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The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

¹ Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,² "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I am ^ORD which loves holiness, hates sin, brings judgment upon sinners, and intervenes on behalf of His godly ones." Charles Feinberg, <i>God Remembers</i>.">(F1)jealous for Zion with ^(C1)great jealousy demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine, and I am jealous for her with great wrath against her enemies.'³ "Thus says the LORD, 'I shall return to Zion and will ^(C1)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful City of ^(C2)Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.'⁴ "Thus says the LORD of hosts, '^(C1)Old men and old women will again sit in the ^(F1)streets (public places) of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of his advanced age.⁵ 'And the streets of the city will be filled with ^(C1)boys and girls playing in its streets.'⁶ "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'If it is ^(C1)difficult in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days in which this comes to pass, will it also be ^(C2)difficult in My sight?' declares the LORD of hosts. ^(VR1)7 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, I am going to save My people from the ^(C1)east country and from the west, ^(VR1)8 and I will ^(C1)bring them home and they will ^(C2)live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be ^(C3)My people, and I will be their God in truth (faithfulness) and in righteousness.'

⁹ "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Let your hands be ^(C1)strong, you who in these days hear these words from the mouths of the ^(C2)prophets who, on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, foretold that the temple might be rebuilt.¹⁰ 'For before those days there were ^(C1)no wages for man or animal; nor was there any ^(C2)peace or success for him who went out or came in because of his enemies, for I ^(C3)set all men against one another.¹¹ 'But now in this time since you began to build I will ^(C1)not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' declares the LORD of hosts.¹² 'For there the seed will produce ^(C1)peace and prosperity; the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will produce its increase, and the heavens will give their ^(C2)dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit and possess ^(C3)all these things.¹³ 'And as you have been a ^(C1)curse among the nations, O house of Judah (Southern Kingdom) and house of Israel (Northern Kingdom), so I will save you, that you may be a ^(C2)blessing. Fear not; let your ^(C3)hands be strong.' ^(VR1)

¹⁴ "For thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Just as I ^(C1)planned to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and I did not ^(C2)relent,¹⁵ so I have again planned in these days to ^(C1)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ^(C2)Do not fear!¹⁶ 'These are the things which you should do: speak the ^(C1)truth with one another; ^(C2)judge with truth and pronounce the judgment that brings peace in the courts at your gates. ^(VR1)17 'And let none of you ^(C1)devise or even imagine evil in your heart against another, and do not love ^(C2)lying or half-truths; for all these things I ^(C3)hate,' declares the LORD."

¹⁸ Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me (Zechariah), saying,¹⁹ "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'The fast of the ^(C1)fourth month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem's walls, the fast of the ^(C2)fifth month to mourn the temple's destruction, the fast of the ^(C3)seventh month to mourn Gedaliah's assassination, and the fast of the ^(C4)tenth month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem will become times of ^(C5)joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so to bring this about ^(C6)love truth and peace.' ^(VR1)

²⁰ "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'It will come to pass that ^(C1)peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will come to Jerusalem.²¹ 'The inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, "Let us go at once to ^(C1)ask the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts. I will go also."²² 'So ^(C1)many peoples and powerful nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to ^(C2)ask the LORD for His favor.'²³ "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'In those days ten men as representatives from all the nations will ^(C1)grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"