Zechariah 8

1 Again the word of Yhwh of Armies came to me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH of Hosts, saying,

2 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

“Thus said YHWH of Hosts: I have been zealous for Zion with great zeal, With great heat I have been zealous for her.

3 Thus saith Yhwh; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of Yhwh of Armies the holy mountain.

Thus said YHWH: I have turned back to Zion, And I have dwelt in the midst of Jerusalem, And Jerusalem has been called The City of Truth, And The Mountain of YHWH of Hosts, The Holy Mountain.

4 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Again old men and old women dwell In broad places of Jerusalem, And each his staff in his hand, Because of abundance of days.

5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

And broad places of the city are full of boys and girls, Playing in its broad places.

6 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith Yhwh of Armies.

Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Surely it is wonderful in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, Also in My eyes it is wonderful, A declaration of YHWH of Hosts.

7 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;

Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Behold, I am saving My people from the land of the rising, And from the land of the going in, of the sun,

8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

And I have brought them in, They have dwelt in the midst of Jerusalem, And they have been to Me for a people, And I am to them for God, In truth and in righteousness.

9 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of Yhwh of Armies was laid, that the temple might be built.

Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Let your hands be strong, You who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets, That in the day the house of YHWH of Hosts has been founded, The temple [is] to be built.

10 For before these days 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 every one against his neighbour.

For before those days there has been no hiring of man, Indeed, a hiring of beasts there is none; And to him who is going out, And to him who is coming in, There is no peace because of the adversary, And I send all men—each against his neighbor.

11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith Yhwh of Armies.

And now, not as [in] the former days [am] I to the remnant of this people, A declaration of YHWH of Hosts.

12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

Because of the sowing of peace, The vine gives her fruit, And the earth gives her increase, And the heavens give their dew, And I have caused the remnant of this people To inherit all these.

13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

And it has come to pass, As you have been a reviling among nations, O house of Judah, and house of Israel, So I save you, and you have been a blessing, Do not fear, let your hands be strong.

14 For thus saith Yhwh of Armies; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith Yhwh of Armies, and I repented not:

For thus said YHWH of Hosts: As I purposed to do evil to you, When your fathers made Me angry—said YHWH of Hosts—And I did not relent,

15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

So I have turned back, I have purposed, in these days, To do good with Jerusalem, And with the house of Judah—do not fear!

16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

These [are] the things that you do: Each speak truth with his neighbor, Judge [with] truth and peaceful judgment in your gates,

17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith Yhwh.

And do not devise the evil of his neighbor in your heart, And do not love a false oath, For all these [are] things that I have hated, A declaration of YHWH.”

18 And the word of Yhwh of Armies came unto me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH of Hosts to me, saying,

19 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

“Thus said YHWH of Hosts: The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth [months], are to the house of Judah for joy and for rejoicing, and for pleasant appointed times, and the truth and the peace they have loved.

20 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Yet peoples come, and inhabitants of many cities,

21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before Yhwh, and to seek Yhwh of Armies: I will go also.

Indeed, inhabitants of one Have gone to another, saying, We go diligently, To appease the face of YHWH, To seek YHWH of Hosts—I go, even I.

22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek Yhwh of Armies in Jerusalem, and to pray before Yhwh.

Indeed, many peoples have come in, and mighty nations, To seek YHWH of Hosts in Jerusalem, And to appease the face of YHWH.

23 Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

Thus said YHWH of Hosts: In those days ten men of all languages of the nations take hold, Indeed, they have taken hold on the skirt of a man, a Jew, saying, We go with you, for we heard God [is] with you!”