ZECHARIA
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¤1 °1 In the
eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to the
prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo: °2 “Yahweh was very angry with your ancestors. °3 Then you will tell them these words of Yahweh
Sabaoth: ‘Return to me and I will return to you.’ °4 Do not
be like your ancestors whom the earlier prophets warned, reiterating to them
Yahweh Sabaoth’s words: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your wicked deeds.’ But
they would not listen or pay attention to me. Yahweh asks you, °5 “Where are your ancestors now? Those prophets also
died °6 but my words and decrees entrusted to my
servants, the prophets, overtook your ancestors. They repented and confessed:
“Yahweh Sabaoth has treated us just as he had determined to do, according to
our ways and deeds.” § The visions°7 On the twenty-fourth of Shebat, the eleventh month,
in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet
Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, in the following manner. °8 In a vision at night, I saw a man riding a red
horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine, and behind him
were red, brown and white horses. °9
I asked, “What are
these, my lord?” The angel with whom I was talking answered, “You will know.”
°10 The man standing among the myrtle trees
spoke, “They are those whom Yahweh sent to patrol the earth.” °11 These then reported to Yahweh’s angel standing among
the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the whole earth and found it peaceful
and tranquil.” °12 The angel of Yahweh spoke, “O Yahweh of hosts, how
long will you be without mercy for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah which
you have afflicted in anger these seventy years?” °13 Yahweh
replied with comforting words to the angel who spoke to me. °14 This angel then turned to me and said, “Proclaim
this word which Yahweh Sabaoth speaks: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and
Zion, °15 but I am very angry with complacent
nations. At first I was only a little angry with Jerusalem, but they made
things worse.’ °16 Therefore Yahweh says: ‘I will turn again
with mercy to Jerusalem, where my house will be rebuilt and the measuring
line stretched.’” Then
Yahweh Sabaoth said, °17 “Proclaim this as well: ‘My towns will
once more overflow with prosperity; Yahweh
will again comfort Zion and make Jerusalem his favorite.’” § The second vision¤2 °1 I
raised my eyes and saw four horns. °2 I asked
the angel who spoke to me what these were, and he answered, “These horns are
the nations that scattered Judah and Jerusalem.” °3 Yahweh
then showed me four blacksmiths, and I asked, “What are they coming to do?” °4 He answered, “Here are the horns that scattered
Judah so that no one dared raise his head. But these blacksmiths have come to
strike down the power of the nations that scattered the people of Judah.” § The third vision°5 Raising my eyes again, I saw a man with a measuring
line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?” °6 He
answered, “I’m going to measure Jerusalem, to find its width and its length.”
°7 As the angel who spoke to me came forward, another
angel met him °8 and said, “Run and tell this to that
young man: ‘Jerusalem will remain unwalled because of its multitude of people
and livestock.’ °9 For this is the word of Yahweh: I myself
will be around her like a wall of fire, and also within her in Glory.” °10 “Come, come! Flee from the land of the north,” says
Yahweh to all those whom he scattered to the four winds of heaven. °11 “Come, escape O Zion, you who dwell in Babylon.” °12 For thus Yahweh Sabaoth says, after his Glory sent
me to condemn the nations that have plundered you, “Whoever touches you
touches the apple of my eye. °13 Look, I will raise my hand against those
nations, and they will be plundered by their slaves.” Thus you will know that
Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me. § A call to the daughter of Zion°14 “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says Yahweh. °15 “On that day, many nations will join Yahweh and be my people, but my dwelling is among you.” °16 The people of Judah will be for Yahweh as his portion in his holy land. He will choose Jerusalem again. °17 Keep still in Yahweh’s presence, for he comes, having risen from his holy dwelling.” § Fourth vision: the Messiah comes soon¤3 °1 He
showed me then the high priest Joshua standing before the Angel of Yahweh. At
Joshua’s right side stood Satan, ready to accuse him. °2 But the angel of Yahweh said to Satan, “May Yahweh
rebuke you, Satan! Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem – may he rebuke you! Is
not this man a burning brand snatched from the fire?” °3 Clad in filthy garments, Joshua stood before the
Angel, °4 who said to those in front of him, “Take
off his filthy garments.” Then turning to Joshua, he said, “See, I have taken
away your guilt. Now I will clothe you with rich garments.” °5 He added, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they
put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, as the Angel of Yahweh looked
on. °6 The Angel of Yahweh gave Joshua this assurance, °7 “Listen to this word of Yahweh Sabaoth: ‘If you walk
in my ways and heed my charge, you shall rule my house and keep my courts,
and I will give you free access among those standing here. °8 Listen further, O high priest Joshua and your
associates who join in council with you: I am going to bring my servant the
Branch. °9 See, I am setting (before Joshua) a stone
with seven eyes. I myself will engrave an inscription on it, and I will
remove the guilt of this land in a single day. °10 On
that day, you will invite one another under your vines and fig trees.’ This
is what Yahweh Sabaoth says.” § The fifth vision¤4 °1 The
angel who talked with me returned and shook me as one does to wake another
from sleep. °2 He asked, “What do you see?” I answered,
“I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on top. On the stand are seven
lamps and there are seven pipes to feed them. °3 There
are also two olive trees, one at the right of the bowl and another at the
left.” °4 I asked the angel, “What are these, my
Lord?” °5 He replied with a question, “Don’t you
know what they are?” I answered, “No, my Lord.” {°10b} He explained, “These seven are the eyes of Yahweh
which range throughout the earth.” °11 I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees
to the right and left of the lampstand?” (°12)°13 His
reply was a question. “Don’t you know what these are?” I answered, “No, my
Lord.” °14 He said, “These are the two anointed with
fresh oil, who serve the Lord of the whole earth.” °6 This is a word of Yahweh for Zerubbabel, “Not by
might nor by power, but by my Spirit.” °7 “What are you, O mighty mountains? You will be
leveled before Zerubbabel. He will quarry from you to the last stone which
crowns the Temple amid shouts of: blessing, blessing on it!” °8 The word of Yahweh then came to me, °9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of
this House; his hands also shall finish it. (Then you will know that Yahweh
Sabaoth has sent me to you.) °10 Perhaps the beginning seems a small thing
to you, yet you will rejoice on that day to see the crowning stone in the
hands of Zerubbabel.” § The sixth vision¤5 °1 Again I
raised my eyes and saw a flying scroll. °2 He
asked me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “A flying scroll, thirty feet
long and fifteen feet wide.” °3 He said to me, “This is the curse going forth
throughout the earth. On one side it is written that every thief shall be
banished; on the other side, that everyone who swears falsely shall be
expelled. °4 I will send it out to the house of the
thief, as well as to the house of anyone who swears falsely. It will lodge
there and destroy the house – timber, stone and everything. § The seventh vision°5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and
said, “Look up and see what this is that is coming forth.” °6 I asked, “What is it?” He answered, “This is a
bushel container. This is the guilt of the people throughout the land.” °7 The lead cover was lifted, and there sitting inside
was a woman. °8 “This is wickedness,” he said and thrust
the woman inside the bushel stopping the opening with the lead cover. °9 I looked up and saw two winged women coming; their
wings were like that of a stork. As they lifted the bushel into the air, °10 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “Where are
they taking the bushel?” °11 He answered, “To Babylonia, to build a
temple for it and set it down on a plinth.” § The eighth vision¤6 °1 Once
more I raised my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two
mountains of bronze. °2 The first chariot had red horses, the
second black, °3 the third white, and the fourth dapple
gray. °4 I asked the angel talking with me, “What
are these, my Lord.” °5 The angel replied, “These are the four winds of
heaven, going forth after presenting themselves before the Lord of the whole
earth. °6 The chariot with black horses goes
towards the north country, the one with white horses towards the west, and
the one with dapple gray horses towards the land of the south.” °7 As the reds asked to start off and to patrol the
earth, the angel said to them, “Go, patrol the earth!” and they went. °8 Then he cried out to me, “Look, those have just gone
to the land of the north and they will set my spirit at rest in the land of
the north.” °9 The word of Yahweh came to me, °10 “Take offerings from the returned captives, from the
hands of Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, and go this very day to the house of
Josiah, Zephaniah’s son, where they have arrived from Babylon. °11 Take silver and gold and have crowns made, which you
will set on the head of the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak. °12 Repeat to him these words of Yahweh Sabaoth: ‘Here
is the man whose name is Branch. From where he is he will branch out and
build the temple of Yahweh. °13 It is he who will build the temple of
Yahweh, and this will be his glory. He will sit and rule upon his throne. A
priest will sit at his right, and there will be harmony between both.’ °14 As for the crowns, they will remain in the temple of
Yahweh as a memorial of what Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Josiah, Zephaniah’s
son have done. °15 Those from afar will come and help build
the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me to
you. This will happen if you diligently listen to the voice of your God
Yahweh.” ¤7 °1 On the
fourth day of the ninth month in the fourth year of Darius, the king, °2 the people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regemmelech
with their men to win the favor of Yahweh °3 and to
question the priests of the House of Yahweh, God of hosts, and the prophets,
“Must we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?” § The true religion°4 And the word of Yahweh, God of hosts came to me: °5 “Speak to the inhabitants of the land and to the priests; say to them: When you fasted and mourned in September and December for seventy years, was I the one who made you fast? °6 Were you not those who decided to eat and to drink or not to do so? °7 Remember the message that Yahweh proclaimed through earlier prophets when Jerusalem was peacefully inhabited and the surrounding region as well, when the Negeb and the western foothills were settled. (°8) Yahweh said, °9 Render true judgment, be kind and merciful to each other. °10 Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the alien or the poor, do not plot evil in your heart against one another. °11 But they refused to listen and stubbornly turned their back, stopping their ears. °12 They made their hearts hard as diamonds so as not to hear the Law or the words that Yahweh, the God of hosts spoke by his spirit through the earlier prophets. °13 Then Yahweh, God of hosts in his great anger proclaimed that just as they had not listened when he called to them, so when they cried to him he would not listen. °14 Yahweh said he would scatter them as in a whirlwind among nations they did not know and the land behind them would be devastated without anyone passing through it. In that way a pleasant land was made desolate.” ¤8 °1 The
word of Yahweh, the God of hosts was directed to me in this way, °2 “I am intensely jealous for Zion, stirred by a
burning anger for her sake. °3 Yahweh says: I will return to Zion and
live in her midst. Jerusalem shall be calledCity of faithfulnessand the Mountain of Yahweh of hosts, theMountain of holiness.” °4 Yahweh, God of hosts speaks, “Old men and women will
again sit in the squares, each with a stick in hand on account of their great
age. °5 The squares of the city will be filled
with girls and boys playing.” °6 Yahweh, God of hosts declares, “If that seems
impossible in the eyes of those who have returned from exile, will it be
impossible for me as well?” – word of Yahweh. °7 Yahweh, God of hosts says, “See, I am going to save
my people, °8 bringing them from the east and from the
west and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people and I shall be
their God in truth and in justice.” °9 Yahweh, God of hosts declares, “In these days you
have just heard the words of the prophets, because on this day the foundation
stone is laid for the reconstruction of the Temple. Now do not be
discouraged. °10 Before these days there was no salary for
anyone nor food for beasts, people could not travel because of the ambushes,
and I myself let everyone quarrel with his neighbor. °11 But from now on I will deal differently with this
people.” °12 Yahweh says, “I am sowing peace. The vine will give
its fruit, the earth its produce, the heavens its dew and to the remnant of
this people I will give all these things. °13 So it will happen that just as
you were a curse among the
nations, now I will save you, Judah and Israel, and make you a blessing. Have
no fear and let your hands be strong!” °14 This is what Yahweh, God of hosts, says: “Just as I
resolved to do you harm because your fathers angered me and I did not relent,
°15 so now in these days am I determined to
deal kindly with Jerusalem and Judah. Have no fear! °16 This is what you must do: Speak the truth to one
another; let those who judge give peace through honest sentences °17 and do not plot evil in your heart against one
another. Refrain from false oaths for it is what I detest” – word of Yahweh. °18 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying: °19 “This is what you will say for my sake: From now on
the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will be days of joy,
happy feastdays. Only be peacemakers and sincere people.” °20 Yahweh, the God of hosts speaks, “People will come
from other nations, people from great cities. °21 The
inhabitants of one town will talk with those of another and say: ‘Come, let
us go and implore the favor of Yahweh, and I, too, will seek Yahweh.’ °22 Many great peoples and powerful nations will come
seeking Yahweh, God of hosts, in Jerusalem and pray to him.” °23 Yahweh, the God of hosts assures you, “In those days
ten men of different languages spoken in various lands, will take hold of a
Jew by the hem of his garment and say: We, too, want to go with you for we
have heard that God is with you.” §SECOND PART OF THE BOOK
§An oracle:
¤9 °1 Word of
Yahweh. Yahweh dwells in the land of Hadrach and Damascus for the cities of
Aram belong to him as do all the tribes of Israel, °2 and
Hamath as well, on its border, and Tyre and Sidon, the people who do good business. °3 Tyre built herself a stronghold and piled up silver
like dust, gold like the mud
in the street. °4 But the Lord will take away her
possessions and throw down her power on the sea and she herself will perish
by fire. °5 Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza, too, will
tremble and Ekron as well for her hope will fade. The king will disappear
from Gaza and Ashkelon will be without inhabitants. °6 People of low birth will occupy Ashdod. I will put
an end to the pride of the Philistines. °7 I shall
take the meat with blood from their mouth and their unclean food from between
their teeth. Only a remnant of them will be left and they will become like a
clan among the Judeans. The people of Ekron will be like the Jebusites at the
present time. °8 I shall camp as a guard near my House to protect
it from all who come and go. No longer shall an oppressor crush them now for
I am aware of their affliction. § Your king comes, riding on a donkey°9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! For your king is coming, just and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. °10 No more chariots in Ephraim, no more horses in Jerusalem, for he will do away with them. The warrior’s bow shall be broken when he dictates peace to the nations. He will reign from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. °11 As for you, for the sake of your covenant sealed
with blood, I shall release your prisoners from the ancient cistern. °12 The prisoners who wait in expectation will return to
you, O Zion; today I declare that I will repay you double for your exile. °13 I shall bend my bow – Judah – and Ephraim shall be
my arrow. I shall send your sons, O Zion, against the Greeks! For me you
shall be a warrior’s sword. °14 Yahweh will appear above them, his arrows flashing
like lightning. He will sound his horn and come in a storm from the south. °15 Yahweh, God of hosts, will protect them; they will
triumph and trample the wicked. They will drink blood like wine and be filled
with it like the bowls of the drink offering, like the horns of an altar. °16 On that day, Yahweh, their God, will save them and
pasture them like a flock. °17 How happy! how beautiful it will be!
Grain will make young men flourish and new wine, the maidens! § Trust in the Lord¤10 °1 Ask
from Yahweh the spring rain, and Yahweh, who makes the lightnings, will send
showers of rain and make grass sprout in each one’s field. °2 The home idols utter empty words and diviners have
false visions, dreams that foretell illusions and offer empty comfort. °3 This is why the people stray like sheep without a
shepherd. Against these shepherds my anger is aroused and I will punish the
leaders. When
Yahweh of hosts visits his flock, the nation of Judah, he will make it his
proud war horse. °4 He will provide the host and the spear,
the bow in battle and all the leaders. °5 They
will be like warriors trampling mud in battle. They will fight recalling that
Yahweh is with them and rout those on horses. °6 “I will strengthen the nation of Judah and save the
descendants of Joseph. I will bring them back for I have compassion on them
and they will be as if I had never rejected them, for I am Yahweh, their God,
who hears their cry. °7 Ephraim’s men will be like heroes and feel joyful as
if warmed by wine. Their children will rejoice on seeing it; their hearts
will exult in Yahweh. °8 Yahweh says: I shall whistle and gather them
together for I have redeemed them and they shall be as numerous as before. °9 Then I shall spread them among the nations, but from
the most distant lands they will remember me. There they shall raise their
children who will return. °10 I shall bring them back from Egypt and gather them
from Assyria. I shall give them again the land of Gilead and Lebanon but
these will not suffice for them. °11
They will pass
through the sea of Egypt and the depths of the Nile will be dried up. Then
the arrogance of Assyria will be cast down and Egypt will no longer have a
king. °12 I shall strengthen them, says Yahweh, and
they shall advance confident in my Name.” ¤11 °1 Open your gateways, Lebanon, to let fire devour your
cedars. °2 Lament, cypresses, for the cedar has
fallen. The majestic ones have been brought low. Wail, oaks of Bashan, for
the impenetrable forest has been cut down. °3 The
sighs of the shepherds reecho because their beautiful plain has been ravaged.
The young lions’ roar reechoes because the fruitful valley of the Jordan is
laid waste. § The example of the good shepherd°4 Yahweh, my God, said to me: “Pasture the sheep to be
slaughtered, °5 for their buyers slay them and get away
with it, whereas those who sell them say: ‘Praised be Yahweh! I am rich!’ And
their shepherds hardly give them a thought. °6 Yahweh
says: I shall no longer give a thought to the inhabitants of this land, and I
am handing over each one to the power of his shepherd; although their king
may oppress the land, I shall not rescue this people from their power.” °7 So I became the shepherd of the sheep to be
slaughtered and provided myself with two staffs – one I calledFavorand the otherBonds.I then pastured my flock, °8 doing
away with three leaders in one month. I lost patience with them and they, for
their part, were disgusted with me. °9 So I
said, “No longer shall I shepherd you: whatever is to die, let it die and let
what is to perish, perish, and let those who are left devour each other’s
flesh.” °10 Then I took and broke my staffFavorto break the covenant I had made
with all nations. °11 It was broken off that day and the sheep
merchants who watched knew it was Yahweh who had spoken. °12 I then said to them, “If you agree, give me my
wages, otherwise let it go.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of
silver. °13 And Yahweh said to me, “Throw it into the
treasury, this splendid sum at which they valued me!” So I took the thirty
pieces of silver and threw them into the treasury in Yahweh’s House. °14 I then snapped in two my second staffBonds,doing away with the friendship
between Judah and Israel. °15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Take another disguise, one
that is fitting for a foolish shepherd °16 for I
am going to raise up another shepherd who will care nothing for lost sheep
nor will he search for strays, or bind up the injured and pasture those that
survive. No, but he will eat the fat ones and tear off their hoofs.” °17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons his
flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm wither and
his right eye be blind! § The final battle¤12 °1An oracle. This is the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. Word of Yahweh,
who spread out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth and formed
humans with inner spirit: °2 “See, I am making of Jerusalem a cup that will send the nations reeling; it will happen when Jerusalem is besieged. °3 On that day I shall make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations around her. All the nations will be united against her and all who try to lift the rock will be badly injured.” °4 Yahweh says: “On that day I will make every horse wild with fright, every rider demented. All the horses of the nations will be blinded but I will watch over Judah °5 and the leaders of the clans of Judah will say to themselves: ‘The strength of the inhabitants of Jerusalem comes from Yahweh their God.’ °6 On that day I will make the leaders of the clans of Judah like a fire in a woodland and a flaming torch among the sheaves. They will devour right and left all the nations around them, while Jerusalem will continue to hold its site. °7 Yahweh will first save the towns and villages of Judah so that David’s people and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not feel more important than the rest of Judah. °8 On that day Yahweh will strengthen the inhabitants of Jerusalem in such a way that the weaklings among them shall be like David and David’s people who lead them, will be like God, like an angel of Yahweh. °9 On that day I will see to the destroying of all the nations that came against Jerusalem. °10 I will pour out on the family of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of love and supplication. They will look at the one who was pierced and mourn for him as for an only child, weeping bitterly as for a firstborn. °11 The mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Haddadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. °12 Each family will mourn individually: the family of
David by themselves and their wives separately; the family of Nathan by
themselves and their wives separately, °13 the
family of Levi by themselves and their wives separately, the family of Shimei
by themselves and their wives separately °14 and
the same with the other families, each family by themselves and their wives
separately. ¤13 °1 On that day a spring will well up for the family of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse themselves of sin and defilement. Yahweh, God of hosts says: °2 On that day I will wipe out the names of idols from the land and never again will they be mentioned. °3 I will also remove the prophets and their unclean spirits and expel them from the land. If a prophet does prophesy, his parents: father and mother, will say to him: “You shall live no longer for you uttered lies in the name of Yahweh.” His own father and mother will stab him when he prophesies. °4 On that day the prophets will be ashamed of their
prophetical visions and no longer wear a prophet’s garment of hair in order
to deceive. °5 Instead, each of them will say: “I am not
a prophet, I am a farmer, the land has owned me since my youth.” °6 And if anyone says to him: “What are these wounds on
your hands?” He will answer: “With these I was wounded in my friend’s house.” § Final persecution°7 “Sword, awake and strike my shepherd, the man who is
near to me!” says Yahweh, God of hosts. “Strike the shepherd and let the
flock be scattered!” Yahweh threatens, “I will turn against the little ones, °8 and in all the land, two thirds shall be destroyed
and one third left. °9 This third shall be cleansed by fire; I
shall refine them as silver is refined; I shall test them as gold is tested.
They shall call upon my Name and I will hear them. I will say, ‘They are my
people,’ and they shall say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’” § Another description of the final battle¤14 °1 The day
of Yahweh will come when people will divide spoils in your midst. °2 I will let all the nations come against Jerusalem to
attack it. The city will be taken and houses pillaged, women violated. Half
of the city will be deported but the rest will not be removed. °3 Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against the
nations as he does on the day of battle. °4 On that
day his feet will rest on the mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem on the east
and the mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west by a deep
valley leaving half of the mountain to the north and half to the south. °5 You will flee through my mountain valley for it will
extend as far as Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the
days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Yahweh will come and all his holy ones
with him. °6 On that day there will be no cold or frost. °7 It will be a unique day, known to Yahweh, without
day or night and when evening comes there will still be light. °8 On that day living water will flow from Jerusalem,
half to the sea in the east, half to the sea in the west; it will never dry
up in summer or in winter. °9 Yahweh will be king of all the earth. On
that day there will be Yahweh alone and only his Name. °10 All the land will be turned into a plain from Geba
to Rimmon in the Negeb, but Jerusalem shall be outstanding on its heights,
from the Benjamin Gate to the First Gate, to the Corner Gate and from the
tower of Hananel to the royal winepress. °11 Its
people shall no longer fear any disaster. Jerusalem shall be inhabited and
secure. °12 And this is how Yahweh will punish all the nations
that made war on Jerusalem: each one’s flesh will rot even as he stands, and
their eyes will rot in their sockets, their tongue in their mouth. °15 A similar plague shall strike the horses, mules,
camels and donkeys, and all the animals in their camps. °13 On that day Yahweh will cause great panic among
them: they will take hold of one another and attack one another °14 while the men of Judah fight in Jerusalem. The
wealth of all the neighboring nations will be left in that place, gold,
silver and garments in great quantities. °16 The survivors of all the nations that fought against
Jerusalem will come, year by year, to worship Yahweh, God of hosts and
celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. °17 If any
peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King Yahweh,
God of hosts, they will have no rain. °18 If the
Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they too will be afflicted with
the plague destined for those who do not go up to celebrate the feast of
Tabernacles. °19 That shall be the punishment of Egypt and
of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. °20 On that day, even the bells of the horses shall be
inscribed: “Consecrated to Yahweh.” °21 The
cooking pots of the Temple will be as sacred as the bowls of offering that
are used for the altar, and even the ordinary cooking pots of the people of
Jerusalem and Judah will be consecrated to Yahweh, God of hosts. So everyone
who offers sacrifice may use them for cooking. Still more: from that day,
there will no longer be merchants in the House of Yahweh, God of hosts. The End. |