The Aaron Papers  www.the-aaron-papers.net 

 Zechariah

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, ²Jehovah was very displeased with your fathers. ³Therefore say unto them, this says Jehovah of hosts: Return unto me, says Jehovah of hosts, and I will return unto you, says Jehovah of hosts. ⁴Be you not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, this says Jehovah of hosts, Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, says Jehovah. ⁵Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? ⁶But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? and they turned and said, Like as Jehovah of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so has he dealt with us.

⁷Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month She-bat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, ⁸I saw in the night, and, behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white. ⁹Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show you what these are. ¹⁰And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said, These are they whom Jehovah has sent to walk to and fro through the earth. ¹¹And they answered the angel of Jehovah that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sits still, and is at rest. ¹²Then the angel of Jehovah answered and said, O Jehovah of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these threescore and ten years? ¹³And Jehovah answered the angel that talked with me with good words, even comfortable words. ¹⁴So the angel that talked with me said unto me, You cry, saying, this says Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. ¹⁵And I am very very displeased with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forth the affliction. ¹⁶Therefore this says Jehovah: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it, says Jehovah of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem. ¹⁷Cry yet again, saying, this says Jehovah of hosts: My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity; and Jehovah shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

¹⁸And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, four horns. ¹⁹And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. ²⁰And Jehovah showed me four smiths. ²¹Then said I, What do these come to do? And he spoke, saying, These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head; but these are come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.

2 And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. ²Then I said, where are you going? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. ³And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, ⁴and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and cattle therein. ⁵For I, says Jehovah, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.

⁶Up, up, flee from the land of the north, says Jehovah; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, says Jehovah. ⁷Up Zion, escape, you that dwell with the daughter of Babylon. ⁸For this says Jehovah of hosts: After glory has he sent me unto the nations which plundered you; for he that touches you touches the apple of his eye. ⁹For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a plunder to those that served them; and you shall know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me.

¹⁰Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says Jehovah. ¹¹And many nations shall join themselves to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me unto you. ¹²And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. ¹³Be silent, all flesh, before Jehovah; for he is aroused out of his holy habitation.

3 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. ²And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke you, O Satan; yes, Jehovah that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? ³Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. ⁴And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel. ⁵And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of Jehovah was standing by. ⁶And the angel of Jehovah protested unto Joshua, saying, ⁷This says Jehovah of hosts: If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you a place of access among these that stand by.

⁸Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows that sit before you; for they are men that are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch. ⁹For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, says Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ¹⁰In that day, says Jehovah of hosts, shall you invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree.

4 And the angel that talked with me came again, and awoke me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. ²And he said unto me, What do you see? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof; ³and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. ⁴And I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? ⁵Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, know you not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. ⁶Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says Jehovah of hosts. ⁷Who are you, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it. ⁸Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ⁹The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and you shall know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me unto you. ¹⁰For who has despised the day of small things? for these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

¹¹Then I answered, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? ¹²And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive-branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden oil out of themselves? ¹³And he answered me and said, know you not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. ¹⁴Then he said, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

5 Then again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, a flying scroll. ²And he said unto me, What do you see? And I answered, I see a flying scroll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. ³Then he said unto me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that steals shall be cut off on the one side according to it; and every one that swears shall be cut off on the other side according to it. ⁴I will cause it to go forth, says Jehovah of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

⁵Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Now lift up your eyes, and see what this  is that goes forth. ⁶And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah that goes forth. He said moreover, This is their appearance in all the land ⁷(and, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead); and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah. ⁸And he said, This is Wickedness: and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. ⁹Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings; now they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven. ¹⁰Then I said to the angel that talked with me, where do these bear the ephah? ¹¹And he said unto me, To build her a house in the land of Shinar: and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place.

6 And again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. ²With the first chariot were red horses; and with the second chariot black horses; ³and with the third chariot white horses; and with the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses. ⁴Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? ⁵And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four winds of heaven, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶The chariot wherewith are the black horses goes forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country. ⁷And the strong went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, You go hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. ⁸Then he cried to me, and spoke unto me, saying, Behold, they that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

⁹And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ¹⁰Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah; and you come the same day, and go into the house of Jo-si-ah the son of Zephaniah, where they are come from Babylon; ¹¹yes, take of them silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest; ¹²and speak unto him, saying, this spoke Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah; ¹³even he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. ¹⁴And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of Jehovah. ¹⁵And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of Jehovah; and you shall know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of Jehovah your God.

7 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev. ²Now they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Jehovah, ³and to speak unto the priests of the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these many years? ⁴Then came the word of Jehovah of hosts unto me, saying, ⁵Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did you at all fast unto me, even to me? ⁶And when you eat, and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? ⁷Should you not hear the words which Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?

⁸And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying, ⁹This has Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother; ¹⁰and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart. ¹¹But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear. ¹²Yes, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, unless they should hear the law, and the words which Jehovah of hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets: therefore there came great wrath from Jehovah of hosts. ¹³And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts; ¹⁴but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. this the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

8 And the word of Jehovah of hosts came to me, saying, ²This says Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. ³This says Jehovah: I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called The city of truth; and the mountain of Jehovah of hosts, The holy mountain. ⁴This says Jehovah of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age. ⁵And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. ⁶This says Jehovah of hosts: If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my eyes? says Jehovah of hosts. ⁷This says Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; ⁸and 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.

⁹This says Jehovah of hosts: Let your hands be strong, you that hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets that were in the day that the foundation of the house of Jehovah of hosts was laid, even the temple, that it might be built. ¹⁰For before those 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 adversary: for I set all men every one against his neighbor. ¹¹But now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days, says Jehovah of hosts. ¹²For there shall be the seed of peace; the vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. ¹³And it shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong. ¹⁴For this says Jehovah of hosts: As I thought to do evil unto you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, says Jehovah of hosts, and I repented not; ¹⁵so again have I thought in these days to do good unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear you not. ¹⁶These are the things that you shall do: speak you every man the truth with his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates; ¹⁷and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, says Jehovah.

¹⁸And the word of Jehovah of hosts came unto me, saying, ¹⁹This says Jehovah of hosts: 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 truth and peace. ²⁰This says Jehovah of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities; ²¹and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go quickly to entreat the favor of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts: I will go also. ²²Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Jehovah. ²³This says Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they 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.

9 The burden of the word of Jehovah upon the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be its resting-place (for the eye of man and of all the tribes of Israel is toward Jehovah); ²and Ha-math, also, which borders thereon; Tyre and Sidon, because they are very wise. ³And Tyre did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. ⁴Behold, the Lord will dispossess her, and he will strike her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. ⁵Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also, and shall be very pained; and Ekron, for her expectation shall be put to shame; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ash-ke-lon shall not be inhabited. ⁶And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. ⁷And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; and he also shall be a remnant for our God; and he shall be as a chieftain in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. ⁸And I will encamp about my house against the army, that none pass through or return; and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with my eyes.

⁹Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your king comes unto you; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass. ¹⁰And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the nations: and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. ¹¹As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant I have set free your prisoners from the pit wherein is no water.

¹²Turn you to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto you. ¹³For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and will make you as the sword of a mighty man. ¹⁴And Jehovah shall be seen over them; and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south. ¹⁵Jehovah of hosts will defend them; and they shall devour, and shall tread down the sling-stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar. ¹⁶And Jehovah their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted on high over his land. ¹⁷For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.

10 Ask of Jehovah rain in the time of the latter rain, even of Jehovah that makes lightnings; and he will give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. ²For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. ³My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the he-goats; for Jehovah of hosts has visited his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as his goodly horse in the battle. ⁴From him shall come forth the corner-stone, from him the nail, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together.

⁵And they shall be as mighty men, treading down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because Jehovah is with them; and the riders on horses shall be confounded. ⁶And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back; for I have mercy upon them; and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am Jehovah their God, and I will hear them. ⁷And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; yes, their children shall see it, and rejoice; their heart shall be glad in Jehovah. ⁸I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them; and they shall increase as they have increased. ⁹And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and shall return. ¹⁰I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gil-e-ad and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. ¹¹And he will pass through the sea of affliction, and will strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart. ¹²And I will strengthen them in Jehovah; and they shall walk up and down in his name, says Jehovah.

11 Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars. ²Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O you oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. ³A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.

⁴This said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter; ⁵whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not. ⁶For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, says Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall strike the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. ⁷So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. ⁸And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. ⁹Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dies, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another. ¹⁰And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. ¹¹And it was broken in that day; and this the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah. ¹²And I said unto them, If you think good, give me my hire; and if not, refrain. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver. ¹³And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah. ¹⁴Then I cut asunder my other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto you yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces. ¹⁷Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaves the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

12 The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. this says Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: ²behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem. ³And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be very wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it. ⁴In that day, says Jehovah, I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. ⁵And the chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Jehovah of hosts their God. ⁶In that day will I make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and they of Jerusalem shall yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem. ⁷Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah. ⁸In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them.

⁹And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. ¹⁰And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. ¹¹In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. ¹²And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; ¹³the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimei apart, and their wives apart; ¹⁴all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

13 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. ²And it shall come to pass in that day, says Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. ³And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, you shall not live; for you speak lies in the name of Jehovah; and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesies. ⁴And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he prophesies; neither shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive: ⁵but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth. ⁶And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds between your arms? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

⁷Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, says Jehovah of hosts: strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones. ⁸And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, says Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. ⁹And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God.

14 Behold, a day of Jehovah comes, when your plunder shall be divided in the midst of you. ²For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. ³Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. ⁴And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. ⁵And you shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel; yes, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and Jehovah my God shall come, and all the holy ones with you. ⁶And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be light; the bright ones shall withdraw themselves: ⁷but it shall be one day which is known unto Jehovah; not day, and not night; but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light.

⁸And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. ⁹And Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one. ¹⁰All the land shall be made like the plain, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she shall be lifted up, and shall dwell in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel unto the king’s wine-presses. ¹¹And men shall dwell therein, and there shall be no more curse; but Jerusalem shall dwell safely. ¹²And this shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will strike all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. ¹³And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great turmoil from Jehovah shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. ¹⁴And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. ¹⁵And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as that plague.