A summons to conversion

1- 1 In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of Yahweh was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah,) son of Iddo, as follows. 3 Cru out to the remnant of this people and say to them, 'Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Return to me, and I will return to you, says Yahweh Sabaoth. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the prophets in the past cried: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Turn back from your evil ways ans evil deeds. But - it is Yahweh who speaks - they would not listen or pay attention to me. 5 Where are your ancestors now? Are those prophets still alive? 6 Did not my words and my orders, with which my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? 2 Yahweh was stirred to anger with your ancestors.'" 6 This reduced them to such confusion that they said, "Yahweh Sabaoth has treated us as he resolved to do, and as our ways and deeds deserved."

First vision: the horsemen

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat), in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah), son of Iddo, as follows, 8 "I saw a vision during the night. It was this: a man was standing among the deep-rooted myrtles; behind him were horses, red and sorrel and black and white. 9 I said: What are these, my lord? (And the angel who was talking to me said, 'I will explain to you what they are.') 10 The man standing among the myrtles answered, 'They are those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol throughout the world.' 11 They then spoke to the angel of Yahweh standing among the myrtles; they said, 'We have been patrolling the world, and see, the whole world is at peace and rest.' 12 The angel of Yahweh then spoke and said, 'Yahweh Sabaoth, how long will you wait for taking pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, on which you have inflicted your anger for the past seven years?' 13 Yahweh then replied with very consoling words to the angel who was talking to me. 14 The angel who was talking to me then said to me, 'Make this proclamation: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: I feel most jealous love for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 but very bitter anger against the proud nations; for my part I was only a little angry, but they have overstepped all limits. 16 Yahweh, then, says this. I turn again in compassion to Jerusalem; my Temple there shall be rebuilt - it is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks - and the measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem. 17 Make this proclamation too: Yahweh Sabaoth says this; My cities are once more going to be very prosperous. Yahweh will again take pity on Zion, again make Jerusalem his very own.'"

Second vision: the horns and the smiths

2- 1 Then raising my eyes, I saw a vision. It was this: there were four horns. 2 I said to the angel who was talking to me, "What are these horns, my lord?" He said to me, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah (Israel) and Jerusalem." 3 Yahweh then showed me four smiths. 4 And I said, "What are these coming to do?" He said to me, "(Those are the horns which have scattered Judah that no one has dared to raise his head; but) these have come to lay them low (to strike down the horns of the nations who lifted their hands against the land of Judah, in order to scatter it)."

Third vision: the measurer

5 Then, raising my eyes, I saw a vision. It was this: there was a young man a measuring line in hand. 6 I asked him, "Where are you going?" He said, "To measure Jerusalem, to find out her breadth and her length." 7 And then, while the angel who was talking to me stood still, another angel came forward to meet him. 8 He said to me, "Run, and tell the young man this, 'Jerusalem is to remain unwalled, because of the great number of men and cattle there will be in her. 9 But I - it is Yahweh who speaks - I will be a wall of fire for her all around her, and I will be her glory in the midst of her.'"

Two exhortations to the exiles

10 Up, up, and leave the land of the North (it is Yahweh who speaks)!

(For the four winds of heaven

I have scattered you - it is Yahweh who speaks.)

11 Zion, up! Dweller in Babylon, flee!

12 For Yahweh Sabaoth says this

(The whose glory has sent me here)

as regards the nations who despoiled you

(For whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye);

13 See now, I raise my hand over them,

for them to be plunder for their slaves.

(And you will know that Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me.)

14 Sing, rejoice,

daughter of Zion;

for I am coming

to dwell in the middle of you

- it is Yahweh who speaks.

15 Many nations will join Yahweh,

on that day;

they will become his people.

(But he will remain among you,

and you will know that Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me to you.)

16 But Yahweh will hold Judah

as his portion in the Holy Land,

and again make Jerusalem his very own.

17 Let all mankind be silent before Yahweh!

For he is awaking and is coming from his holy dwelling.

Fourth vision: the investiture of Joshua

3- 1 He showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of Yahweh, with Satan standing on his right to accuse him. 2 The angel of Yahweh said to Satan, "May Yahweh rebuke you, Satan, may Yahweh rebuke you, he who has made Jerusalem his very own. Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?: 3 Now Joshua was dressed in dirty clothes as he stood before the angel of Yahweh. 4 The angel said these words to those who stood before him, "Take off his dirty clothes and clothe him in splendid robes of state, 5 and put a clean turban on his head." They clothed him in splendid robes of state and put a clean turban on his head." The angel of Yahweh was standing there and said to him, "Look, I have taken away your iniquity from you." 6 The angel of Yahweh then proclaimed to Joshua: 7 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this, 'If you walk in my very ways and keep my ordinances, you shall govern my house, you shall watch over my courts, and I will give you free access among those who stand here. 9 For this is the stone which I am placing before Joshua; on this single stone there are seven eyes; and I myself intend to cut the inscription on it - it is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks.

The coming of the "Branch"

8 'Now listen, High Priest Joshua, you and the friends who sit before you - for you are men of good omen. I now mean to raise my servant Branch, 9 and I intend to put aside the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 On that day - it is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks - you will entertain each other under your vine and fig tree.'"

Fifth vision: the lampstand and the olive trees

4- 1 The angel who was talking to me came back and roused me as a man is roused from his sleep. 2 And he ask me, "What can you see?" I answered, "As I look, this is what I see: there is a lampstand entirely of gold with a bowl at the top of t; seven lamps are on the lampstand, and seven lips for the lamps on it. 3 By it are two olive trees, one on the right of it and one to the left." 4 Speaking again, I said to the angel who was talking to me, "What do those things mean, my lord?" 5 The angel who was talking to me replied, "Do you not know what these things mean?" I said, "No, my lord." 6 He then give me this answer, 10 "These are the seven eyes of Yahweh; they cover the whole world." 11 In reply to this I asked him, "What is the meaning of these two olive trees, to the right and to the left of the lampstand?" 12 (Speaking again, I asked him, "What is the meaning of the two olive branches pouring the oil through the two golden pipes?" 13 He replied, "Do you not know what these things mean?" I said, "No, my lord." He said, "These are the two anointed ones who stands before the Lord of the whole world.

Three sayings about Zerubbabel

6 "This is the word of Yahweh with regards to Zerubbabel, 'Not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says Yahweh Sabaoth.

7 'What are you, you great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, be a plain! He will pull out the keystone to shots of: Blessings on it, blessings on it!'"

8 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, 9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this Temple; his hands will finish it. (And you will learn that Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me to you.) 10 A day for little things, no doubt, but who would dare despise it? People will rejoice when they see the chosen stone in the hands of Zerubbabel."

Sixth vision: the flying scroll

5- 1 Again I raised my eyes, and this is what I saw: a flying scroll. 2 The angel who was talking to me said, "What can you see?" I replied, "I can see a flying scroll; it is twenty cubits long and ten cubits broad." 3 He then said to me, "This is the Curse sweeping across the face of the whole country. According to what it says, every thief will be banished; according to what it says, everyone who swears falsely by my name will be banished. 4 I am going to let it loose - it is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks - to enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name, to settle in his house and to consume it, timber, stone and all."

Seventh vision: the woman in the bushel

5 The angel who was talking to me came forward and said to me, "Raise your eyes, and see what this is, moving forward." 6 I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is a bushel moving forward." He went on, "This is their iniquity throughout the country." 7 At this, a disc of lead was raised, and I saw a Woman sitting inside the bushel. 8 He said, "This is wickedness." And he forced her back into the bushel and closed its mouth with the mass of lead. 9 I raised my eyes, and this is what I saw: two women appearing. The wind caught their wings - they had wings like a stork's; they raised the bushel midway between earth and heaven. 10 I then said to the angel who was talking to me, "Where are they taking the bushel?" 11 He replied, "They mean to build a temple for tit in the land of Shinar, and to make a plinth on which to place it."

Eighth vision: the chariots

6- 1 Again I raised my eyes, and this is what I saw: four chariots coming out between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot had black horses, 3 the third chariot had white horses and the fourth had (vigorous) piebald horses. 4 "What is the meaning of these, my lord?" 5 The angel answered, "These are going out to the four winds of heaven after standing before the Lord of the whole world. 6 The red horses are going out to the country of the East; the black horses are going out to the country of the North; the white are going out to the country of the West and the piebald are going out to the country of the South." 7 They came out vigorously, eager to patrol the world. He said to them, "Go and patrol the world." And they patrolled the world. 8 He called me and said to me, "See, those going northward will make the spirit of Yahweh descend on the country of the North. 15 And those who are far away will come and rebuild the sanctuary of Yahweh. (And you will learn that Yahweh Sabaoth has sent me to you.) (This will happen if you listen carefully to the voice of Yahweh your God.)"

The votive crown

9 And the word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, 10 "Take the offerings of the captive, of Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, and go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah, who has arrived from Babylon. 11 Take the silver and gold, make a crown and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say this to him, 'Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Here is a man whose name is Branch; where he is, there will be a branching out (and he will rebuild the sanctuary of Yahweh). 13 It is he who is going to rebuild the sanctuary of Yahweh. It is he who is going to wear the royal insignia. He will sit on his throne as ruler. And a priest shall be at his right hand. Perfect peace will reign between these two; 14 while the crown will be a glorious memorial to Heldai, Tobujah and Jedaiah, and to Josiah, son of Zephaniah, i the sanctuary of Yahweh.'"

A question on fasting

7- 1 In the fourth year of King Darius (the word of Yahweh was addressed to Zechariah), on the fourth day of the ninth month (the month of Chilev), 2 Bethel sent Sharezer and his men to entreat the favour of Yahweh 3 and to say to the priests in the Temple of Yahweh Sabaoth, and to his prophets, "Ought I to go on mourning and fasting in the fifth month as I have been doing for so many years past?"

The nation's past surveyed

4 Then the word of Yahweh Sabaoth was addressed to me as follows, 5 "Say to all the people of the country, and to the priests, 'While you have been fasting and mourning in the fifth and seventh months for the past seven years, was it for my sake you fasted so rigorously? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were not you the eaters and you the drinkers? 7 Do you not know the words which Yahweh proclaimed through the prophets in the past, when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure, with her surrounding towns, and when the Negeb and the Lowlands were inhabited? (8 The word of Yahweh was addressed to Zechariah as follows: 9 Yahweh Sabaoth says this.) He said: Apply the law fairly, and practice kindness and compassion toward each other. 10 Do not oppress the widow and the orphan, the settler and the poor man, and do not secretly plan evil against one another. 11 But they would not pay attention; they turned a petulant shoulder; they stopped their ears rather than hear; 12 they made their hearts adamant rather than listen to the teaching and the words that Yahweh Sabaoth had sent by his spirit through the prophets in the past. This aroused great anger on the part of Yahweh Sabaoth. 13 And this is what happened, since he kept calling them and they would not listen (similarly they will call and I shall not listen, says Yahweh Sabaoth): 14 he scattered them throughout nations unknown to them; hence the country was reduced to desolation behind them, and no one came or went. Hey turned a land of delights into a desert.'"

A prospect of messianic salvation

8- 1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows:

2 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this.

I am burning with jealousy for Zion,

with great anger for her sake.

3 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this.

I am coming back to Zion

and shall dwell in the middle of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem will be called Faithful City

and the mountain of Yahweh Sabaoth, the Holy Mountain.

4 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this.

Old men and old women will again sit down

in the squares of Jerusalem;

every one of them staff in hand

because of their great age.

5 And the squares of the city will be full

of boys and girls

playing in the squares.

6 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this.

If this seems a miracle

to the remnant of this people (in those days),

will it seem one to me?

7 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this.

Now I am going to save my people

from the countries of the East

and from the countries of the West.

8 I will bring them back

to live inside Jerusalem.

They shall be my people

and I will be their God

in faithfulness and integrity.

9 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this. Let your hands be strong, you who here and now listen to these words from the mouths of the prophets who have been prophesying since the day when the Temple of Yahweh Sabaoth, had its foundation laid for the rebuilding of the sanctuary. 10 For before the present day men were not paid their wages and nothing was paid for the animals either; and because of the enemy there was no security for a man to go about his business; I had set every man against everyone else. 11 But now, with the remnant of this people, I am not as I was in the past. It is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks. 12 For I mean to spread peace everywhere; he vine will give its fruit, the earth its increase, and heaven its dew. I am going to bestow all these blessings on the remnant of this people. 13 Just as once you were a curse among the nations, you House of Judah (and House of Israel), so I mean to save you for you to become a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.

14 For Yahweh Sabaoth says this. Just as I once resolved to inflict evil on you when your ancestors provoked me - says Yahweh Sabaoth - and as I did not then relent, 15 so now I have another purpose, and I intend in the present day to confer benefits on Jerusalem and on the House of Judah. Do not be afraid.

16 "These are the things you must do. Speak the truth to one another; let the judgments at your gates be such as conduce to peace; 17 do not secretly plot evil against one another; do not love false oaths; since all this is what I hate. It is Yahweh who speaks."

The answer to the question on fasting

18 The word of Yahweh Sabaoth was addressed to me as follows:

19 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this. The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth are to become gladness and happiness and days of joyful feasting for the House of Judah. But love the truth and peace!

A prospect of Messianic salvation

20 "Yahweh Sabaoth says this. There will be other peoples yet, and citizens of great cities. 21 And the inhabitants of one city will go to the next and say, 'Come, let us go and entreat the favour of Yahweh, and seek Yahweh Sabaoth; I am going myself.' 22 And many peoples and great nations will come to seek Yahweh Sabaoth in Jerusalem and to entreat the favour of Yahweh.

23 Yahweh Sabaoth says this. In those days, ten men of nations of every language will take a Jew by the sleeve and say, 'We want to go with you, since we have learned that God is with you.'"

9- 1 An oracle.

The new promised land

Yahweh has passed

through the land of Hadrach

and Damascus is his dwelling place;

for the cities of Aram belong to Yahweh

no less than all the tribes of Israel;

2 Hamath too, which borders on it,

(Tyre) and Sidon also, despite her acumen.

3 Tyre has built herself a rampart,

has heaped up silver like dust

and gold like the dirt of the streets.

4 And now the Lord is going to take possession of her;

he will topple her power into the sea;

she herself will be consumed by fire.

5 Seeing this, Ashkelon will be terrified,

and Gaza be seized with trembling,

so will Ekron, at the ruin of her prospects;

the king will vanish from Gaza

and Ashkelon remain unpeopled,

6 but the bastard will live in Ashdod!

I mean to destroy the arrogance of the Philistines;

7 I intend to take his blood out f his mouth

and his abomination from between his teeth.

He too will become a remnant for our God

and be like a family in Judah:

Ekron shall be like the Jebusite.

8 Near my house I will take my stand

like a watchman on guard against prowlers;

the tyrant shall pass their way no more,

because I have now taken notice of its distress.

The messiah

9 Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion!

Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem!

See now, you king comes to you;

he is victorious, he is triumphant,

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 He will banish chariots from Ephraim

and horses from Jerusalem;

the bow of war will be banished.

He will proclaim peace for the nations.

His empire shall stretch from sea to sea,

from the River to the ends of the earth.

The restoration of Israel

11 As for you, because of the blood of your covenant

I am sending back your prisoners from the pit

(In which there is no water).

12 To you, daughter of Zion,

the hopeful captives will return.

In compensation for your days of banishment

I will give you back double.

13 For I bend my bow; it is Judah;

I make Ephraim its arrow.

I am going to brandish your children, Zion,

(Against your children, Javan);

I mean to make you like the sword of a hero.

14 Yahweh will appear above them

and the arrow will flash out like lightning.

(The Lord) Yahweh will sound the trumpet

and advance in the storms of the south.

15 Yahweh (Sabaoth) will protect them!

They will trample sling stones underfoot,

they will drink blood like wine,

they will be soaked in it like the horns of an altar.

16 Yahweh their God will give them victory

when that day comes;

(Like the flashing jewels of a diadem)

On his head.

17 What joy and what beauty shall be theirs!

Corn will make the young men flourish,

and sweet wine the maidens.

Faithfulness to Yahweh

10- 1 Ask Yahweh for rain

at the time of the spring rains.

For it is Yahweh who sends the lightning

and gives the showers of rain;

he gives bread to man,

and grass to the cattle.

2 Because the teraphim utter futile words

and the diviners have lying visions

and publish empty dreams

and voice misleading nonsense,

naturally the people stray like sheep;

they wander because they have no shepherd.

Israel's deliverance and return

3 "My anger burns against the shepherds,

and I mean to punish the he-goats."

Yes, Yahweh (Sabaoth) will take care of his flock

(The House of Judah),

he will make it his proud steed (in battle).

4 From him will issue Cornerstone and Tent peg,

from him the Bow of battle,

from him all the Leaders

5 Together they will be like heroes

trampling the dirt of the streets (in battle);

they will fight, since Yahweh is with them,

and the riders of horses will be thrown into confusion.

6 And I will make the House of Judah mighty,

and the House of Joseph victorious.

I am going to restore them, because I have taken pity on them,

and they shall be as though I had never cast them off

(For I am Yahweh their God and I mean to answer their prayer).

7 Ephraim will be like a hero.

Their hearts will be cheered as though by wine.

Their sons will look on this in gladness,

their hearts will exult in Yahweh.

8 I am going to whistle to them and gather them in

(For I have redeemed them);

they will be as numerous as they used to be.

9 I have scattered them among the peoples

but from far away they will remember me

(They will teach their sons, and those will return).

10 I mean to bring them back from the land of Egypt,

and gather them from Assyria;

I shall lead them into the land of Gilead (and Lebanon),

and even that will not be large enough for them.

11 They will pass through the sea of Egypt

(And he will strike the waves on the sea);

all the depths of the Nile will be dried up.

The arrogance of Assyria will be cast down

and the sceptre of Egypt be taken away.

12 Their strength will be in Yahweh;

in his name they will glory;

it is Yahweh who speaks.

11- 1 Open your gateways, Lebanon,

and let the fire burn down your cedars.

2 (Wail, cypress,

for felled is the cedar,

the mighty ones have been brought low!)

Wail, oaks of Bashan,

for the impenetrable forest has been felled!

3 the thickets of the Jordan have been laid waste.

The two shepherds

4 This is how Yahweh spoke to me, "Pasture the sheep bred for slaughter, 5 whose buyers kill them and go unpunished, whose sellers say to them, 'Blessed be Yahweh; now I am rich!' And their shepherds handle them without kindness. 6 (For no longer am I going to show kindness to the inhabitants of the world - it is Yahweh who speaks. But instead I mean to hand over every man to the next, and to his king. They shall devastate the world and I will not deliver them from their hands.)" 7 Then I began to pasture these sheep bred for slaughter for the sheep dealers. I took two staves: one is called Goodwill, the other Union. And so I began to pasture the sheep. 8 I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. But I began to dislike the sheep, and they equally detested me. 9 I then said, "I am going to pasture you no longer; let those that wish to die, die; let those that wish to perish, perish; and let those that are left devour each other's flesh!" 10 I then took my staff, Goodwill, and broke it i half, to brake the covenant Yahweh had made with al the peoples. 11 When it was broken, that day the dealers, who were watching me, realized that this had been a word of Yahweh. 12 I then said to them, "If you think it right, give me my wages; if not never mind." And they weighed out my wages: thirty shekels of silver. 13 But Yahweh told me, "Throw it into the treasury, this princely sum at which they have valued me." Taking the thirty shekels of silver, I threw them in the Temple of Yahweh, into the treasury. 14 I then broke my second staff, Union, in half, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 Next, Yahweh said to me, "Now take the gear of an incompetent shepherd. 16 For I am now going to raise an incompetent shepherd in the country. He will not bother about the lost; he will not look for the stray; he will not heal the wounded: he will not support the weary; but he will only eat the flesh of the fat beasts and tear off their hoofs.

17 "Trouble is coming to the worthless shepherd

who deserts the flock!

May the sword strike his arm

and his right eye!

May his arm wither entirely,

may his eye be totally blinded!"

The deliverance and restoration of Jerusalem

12- 1 An oracle. The word of Yahweh about Israel. It is Yahweh who speaks, who spread out the heaven and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him:

2 "Look, I am going to make Jerusalem an intoxicating cup to all the surrounding peoples . . .

3 "When that day comes, I mean to make Jerusalem a stone to be lifted by all the peoples; all who try to lift it will hurt themselves severely. (And all the nations of the earth will mass against her.) 4 When that day comes - it is Yahweh who speaks - I intend to strike all the horses with confusion and their riders with madness. (But on the House of Judah I will open my eyes.) And I will strike all the horses of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, "Strength for the citizens of Jerusalem is in Yahweh Sabaoth their God.' 6 When that day comes I mean to make the clans of Judah like a brazier burning in a pile of wood, like a flaming torch in stubble; and they will consume the peoples around them to right and left. And Jerusalem shall stand firm in place. 7 Yahweh will save the tents of Judah first to forestall the arrogance of the House of David and the arrogance of the citizens of Jerusalem from rising to the detriment of Judah. 8 When that day comes, Yahweh will spread his protection over the citizens of Jerusalem; the one among them who was about to fall will be like David on that day, and the House of David will be like God (like the angel of Yahweh) at their head.

9 "When that day comes, I shall set myself to destroy all the nations who advance against Jerusalem. 10 But over the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem I will pour out a spirit of kindness and prayer. They will look on the one whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him as for an only son, and weep for him as people weep for a first-born child. 11 When that day comes, there will be great mourning in Judah, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 And the country will mourn clan by clan; the clan of the House of David apart, with their wives by themselves; the clan of 13 the clan of the House of Nathan apart, with their wives by themselves; the clan of the House of Levi apart, with their wives by themselves; the clan of Shimei apart, with their wives by themselves. 14 All the clans that remain, clan by clan, with their wives by themselves. 13- 1 When that day comes, a fountain will be opened for the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem, for sin and impurity.

2 "When that day comes - it is Yahweh (Sabaoth) who speaks - I am going to mentioned again; and I will also rid the country of the prophets, and of the spirit of impurity. 3 If anyone still want to prophesy, his father and the mother who gave him birth shall say to him, 'You have no right to live, since you utter lies in the name of Yahweh.' And while he is prophesying, his father and the mother who ave him birth shall run him through. 4 When that day comes, every prophet shall be ashamed of his prophetic vision; they will no longer put on their hair cloaks to utter lies, 5 but they will all say, 'I am no prophet, I am a peasant; the land has been my living ever since I was a boy.' 6 And if anyone asks him, 'Then what are these wounds on your body?' He will reply, 'These I received in the house of my friends,'

Invocation to the sword: the new people

7 "Awake, sword, against my shepherd

and against the man who is my companion -

it is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks.

I am going to strike the shepherd

so that the sheep may be scattered,

and I will turn my hand against the weak.

8 And it will happen throughout the territory -

it is Yahweh who speaks -

that two thirds in it will be cut off ("will be killed")

And the remaining third will be left.

9 I will lead that third into the fire,

and refine them as silver is refined,

test them as gold is tested.

They will call on my name

and I shall listen;

and I shall say: These are my people;

and each will say, 'Yahweh is my God!'"

The eschatological battle; the splendour of Jerusalem

14- 1 See, a day is coming for Yahweh when the spoils taken from you will be divided among you. 2 Yahweh will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle. The city will be taken, the houses plundered, the women ravished. Half the city will go into captivity, but the remnant of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then Yahweh will take the field; he will fight against these nations as he fight in the day of battle. 4 On that day, his feet will rest on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem from the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge gorge; half the Mount will recede northward, the other half southward. 5 And the Vale of Hinnom will be filled up from Goah to Jasol; it will be blocked as it was by the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yahweh your God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

6 When that day comes, there will be no more cold, no more frost. 7 It will be a day of wonder - Yahweh knows it - with no alteration of day and night; in the evening it will be light. 8 When that day comes, running waters will issue from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea, half of them to the western sea; they will flow summer and winter. 9 And Yahweh will be king of the whole world. When that day comes, Yahweh will be unique and his name unique. 10 The entire country will be transformed into plain, from Geba to Rimmon in the Negeb. And Jerusalem will be raised higher, though still in the same place; from the gate of Benjamin to the site of the First Gate, that is to say to the Gate of the Corner and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepress, people will make their homes. 11 The ban will be lifted; Jerusalem will be safe to live in.

12 And this is the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the nations who have fought against Jerusalem; their flesh will moulder while they are still standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets; their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And such will be the plague on the horses and mules, camels and donkeys, and all the animals to be found in that camp. 14 When that day comes, a great terror will fall on them from Yahweh; each man will grab his neighbour's hand and they will hit out at each other. 15 Even Judah will fight against Jerusalem. The wealth of the surrounding nations will be heaped together: gold, silver clothing, in vast quantity.

16 All who survive of all the nations that have marched against Jerusalem will go up year by year to worship the King, Yahweh Sabaoth, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles. 17 Should one of the races of the world fail to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh Sabaoth, there will be no rain for that one. 18 Should the race of Egypt fail to go up and pay its visit, on it will fall the plague which Yahweh will inflict on each one of those nations that fail to go up to keep the feast of Tabernacles. 19 Such shall be the punishment for Egypt and for all the nations that fail to go up to keep the feast of Tabernacles. 20 When that day comes, the horses bells will be inscribed with the words, "Sacred to Yahweh," and in the Temple of Yahweh the very cooking pots will be as fine as the sprinkling bowls at the altar. 21 And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall become sacred to Yahweh Sabaoth; all who want to offer sacrifice will come and help themselves from them for their cooking; there will be no more traders in the Temple of Yahweh Sabaoth, when that day comes.