Study Desk

Then the word of the LORD of armies came, saying,

"The LORD of armies says this: 'I am ^(C1)exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.'

"The LORD says this: 'I will return to Zion and ^(C1)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of ^(C2)Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of armies will be called the Holy Mountain.'

"The LORD of armies says this: '^(C1)Old men and old women will again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each person with his staff in his hand because of ^(F1)age.

'And the public squares of the city will be filled with ^(C1)boys and girls playing in its squares.'

"The LORD of armies says this: 'If it is ^(C1)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be ^(C2)too difficult in My sight?' declares the LORD of armies.

"The LORD of armies says this: 'Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the ^(F1)(C1)east and from the land of the ^(F2)west;

and I will ^(C1)bring them back and they will ^(C2)live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be ^(C3)My people, and I will be their God in ^(F1)truth and righteousness.'

"The LORD of armies says this: 'Let your hands be ^(C1)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the ^(C2)prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of armies was laid, so that the temple might be built.

'For before those days there was ^(C1)no wage for man nor any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no ^(F1)(C2)peace because of ^(F2)his enemies, and I ^(C3)sent all the people against one another.

'But now I will ^(C1)not ^(F1)treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' declares the LORD of armies.

'For there will be ^(C1)the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their ^(C2)dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people ^(C3)all these things as an inheritance.

'And it will come about that just as you were a ^(C1)curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a ^(C2)blessing. Do not fear; let your ^(C3)hands be strong.'

"For this is what the LORD of armies says: 'Just as I ^(C1)determined to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,' says the LORD of armies, 'and I have not ^(C2)relented,

so I have again determined in these days to ^(C1)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ^(C2)Do not fear!

'These are the things which you shall do: speak the ^(C1)truth to one another; ^(C2)judge with truth and judgment for peace at your ^(F1)gates.

'Also let none of you ^(C1)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love ^(F1)(C2)perjury; for all these things are what I ^(C3)hate,' declares the LORD."

Then the word of the LORD of armies came to me, saying,

"The LORD of armies says this: 'The fast of the ^(C1)fourth, the fast of the ^(C2)fifth, the fast of the ^(C3)seventh, and the fast of the ^(C4)tenth months will become ^(C5)joy, jubilation, and ^(F1)cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so ^(C6)love truth and peace.'

"The LORD of armies says this: 'It will yet turn out that ^(C1)peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities.

'The inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, "Let's go at once to ^(C1)plead for the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of armies; ^(F1)I also will go."

'So ^(C1)many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of armies in Jerusalem, and to ^(C2)plead for the favor of the LORD.'

"The LORD of armies says this: 'In those days ten people from all the ^(F1)nations will ^(F2)(C1)grasp the ^(F3)garment of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"

The pronouncement of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with ^(C1)Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD),

And ^(C1)Hamath also, which borders on it; ^(C2)Tyre and ^(C3)Sidon, ^(F1)though ^(F2)they are ^(C2)very wise.

For Tyre built herself a ^(C1)fortress, And ^(C2)piled up silver like dust, And ^(C3)gold like the mud of the streets.

Behold, the Lord will ^(C1)dispossess her And throw her wealth into the sea; And she will be ^(C2)consumed with fire.

Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

And a people of mixed origins will live in ^(C1)Ashdod, And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.

And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a ^(F1)clan in Judah, And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.

But I will camp around My house ^(F1)because of an army, Because of ^(C1)him who passes by and returns; And ^(C2)no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.

^(C1)Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your ^(C2)king is coming to you; He is ^(F1)(C3)righteous and ^(C4)endowed with salvation, ^(C5)Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a ^(C6)colt, the ^(F2)foal of a donkey.

And I will ^(C1)eliminate the chariot from Ephraim And the ^(C2)horse from Jerusalem; And the ^(C3)bow of war will be eliminated. And He will speak ^(C4)peace to the nations; And His ^(C5)dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

As for you also, because of the ^(C1)blood of My covenant with you, I have set your ^(C2)prisoners free from the ^(F1)waterless pit.

Return to the ^(F1)(C1)stronghold, you prisoners ^(F2)who have the ^(C2)hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore ^(C3)double to you.

For I will ^(C1)bend Judah ^(F1)as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, ^(C2)Greece; And I will make you like a ^(C3)warrior's sword.

Then the LORD will appear ^(C1)over them, And His ^(C2)arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord ^(F1)GOD will blow the ^(C3)trumpet, And march in the ^(C4)storm winds of the south.

^(C1)The LORD of armies will protect them. And they will ^(C2)devour and trample on the ^(C3)slingstones; And they will drink and be ^(C4)boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the ^(C5)corners of the altar.

And the LORD their God will ^(C1)save them on that day As the flock of His people; For they are like the precious stones of a ^(C2)crown, Sparkling on His land.

For how great will ^(F1)their ^(C1)loveliness and ^(C2)beauty be! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.

Ask for ^(C1)rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain— The LORD who ^(C2)makes the ^(F1)storm winds; And He will give them ^(C3)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person.

For the ^(F1)(C1)household idols speak deception, And the ^(C2)diviners see ^(F2)an illusion And tell ^(C3)deceitful dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people ^(F3)wander like ^(C4)sheep, They are wretched because there is no shepherd.

"My ^(C1)anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the ^(F1)male goats; For the LORD of armies has ^(C2)visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.

-"From ^(F1)them will come the ^(C1)cornerstone, From ^(F1)them the tent peg, From ^(F1)them the bow of ^(C2)battle, From ^(F1)them every tyrant, all of them together.

-"And they will be like warriors, ^(C1)Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle; And they will fight, because the LORD will be with them; And the ^(C2)riders on horses will be put to shame.

-"And I will ^(C1)strengthen the house of Judah, And I will ^(C2)save the house of Joseph, And I will ^(F1)(C3)bring them back, Because I have had ^(C4)compassion on them; And they will be as though I had ^(C5)not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will ^(C6)answer them.

-"Ephraim will be like a warrior, And their heart will be joyful as if from wine; Indeed, their ^(C1)children will see it and be joyful, ^(F1)Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.

-"I will ^(C1)whistle for them and gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as ^(C2)numerous as they ^(F1)(C3)were before.

-"When I ^(F1)scatter them among the peoples, They will ^(C1)remember Me in distant countries, And they with their children will live and come back.

-"I will ^(C1)bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of ^(C2)Gilead and Lebanon ^(F1)Until ^(C3)no room can be found for them.

-"And they will pass through the ^(C1)sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the ^(C2)Nile will dry up; And the pride of ^(C3)Assyria will be brought down, And the scepter of ^(C4)Egypt will depart.

-"And I will ^(C1)strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name ^(C2)they will walk," declares the LORD.