Zechariah

Contains visions encouraging the rebuilding of the temple and messianic prophecies.

Chapter 8

1 Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,

*Once more, God's message through his powerful army came to me, saying,

2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

*So says the Lord, the powerful ruler: I strongly wanted to protect Zion and was very angry about it.

3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

*So says God: I have come back to Zion and will live with Jerusalem's people. Jerusalem will be known as a city of honesty, and the mountain where God's strong army is will be sacred.

4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

*Thus says the Lord of heaven's army: Old people will still live in Jerusalem's streets, and each one will have a walking stick because of their old age.

5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

*The city streets will have lots of kids playing and having fun.

6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.

*Therefore, the Lord of heaven's armies asks, if it seems amazing to the remaining people today, would it also be amazing to me? He declares this as the Lord of heaven's armies.

7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;

*So says the Lord of armies: Look, I will rescue my people from the eastern land and from the western land.

8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

*I will gather them and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, honestly and fairly.

9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

*So says the Lord with many helpers: Be strong, you who hear these messages from the prophets. This happened when we started building God's special home, so we can finish constructing the temple.

10 For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

*In the past, people and animals didn't get paid, and there was no peace for those who left or entered because of troubles. I caused everyone to fight with each other.

11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.

*But now, I won't treat the remaining people of this land like before, says the Lord of heavenly armies.

12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

*The seeds will grow well, vines will produce fruit, land will increase yields, and skies will provide dew. I will make the remaining people own all these blessings.

13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

*If you belong to the family of Judah or Israel, you were once seen as bad luck among non-Jewish people. But don't worry, I will protect you and turn you into a source of good fortune. Just stay brave and keep working hard.

14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:

*So says the Lord, the ruler of heaven's armies, "When I planned to punish you because your ancestors made me very angry, I did not change my mind; that is, I still wanted to do it."

15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

*In these days, I have decided to help Jerusalem and the people of Judah. Don't be afraid.

16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

*Do these actions: Tell the truth to your neighbors, and make fair judgments about truth and peace in your towns.

17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.

*Don't think bad about your neighbor or lie with fake promises; because these things make me angry, says God.

18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,

*And God's message through his powerful army came to me, saying,

19 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

*So says the Lord of heaven's armies: The fasts in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will bring happiness and celebration to God's people in Judah. So, they should cherish truth and peace.

20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

*Thus says the Lord of armies: It will still happen that people will arrive, and those living in numerous cities will be here.

21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.

*The people from one city will visit another city, saying, "Let's quickly go to pray to God and search for the powerful Lord; I will join you too.

22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

*Yes, lots of people and powerful countries will visit God in Jerusalem to pray to Him.

23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

*So says the Lord of armies: In the future, this will happen: People from many languages will want to join with the Jews, saying, "We will go with you because we've heard that God is with you."

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