Study Desk

Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and dressed him while the Lord 's angel stood there.

"‘Listen, Joshua, the high priest, and your friends who are sitting in front of you. They are symbols of what will happen. I am going to bring my servant called the Branch.

"The people should not think that small beginnings are unimportant. They will be happy when they see Zerubbabel with tools, building the Temple. "(These are the seven eyes of the Lord , which look back and forth across the earth.)"

Then I looked up and saw two women going out with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and the sky.

When the powerful horses went out, they were eager to go through all the earth. So he said, "Go through all the earth," and they did.

They went to the prophets and priests who were at the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. The men said, "For years in the fifth month of each year we have shown our sadness and fasted. Should we continue to do this?"

"But they refused to pay attention; they were stubborn and did not want to listen anymore.

They made their hearts as hard as rock and would not listen to the teachings of the Lord All-Powerful. And they would not hear the words he sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord All-Powerful became very angry.

I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their good and loyal God."

"They will plant their seeds in peace, their grapevines will have fruit, the ground will give good crops, and the sky will send rain. I will give all this to the people who are left alive.

This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "At that time, ten men from different countries will come and take hold of a Judean by his coat. They will say to him, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'"

I will stop them from drinking blood and from eating forbidden food. Those left alive will belong to God. They will be leaders in Judah, and Ekron will become like the Jebusites.

The Lord All-Powerful will protect them; they will destroy the enemy with slingshots. They will drink and shout like drunks. They will be filled like a bowl used for sprinkling blood at the corners of the altar.

They will be so pretty and beautiful. The young men will grow strong on the grain and the young women on new wine.

Idols tell lies; fortune-tellers see false visions and tell about false dreams. The comfort they give is worth nothing. So the people are like lost sheep. They are abused, because there is no shepherd.

Together they will be like soldiers marching to battle through muddy streets. The Lord is with them, so they will fight and defeat the horsemen.

The people of Ephraim will be strong like soldiers; they will be glad as when they have drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will be happy in the Lord .

I will call my people and gather them together. I will save them, and they will grow in number as they grew in number before.

I have scattered them among the nations, but in those faraway places, they will remember me. They and their children will live and return.

They will come through the sea of trouble. The waves of the sea will be calm, and the Nile River will dry up. I will defeat Assyria's pride and destroy Egypt's power over other countries.