.

7 There will be one day--a day known to the LORD--with no difference between day and night. It will be light even in the evening.

8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the Dead Sea and the other half to the Mediterranean Sea. It will continue in summer and in winter.

9 The LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be the only Lord and his name the only name.

10 The whole earth will become like the plains from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site, from Benjamin Gate to the place of First Gate, Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses.

11 People will live there, and it will never be threatened with destruction. Jerusalem will live securely.

12 This will be the plague the LORD will use to strike all the people from the nations that have gone to war against Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

13 On that day a large-scale panic from the LORD will spread among them. One person will grab the hand of another, and one will attack the other.

14 Judah will also fight in Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected, a very large amount of gold, silver, and clothes.

15 A similar plague will also affect horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all other animals in those camps.

16 Everyone who is left from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will come every year to worship the king, the LORD of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths.

17 If any of the families on the earth won't go to Jerusalem to worship the king, the LORD of Armies, then rain won't fall on them.

18 If the people of Egypt won't go or enter Jerusalem, then [rain won't fall] on them. The plague the LORD uses to strike the nations will affect those who won't come to celebrate the Festival of Booths.

19 This will be [the punishment] for Egypt's sin and for the sin of all the nations that won't go to celebrate the Festival of Booths.

20 On that day "Holy to the LORD" will be written on the bells of the horses. And the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the bowls in front of the altar.

21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of Armies. All who come to sacrifice will take some of them and cook in them. On that day there will no longer be any Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Armies.