and the cities around her and the hilly country and the plain 8 were inhabited? Then there was a word of the Lord to Zacha9 rias, saying, Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Execute just 10 judgment and shew mercy and compassion one to another; and oppress not the widow, nor the orphan, nor the stranger, nor the poor; and let none treasure up in his heart for evil an injury 11 done by his brother; but they refused to attend and turned back contemptuously; and stopped their ears that they might 12 not hear; and made their heart disobedient that they might not hearken to my law; therefore (according to the words which the Lord Almighty by his spirit sent by the ministry of the former prophets) there was great wrath from the Lord 13 Almighty; that it might come to pass as he said, "As they hearkened not, so they shall cry and I will not listen, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will cast them out into all the nations which they knew not; and the land behind them shall be a desolation, without a traveller and without a sojourner." VIII. Now a word of the Lord Almighty is come saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord Almighty, I have had a great jealousy of Jerusalem and Sion, and with great wrath I have been jealous 3 of her. But thus saith the Lord, I will return to Sion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord Almighty, 4 a holy mountain. Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Again old men and matrons shall sit in the streets of Jerusalem, every 5 one with his staff in his hand, for multitude of days; and the streets of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in 6 her streets. Thus saith the Lord Almighty, If this shall appear impossible in the view of the remnant of this people in these days; shall it also be impossible in my view, saith the 7 Lord Almighty? Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Behold I will save my people from the land of the east and from the 8 land of the west. And I will gather them and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness. 9 Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Let your hands be strong, ye who in these days hear these words from the mouth of the prophets, from the day the foundation of the house of the Lord Almighty was laid and during the time the temple hath been a 9 ing, Behold they who went to the land of the north have appeased my wrath in the land of the north. Then a word of the Lord came to me; saying, Take the 10 gifts of the captivity [which are coming] from their chiefs and from those who have been kind to the captives and from those who have taken notice of them; and on that same day thou shalt go to the house of Josias son of Sophonias who is com11 ing from Babylon: and thou shalt take silver and gold and make crowns and put one on the head of Jesus the son of Jo12 sedek the high priest and say to him, Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Behold a man! his name is Anatole [Day-spring] underneath him he shall spring up. And he shall build the 13 house of the Lord. And he shall take authority and sit and rule on his throne; and there shall be a priest on his right hand; 14 and there shall be a counsel of peace between both. And the crown shall be for them who wait, and for them who have been kind to the captives, and for them who have taken notice of them, as a token of the gratitude of the son of Sophonias, and 15 as a psalm in the house of the Lord. And they who are far from them shall come and dwell in the house of the Lord; and you shall know, (since the Lord Almighty hath sent me to you,) that this indeed will come to pass, if you will hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord your God. VII. III. AND it came to pass in the fourth year of Da rius the king, that a word of the Lord came to Zacharias on 2 the fourth of the ninth month which is Chaseleu. When the king and his men sent Sarasar and Arbeseer to Baithel to conS ciliate the favour of the Lord, saying to the priests who were at the house of the Lord Almighty, and saying to the prophets, 4 The dedication came hither in the fifth month as it hath done 5 now for many years. Then a word of the Lord of hosts came to me saying, Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, Though you fasted and mourned in the fifth ✪ and seventh months, lo! for seventy years; did you keep a fast for me? And though you ate and drank; did you not eat and 7 drink for yourselves? Were not these the words which the Lord spake by the ministry of the prophets who were in former times when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities around her and the hilly country and the plain 8 were inhabited? Then there was a word of the Lord to Zacha9 rias, saying, Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Execute just 10 judgment and shew mercy and compassion one to another; and oppress not the widow, nor the orphan, nor the stranger, nor the poor; and let none treasure up in his heart for evil an injury 11 done by his brother; but they refused to attend and turned back contemptuously; and stopped their ears that they might 12 not hear; and made their heart disobedient that they might not hearken to my law; therefore (according to the words which the Lord Almighty by his spirit sent by the ministry of the former prophets) there was great wrath from the Lord 13 Almighty; that it might come to pass as he said, "As they hearkened not, so they shall cry and I will not listen, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will cast them out into all the nations which they knew not; and the land behind them shall be a desolation, without a traveller and without a sojourner.” VIII Now a word of the Lord Almighty is come saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord Almighty, I have had a great jealousy of Jerusalem and Sion, and with great wrath I have been jealous 3 of her. But thus saith the Lord, I will return to Sion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord Almighty, 4 a holy mountain. Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Again old men and matrons shall sit in the streets of Jerusalem, every 5 one with his staff in his hand, for multitude of days; and the streets of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in 6 her streets. Thus saith the Lord Almighty, If this shall appear impossible in the view of the remnant of this people in these days; shall it also be impossible in my view, saith the 7 Lord Almighty? Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Behold I will save my people from the land of the east and from the 8 land of the west. And I will gather them and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness. 9 Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Let your hands be strong, ye who in these days hear these words from the mouth of the prophets, from the day the foundation of the house of the Lord Almighty was laid and during the time the temple hath been a VOL. II. 3 H ! 10 building. For before those days, the earnings of the mencould be of no avail, and the earnings of the cattle could not be lasting; nor could there be any security from affliction to him who went out or to him who came in. For I set all the men every 11 one against his neighbour. But I will not now deal with the remnant of this people, as in the former days, saith the Lord 12 Almighty: but will shew peace. Their vine shall yield its fruit. And the earth shall yield its products; and the heaven shall shed its dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit 13 all these things. And it shall come to pass, that as you, the house of Juda and the house of Israel, were for a curse among the nations; so I will save you, and you shall be for a blessing. 14: Be of good courage and let your hands be strong, for thus saith the Lord Almighty, In the same manner as I thought of afflicting you, when your fathers provoked me, saith the Lord 15. Almighty and I relented not; so I have determined and have my mind bent, in these days, on prospering Jerusalem and the house of Juda. Be of good courage. These are the things 16 which ye shall do Speak truth every one to his neighbour; administer the judgment of truth and peace in your gates; and 17 devise not evil in your hearts every one against his neighbour; and love not a false oath: for all these things I hate, saith the Lord Almighty. 18 Then a word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord Almighty, The fourth fast, and the fifth 19 fast, and the seventh fast, and the tenth fast shall be to the house of Juda for joy and gladness and for cheerful festivals, and ye 20 shall rejoice. Therefore love truth and peace. Thus saith the Lord Almighty, There shall yet come many peoples; and the 21 inhabitants of many cities-even the inhabitants of five cities shall come together to one city, saying, Let us go to pray before the Lord and to seek the face of the Lord Almighty. I am 22 going. So many peoples and many nations will come to seek the face of the Lord Almighty at Jerusalem, and to conciliate 23 the favour of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord Almighty, If in those days ten men of all the tongues of the nations take hold, they must take hold of the skirt of a Jew, saying, We will go with thee, for we have heard that God is with you. IX. 2 IV. *A BURDEN of the word of the Lord. In the land of Sedrach and Damascus is his sacrifice, because the Lord hath an eye over men, particularly over all the tribes of Israel: in Hemath also-in the borders thereof. As for Tyre and Sidon, because they were very prudent, 3 therefore Tyre built for herself bulwarks, and treasured up sil4 ver like dust, and collected gold like dirt in the highways; but on account of this the Lord will take possession of them, and he will smite her power into the sea; and she shall be consumed 5 by fire. Ascalon shall see and be terrified; so shall Gaza, and be exceedingly pained: Akkaron also; because at her fall she was confounded. And a king shall perish out of Gaza; and Asca6 lon shall no more be inhabited. And strangers shall dwell in 7 Azotus. And I will destroy the pride of the Philistines, and take away their blood out of their mouths, and their abominations from between their teeth. But they themselves shall be left for our God and shall be like a captain of a thousand 8 in Juda; and Akkaron shall be like a Jebusite. And I will station for my house a guard not to be passed nor repassed. And the plunderer shall no more come against them; for now I have seen with mine own eyes. 9 Rejoice exceedingly, O daughter of Sion! Make proclamation, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy king is coming for thee. He is righteous and a saviour. He is meek and mount10 ed on an ass, even a young colt. He will destroy chariots out of Ephraim and horses out of Jerusalem: and the battle bow shall be destroyed. And there shall be a multitude and peace from the nations; and he shall rule over waters to the sea, 11 and over rivers to the ends of the earth. As for thee, thou by the blood of thy covenant hast sent forth thy prisoners out of a pit 12 which hath no water. You the prisoners of the congregation shall be placed in strong holds, and for thy one day's sojourn13 ing I will make thee twofold compensation. For I have bent thee Juda, a bow for myself and filled it with Ephraim; and I will raise up thy sons, O Sion, against the sons of Greece, and 14 I will handle thee as the sword of a warrior. Let but the Lord be against them and he will dart out like a thunderbolt. The Lord Almighty will sound a trumpet, and march in the bil * See the note at the close of this volume. |