Zechariah 8

1 Again the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying:

And the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying,

2 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.”

These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am angry about the fate of Zion, I am angry about her with great wrath.

3 This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

This is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Zion, and will make my living-place in Jerusalem: and Jerusalem will be named The town of good faith; and the mountain of the Lord of armies The holy mountain.

4 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: There will again be old men and old women seated in the open spaces of Jerusalem, every man with his stick in his hand because he is so old.

5 And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

And the open spaces of the town will be full of boys and girls playing in its open spaces.

6 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: If this is a wonder to the rest of this people, is it a wonder to me? says the Lord of armies.

7 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will be the saviour of my people from the east country, and from the west country;

8 I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”

And I will make them come and be living in Jerusalem and they will be to me a people and I will be to them a God, in good faith and in righteousness.

9 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the temple, the house of the LORD of Hosts.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: Let your hands be strong, you who are now hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets, that is to say, in the days when the base of the house of the Lord of armies has been put in place for the building of the house, that is the Temple.

10 For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor.

For before those days there was no payment for a man's work, or for the use of a beast, and there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because of the attacker: for I had every man turned against his neighbour.

11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

But now I will not be to the rest of this people as I was in the past, says the Lord of armies.

12 “For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give all these things as an inheritance.

For I will let the seed of peace be planted; the vine will give her fruit and the land will give her increase and the heavens will give their dew; and I will give to the rest of this people all these things for their heritage.

13 As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.”

And it will come about that, as you were a curse among the nations, O children of Judah and children of Israel, so I will give you salvation and you will be a blessing: have no fear and let your hands be strong.

14 For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Hosts,

For this is what the Lord of armies has said: As it was my purpose to do evil to you when your fathers made me angry, says the Lord of armies, and my purpose was not changed:

15 “so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.

So in these days it is again my purpose to do good to Jerusalem and to the children of Judah: have no fear.

16 These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,

These are the things which you are to do: Let every man say what is true to his neighbour; and let your judging give peace in your towns.

17 do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.

Let no one have any evil thought in his heart against his neighbour; and have no love for false oaths: for all these things are hated by me, says the Lord.

18 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,

And the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying,

19 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”

This is what the Lord of armies has said: The times of going without food in the fourth month and in the fifth and the seventh and the tenth months, will be for the people of Judah times of joy and happy meetings; so be lovers of good faith and of peace.

20 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—

This is what the Lord of armies has said: It will again come about that when peoples and those living in great towns come,

21 and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the LORD and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I myself am going.’

And the people of one town go to another and say, Let us certainly go with a request for grace from the Lord, and to give worship to the Lord of armies, then I will go with you.

22 And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before the LORD.”

And great peoples and strong nations will come to give worship to the Lord of armies in Jerusalem and to make requests for grace from the Lord.

23 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

This is what the Lord of armies has said: In those days, ten men from all the languages of the nations will put out their hands and take a grip of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for it has come to our ears that God is with you.