Zechariah 8
1 Yahweh gave me [another] message. He said,
And the word of the Lord of oostis was maad to me,
2 “This is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say: ‘I love [the people of] Jerusalem; I love them very much, and I am very angry with their enemies.’
and seide, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Y hatide Sion with greet feruour, and with greet indignacioun Y hatide it.
3 So this is what I say: ‘[Some day] I will return to Zion [Hill] and I will live there. [At that time, ] Jerusalem will be called the city [where people] (are faithful to/faithfully obey) me, and [people will say that Zion] Hill [is] holy because it is where the Commander of the armies of angels dwells.’”
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Y am turned ayen to Sion, and Y schal dwelle in the myddil of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem schal be clepid a citee of treuthe, and hil of the Lord schal be clepid an hil halewid.
4 The Commander of the armies of angels also says this: “[Some day] old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each of them holding a cane because of their being very old.
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Yit elde men and elde wymmen schulen dwelle in the stretis of Jerusalem, and the staf of man in his hond, for the multitude of yeeris.
5 And the city streets with be full of boys and girls playing.”
And the stretis of the cite schulen be fillid with `yonge children and maidens, pleiynge in the stretis `of it.
6 The Commander of the armies of angels [also] says this: “[When those things happen, ] it will seem marvelous to the people who are still alive, but it certainly will not [RHQ] seem marvelous to me!”
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Though it schal be seyn hard bifor the iyen of relifs of this puple in tho daies, whether bifor myn iyen it schal be hard, seith the Lord of oostis?
7 The Commander of the armies of angels [also] says this: “I will rescue my people from countries to the northeast and to the southwest [to which they were forced to go].
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal saue my puple fro the lond of the eest, and fro lond of goynge doun of the sunne;
8 I will bring them back [to Judah], and they will [again] live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will be faithful [to them] and act righteously [toward them].”
and Y schal brynge hem, and thei schulen dwelle in the myddil of Jerusalem; and thei schulen be to me in to a puple, and Y schal be to hem in to God, and in treuthe, and in riytwisnesse.
9 The Commander of the armies of angels [also] says this: “When the foundation for my temple was laid, there were prophets there who proclaimed messages [from me]. Some of you heard what those prophets said. [So] be brave/courageous [MTY] [while you are building] the temple, in order that you may [finish] building it.
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Be youre hondis coumfortid, whiche heren in these daies these wordis bi the mouth of profetis, in the dai in which the hous of the Lord of oostis is foundid, that the temple schulde be bildid.
10 Before [you started to rebuild the temple], [no one could hire] men or animals [to work for them, because] there was no money to pay for them. And people were afraid to go anywhere because I had caused people to oppose each other, and [they thought that] there were enemies [everywhere].
Sotheli bifore tho daies hire of men was not, nether hire of werk beestis was, nether to man entrynge and goynge out was pees for tribulacioun; and Y lefte alle men, ech ayens his neiybore.
11 But now I will act differently toward [you] people who are still alive, [differently] than I did previously. [That is what I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say.
But now not after the formere daies Y schal do to relifs of this puple, seith the Lord of oostis,
12 [From now on, ] it will be peaceful when you plant [your seeds], and your grapevines will produce grapes, and good crops will grow in your fields. There will be rain. I will give all those things to [you] people who are still alive.
but seed of pees schal be; vyneyerd schal yyue his fruyt, and erthe schal yyue his buriownyng, and heuenes schulen yyue her dew; and Y schal make the relifs of this puple for to welde alle these thingis.
13 You [people of] Judah and Israel, [the people of other] nations have cursed you. But I will rescue you, and you will be a blessing [to the people of many nations. So] do not be afraid; work hard [MTY] [to finish building the temple].”
And it schal be, as the hous of Juda and hous of Israel weren cursyng in hethene men, so Y schal saue you, and ye schulen be blessyng. Nyle ye drede, be youre hondis coumfortid;
14 The Commander of the armies of angels [also] says this: “When your ancestors caused me to become very angry, I decided to punish them. And I did not change my mind.
for the Lord of oostis seith these thingis, As Y thouyte for to turmente you, whanne youre fadris hadden terrid me to wraththe,
15 But now [I will do something different]. I am planning to do good things to [the people of] Jerusalem and [other towns in] Judah. [So] do not be afraid.
seith the Lord, and Y hadde not merci, so Y conuertid thouyte in these daies for to do wel to the hous of Juda and Jerusalem; nyle ye drede.
16 These are the things that you should do: [You should always] tell the truth to each other. In the courts, [your judges must] make decisions according to what is correct and fair.
Therfor these ben the wordis whiche ye schulen do; speke ye treuthe, ech man with his neiybore; deme ye treuthe and dom of pees in youre yatis;
17 Do not plan to do evil things to others, and do not falsely promise [to do things that you know that you will not do]. I hate all those things.”
and thenke ye not in youre hertis, ony man yuel ayens his frend, and loue ye not a fals ooth; for alle thes thingis it ben, whiche Y hate, seith the Lord.
18 The Commander of the armies of angels spoke to me [again].
And the word of the Lord of oostis was maad to me,
19 This is what he said: “The times when you people of Judah (fast/abstain from food) during the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months [of each year] will become good and very happy/joyful [DOU] festivals. But you must want [to speak] truthfully and [be] peaceful.”
and seide, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Fastyng of the fourthe monethe, `and fastyng of the fyuethe, and fastyng of the seuenthe, and fasting of the tenthe, schal be to the hous of Juda in to ioie and gladnes, and in to solempnitees ful cleer; loue ye oneli treuthe and pees.
20 The Commander of the armies of angels [also] says this: “[Some day] people from many [people-groups and foreign] cities will come [here to Jerusalem].
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Puplis schulen come on ech side, and dwelle in many citees;
21 People from one city will go to [the people in] another [city] and say, ‘Let’s [go together to Jerusalem] to worship Yahweh and ask him to bless us; we [ourselves] are going.’
and the dwelleris schulen go, oon to an other, and seie, Go we, and biseche the face of the Lord, and seke we the Lord of oostis; also I shal go.
22 And [people from] many people-groups and [from] powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh and ask him to bless them.”
And many puplis schulen come, and strong folkis, for to seke the Lord of oostis in Jerusalem, and for to biseche the face of the Lord.
23 The Commander of the armies of angels [also] says this: “At that time, [this is what will happen everywhere]: A group of people from one nation or a group of people who speak another language will grab the fringe/edge of the robe of a Jew and say [to him], ‘We have heard [people say] that God is with you. So allow us to go with you [to Jerusalem to worship him].’”
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, In tho daies, in whiche ten men of alle langagis of hethene men schulen catche, and thei schulen catche the hemme of a man Jew, and seye, We schulen go with you; for we han herd, that God is with you.
