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The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

¹ Then the word of the LORD of armies came, saying,² "The LORD of armies says this: 'I am ^(C1)exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.'³ "The LORD says this: 'I will return to Zion and ^(C1)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of ^(C2)Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of armies will be called the Holy Mountain.'⁴ "The LORD of armies says this: '^(C1)Old men and old women will again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each person with his staff in his hand because of ^(F1)age.⁵ 'And the public squares of the city will be filled with ^(C1)boys and girls playing in its squares.'⁶ "The LORD of armies says this: 'If it is ^(C1)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be ^(C2)too difficult in My sight?' declares the LORD of armies.⁷ "The LORD of armies says this: 'Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the ^(F1)(C1)east and from the land of the ^(F2)west;⁸ and I will ^(C1)bring them back and they will ^(C2)live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be ^(C3)My people, and I will be their God in ^(F1)truth and righteousness.'

⁹ "The LORD of armies says this: 'Let your hands be ^(C1)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the ^(C2)prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of armies was laid, so that the temple might be built.¹⁰ 'For before those days there was ^(C1)no wage for man nor any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no ^(F1)(C2)peace because of ^(F2)his enemies, and I ^(C3)sent all the people against one another.¹¹ 'But now I will ^(C1)not ^(F1)treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' declares the LORD of armies.¹² 'For there will be ^(C1)the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their ^(C2)dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people ^(C3)all these things as an inheritance.¹³ 'And it will come about that just as you were a ^(C1)curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a ^(C2)blessing. Do not fear; let your ^(C3)hands be strong.'

¹⁴ "For this is what the LORD of armies says: 'Just as I ^(C1)determined to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,' says the LORD of armies, 'and I have not ^(C2)relented,¹⁵ so I have again determined 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 shall do: speak the ^(C1)truth to one another; ^(C2)judge with truth and judgment for peace at your ^(F1)gates.¹⁷ 'Also let none of you ^(C1)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love ^(F1)(C2)perjury; for all these things are what I ^(C3)hate,' declares the LORD."

¹⁸ Then the word of the LORD of armies came to me, saying,¹⁹ "The LORD of armies says this: 'The fast of the ^(C1)fourth, the fast of the ^(C2)fifth, the fast of the ^(C3)seventh, and the fast of the ^(C4)tenth months will become ^(C5)joy, jubilation, and ^(F1)cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so ^(C6)love truth and peace.'

²⁰ "The LORD of armies says this: 'It will yet turn out that ^(C1)peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities.²¹ 'The inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, "Let's go at once to ^(C1)plead for the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of armies; ^(F1)I also will go."²² 'So ^(C1)many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of armies in Jerusalem, and to ^(C2)plead for the favor of the LORD.'²³ "The LORD of armies says this: 'In those days ten people from all the ^(F1)nations will ^(F2)(C1)grasp the ^(F3)garment of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"