Zechariah 8

1 Againe the worde of the Lord of hostes came to me, saying,

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

2 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, I was ielous for Zion with great ielousie, and I was ielous for her with great wrath.

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

3 Thus saith the Lord, I wil returne vnto Zion, and wil dwel in the mids of Ierusalem: and Ierusalem shalbe called a citie of trueth, and the Mountaine of the Lord of hostes, the holy Mountaine.

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.”

4 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, There shall yet olde men and olde women dwell in the streetes of Ierusalem, and euery man with his staffe in his hand for very age.

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.

5 And the streetes of the citie shalbe full of boyes and girles, playing in the streetes thereof.

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

6 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, Though it be vnpossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these dayes, should it therefore be vnpossible in my sight, sayth the Lord of hostes?

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.

7 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Beholde, I will deliuer my people from the East countrey, and from the West countrey.

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.

8 And I wil bring them, and they shall dwel in the mids of Ierusalem, and they shalbe my people, and I wil be their God in trueth, and in righteousnes.

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

9 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Let your hands be strong, ye that heare in these dayes these words by the mouth of the Prophets, which were in the day, that the foundation of the House of the Lord of hostes was laide, that the Temple might be builded.

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.

10 For before these dayes there was no hire for man nor any hire for beast, neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men, euery one against his neighbour.

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.

11 But nowe, I wil not intreate the residue of this people as aforetime, saith the Lord of hostes.

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

12 For the seede shall be prosperous: the vine shall giue her fruite, and the ground shall giue her increase, and the heauens shall giue their dewe, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possesse all these things.

“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.

13 And it shall come to passe, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Iudah, and house of Israel, so wil I deliuer you, and ye shalbe a blessing: feare not, but let your hands be strong.

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.”

14 For thus sayth the Lord of hostes, As I thought to punish you, when your fathers prouoked me vnto wrath, sayth the Lord of hostes, and repented not,

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,

15 So againe haue I determined in these daies to doe well vnto Ierusalem, and to the house of Iudah: feare ye not.

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

16 These are ye things that ye shall doe. Speake ye euery man the trueth vnto his neighbour: execute iudgement truely and vprightly in your gates,

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

17 And let none of you imagine euill in your hearts against his neighbour, and loue no false othe: for all these are the things that I hate, saith the Lord.

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.

18 And the worde of the Lord of hostes came vnto me, saying,

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

19 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, The fast of the fourth moneth, and the fast of the fift, and the fast of the seuenth, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Iudah ioy and gladnes, and prosperous hie feasts: therefore loue the trueth and peace.

“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.”

20 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, That there shall yet come people, and the inhabitants of great cities.

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

21 And they that dwell in one citie, shall go to another, saying, Vp, let vs go and pray before the Lord, and seeke the Lord of hostes: I wil go also.

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.’

22 Yea, great people and mightie nations shall come to seeke the Lord of hostes in Ierusalem, and to pray before the Lord.

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

23 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, In those dayes shall ten men take holde out of all languages of the nations, euen take holde of the skirt of him that is a Iewe, and say, We will go with you: for we haue heard that God is with you.

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.’”