Zechariah 8

¹Again the word of the Lord

²“Thus says the Lord ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her.’

³“Thus says the Lord ‘I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the Lord The Holy Mountain.’

⁴“Thus says the Lord ‘Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem, Each one with his staff in his hand Because of great age.

⁵The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets.’

⁶“Thus says the Lord ‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’ Says the Lord

⁷“Thus says the Lord ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east And from the land of the west;

⁸I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.’

⁹“Thus says the Lord ‘Let your hands be strong, You who have been hearing in these days These words by the mouth of the prophets, Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid For the house of the Lord That the temple might be built.

¹⁰For before these days There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast; There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in; For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.

¹¹But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord

¹²‘For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the heavens shall give their dew— I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all these.

¹³And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.’

¹⁴“For thus says the Lord ‘Just as I determined to punish you When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ Says the Lord ‘And I would not relent,

¹⁵So again in these days I am determined to do good To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.

¹⁶These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;

¹⁷Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,’ Says the Lord

¹⁸Then the word of the Lord

¹⁹“Thus says the Lord ‘The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts For the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’

²⁰“Thus says the Lord ‘Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities;

²¹The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord And seek the Lord I myself will go also.”

²²Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the Lord And to pray before the Lord

²³“Thus says the Lord