Study Desk

At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord .

Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?

You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses.

And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the soil produces, on human beings and animals, and on all their labors.

Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord ; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord ; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts,

For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests for a ruling:

On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord , and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.

So the angel who talked with me said to me, Proclaim this message: Thus says the Lord of hosts; I am very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.

And I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse.

Third Vision: The Man with a Measuring Line I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length." Then the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him, and said to him, "Run, say to that young man: Jerusalem shall be inhabited like villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and animals in it. For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the Lord , and I will be the glory within it."

Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord ; for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord .

For thus said the Lord of hosts (after his glory sent me) regarding the nations that plundered you: Truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye.

See now, I am going to raise my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord .

Be silent, all people, before the Lord ; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch.

For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day.

For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the Lord , which range through the whole earth."

Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to the writing on the other side.