Zephaniah
Woe to Oppressive Jerusalem
3
Woe to the city that is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressive city!
2
She has not obeyed;
she has not accepted discipline.
She has not trusted in
•Yahweh
;
she has not drawn near to her God.
3
The princes within her are roaring lions;
her judges are wolves of the night,
which leave nothing for the morning.
4
Her prophets are reckless —
treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary;
they do violence to instruction.
5
The righteous
Lord
is in her;
He does no wrong.
He applies His justice morning by morning;
He does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.
6
I have cut off nations;
their corner towers are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.
7
I thought: You will certainly
•fear
Me
and accept correction.
Then her dwelling place
would not be cut off
based on all that I had allocated to her.
However, they became more corrupt
in all their actions.
8
Therefore, wait for Me —
this is the
Lord
's declaration —
until the day I rise up for plunder.
For My decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
in order to pour out My indignation on them,
all My burning anger;
for the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of My jealousy.
Final Restoration Promised
9
For I will then restore
pure speech to the peoples
so that all of them may call
on the name of Yahweh
and serve Him with a single purpose.
10
From beyond the rivers of
•Cush
My supplicants, My dispersed people,
will bring an offering to Me.
11
On that day you will not be put to shame
because of everything you have done
in rebelling against Me.
For then I will remove
your proud, arrogant people from among you,
and you will never again be haughty
on My holy mountain.
12
I will leave
a meek and humble people among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of Yahweh.
13
The remnant of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
But they will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.
14
Sing for joy, Daughter
•Zion
;
shout loudly, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15
The
Lord
has removed your punishment;
He has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
16
On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.
17
Yahweh your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will bring you quietness with His love.
He will delight in you with shouts of joy.”
18
I will gather those who have been driven
from the appointed festivals;
they will be a tribute from you
and a reproach on her.
19
Yes, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you.
I will save the lame and gather the scattered;
I will make those who were disgraced
throughout the earth
receive praise and fame.
20
At that time I will bring you back,
yes, at the time I will gather you.
I will give you fame and praise
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes.
Yahweh has spoken.
Haggai
Haggai
Command to Rebuild the Temple
1
In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the
Lord
came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2
“The
Lord
of
•Hosts
says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the
Lord
to be rebuilt.”
3
The word of the
Lord
came through Haggai the prophet:
4
“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? ”
5
Now, the
Lord
of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about your ways:
6
You have planted much
but harvested little.
You eat
but never have enough to be satisfied.
You drink
but never have enough to become drunk.
You put on clothes
but never have enough to get warm.
The wage earner puts his wages
into a bag with a hole in it.”
7
The
Lord
of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about your ways.
8
Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the
Lord
.
9
“You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it. Why? ” This is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts. “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.
10
So on your account,
the skies have withheld the dew
and the land its crops.
11
I have summoned a drought
on the fields and the hills,
on the grain, new wine, olive oil,
and whatever the ground yields,
on man and beast,
and on all that your hands produce.”
The People's Response
12
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the
Lord
their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the
Lord
their God had sent him. So the people
•feared
the
Lord
.
13
Haggai, the
Lord
's messenger, delivered the
Lord
's message to the people, “I am with you” — this is the
Lord
's declaration.
14
The
Lord
stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of
•Yahweh
of Hosts, their God,
15
on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
Haggai
Encouragement and Promise
2
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the
Lord
came through Haggai the prophet:
2
“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people:
3
Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn't it seem like nothing to you?
4
Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel” — this is the
Lord
's declaration. “Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land” — this is the
Lord
's declaration. “Work! For I am with you” — the declaration of the
Lord
of
•Hosts
.
5
“This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt, and My Spirit is present among you; don't be afraid.”
6
For the
Lord
of Hosts says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
7
I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the
Lord
of Hosts.
8
“The silver and gold belong to Me” — this is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts.
9
“The final glory of this house will be greater than the first,” says the
Lord
of Hosts. “I will provide peace in this place” — this is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts.
From Deprivation to Blessing
10
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the
Lord
came to Haggai the prophet:
11
“This is what the
Lord
of Hosts says: Ask the priests for a ruling.
12
If a man is carrying consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does it become holy? ”
The priests answered, “No.”
13
Then Haggai asked, “If someone defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled? ”
The priests answered, “It becomes defiled.”
14
Then Haggai replied, “So is this people, and so is this nation before Me” — this is the
Lord
's declaration. “And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.
15
“Now, reflect back from this day: Before one stone was placed on another in the
Lord
's temple,
16
what state were you in? When someone came to a grain heap of 20 measures, it only amounted to 10; when one came to the winepress to dip 50 measures from the vat, it only amounted to 20.
17
I struck you — all the work of your hands — with blight, mildew, and hail, but you didn't turn to Me” — this is the
Lord
's declaration.
18
“Consider carefully from this day forward; from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the
Lord
's temple was laid; consider it carefully.
19
Is there still seed left in the granary? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet produced. But from this day on I will bless you.”
Promise to Zerubbabel
20
The word of the
Lord
came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:
21
“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah: I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.
22
I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overturn chariots and their riders. Horses and their riders will fall, each by his brother's sword.
23
On that day” — this is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts — “I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, My servant” — this is the
Lord
's declaration — “and make you like My signet ring, for I have chosen you.” This is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts.
Zechariah
Zechariah
A Plea for Repentance
1
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the
Lord
came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
2
“The
Lord
was extremely angry with your ancestors.
3
So tell the people: This is what the
Lord
of
•Hosts
says: Return to Me” — this is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts — “and I will return to you, says the
Lord
of Hosts.
4
Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the
Lord
of Hosts says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to Me” — this is the
Lord
's declaration.
5
“Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever?
6
But didn't My words and My statutes that I commanded My servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? They repented and said: As the
Lord
of Hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so He has dealt with us.”