Study Desk

Cleansing From Sin

"On that day a fountain^(a) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse^(b) them from sin and impurity.

"On that day, I will banish the names of the idols^(c) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,"^(d) declares the Lord Almighty. "I will remove both the prophets^(e) and the spirit of impurity from the land.

And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies^(f) in the Lord 's name.' Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.^(g)

"On that day every prophet will be ashamed^(h) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet's garment⁽ⁱ⁾ of hair^(j) in order to deceive.^(k)

Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.^[a]'^(l)

If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body^[b]?' they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.'

"Awake, sword,^(m) against my shepherd,⁽ⁿ⁾ against the man who is close to me!" declares the Lord Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,^(o) and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

In the whole land," declares the Lord , "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it.^(p)

This third I will put into the fire;^(q) I will refine them like silver^(r) and test them like gold.^(s) They will call^(t) on my name^(u) and I will answer^(v) them; I will say, ‘They are my people,'^(w) and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.^(x)'"

The Lord Comes and Reigns

A day of the Lord ^(a) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions^(b) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

I will gather all the nations^(c) to Jerusalem to fight against it;^(d) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.^(e) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.^(f)

Then the Lord will go out and fight^(g) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.^(h)

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,⁽ⁱ⁾ east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split^(j) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake^[a](k) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,^(l) and all the holy ones with him.^(m)

On that day there will be neither sunlight⁽ⁿ⁾ nor cold, frosty darkness.

It will be a unique^(o) day—a day known only to the Lord —with no distinction between day and night.^(p) When evening comes, there will be light.^(q)

On that day living water^(r) will flow^(s) out from Jerusalem, half of it east^(t) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.^(u)

The Lord will be king^(v) over the whole earth.^(w) On that day there will be one Lord , and his name the only name.^(x)

The whole land, from Geba^(y) to Rimmon,^(z) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up^(aa) high from the Benjamin Gate^(ab) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,^(ac) and from the Tower of Hananel^(ad) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.^(ae)

It will be inhabited;^(af) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.^(ag)

This is the plague with which the Lord will strike^(ah) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.^(ai)

On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.^(aj) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.^(ak)

Judah^(al) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected^(am)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing.

A similar plague^(an) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

Then the survivors^(ao) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship^(ap) the King,^(aq) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(ar)

If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship^(as) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.^(at)

If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord ^[b] will bring on them the plague^(au) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(av)

This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(aw)

On that day holy to the Lord ^(ax) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots^(ay) in the Lord 's house will be like the sacred bowls^(az) in front of the altar.

Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy^(ba) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day^(bb) there will no longer be a Canaanite^[c](bc) in the house^(bd) of the Lord Almighty.^(be)