Holman Christian Standard Bible (280 page)

13
 “Throw it to the potter,” the
Lord
said to me — this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the
Lord
, to the potter.
14
 Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15
 The
Lord
also said to me: “Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16
 I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are going astray, and he will not seek the lost or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.

Zechariah

Judah's Security

12
An
•Oracle

2
 “Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah.
3
 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her. 
4
 On that day” — this is the
Lord
's declaration — “I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness.
5
 Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the
Lord
of
•Hosts
, their God.
6
 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem.
7
 The
Lord
will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David's house and the glory of Jerusalem's residents may not be greater than that of Judah.
8
 On that day the
Lord
will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the
Lord
, before them.
9
 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning for the Pierced One

10
 “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn. 
11
 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12
 The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David's house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan's house by itself and their women by themselves;
13
 the family of Levi's house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself and their women by themselves;
14
 all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.

Zechariah

God's People Cleansed

13
“On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity. 
2
 On that day” — this is the declaration of the
Lord
of
•Hosts
 — “I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will remove the prophets and the
•unclean
spirit from the land.
3
 If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him: You cannot remain alive because you have spoken falsely in the name of
•Yahweh
. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through. 
4
 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.
5
 He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased me as a servant since my youth. 
6
 If someone asks him: What are these wounds on your chest?  — then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.

Zechariah

The
Lord
's Triumph and Reign

14
A day of the
Lord
is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence.
2
 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

3
 Then the
Lord
will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle. 
4
 On that day His feet will stand on the
•Mount
of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.
5
 You will flee by My mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the
Lord
my God will come and all the holy ones with Him.

6
 On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish.
7
 It will be a day known only to
•Yahweh
, without day or night, but there will be light at evening.

8
 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea, in summer and winter alike.
9
 On that day Yahweh will become King over all the earth  — Yahweh alone, and His name alone. 
10
 All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain on its site from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. 
11
 People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of
•complete
destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.

12
 This will be the plague the
Lord
strikes all the peoples with, who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
13
 On that day a great panic from the
Lord
will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other.
14
 Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance. 
15
 The same plague as the previous one will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.

16
 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the
Lord
of
•Hosts
, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 
17
 Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the
Lord
of Hosts, rain will not fall on them.
18
 And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the
Lord
inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.
19
 This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.

20
 On that day, the words

will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the
Lord
will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar.
21
 Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the
Lord
of Hosts. Everyone who sacrifices will come and take some of the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the
Lord
of Hosts.

Malachi

Malachi

The
Lord
's Love for Israel

1
An
•oracle
: The word of the
Lord
 to Israel through Malachi. 

2
 “I have loved you,” says the
Lord
.

But you ask: “How have You loved us? ”

“Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother? ” This is the
Lord
's declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob,
3
 but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.” 

4
 Though Edom says: “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” the
Lord
of
•Hosts
says this: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country and the people the
Lord
has cursed forever. 
5
 Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say, ‘The
Lord
is great, even beyond the borders of Israel.' 

Disobedience of the Priests

6
 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your
•fear
of Me? says
•Yahweh
of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name.”

Yet you ask: “How have we despised Your name? ”

7
 “By presenting defiled food on My altar.”

You ask: “How have we defiled You? ” 

When you say: “The
Lord
's table is contemptible.” 

8
 “When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor? ” asks the
Lord
of Hosts.
9
 “And now ask for God's favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor? ” asks the
Lord
of Hosts.
10
 “I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so you would no longer kindle a useless fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the
Lord
of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 

11
 “For My name will be great among the nations, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name in every place because My name will be great among the nations,” says Yahweh of Hosts.

12
 But you are profaning it when you say: “The Lord's table is defiled, and its product, its food, is contemptible.”
13
 You also say: “Look, what a nuisance! ” “And you scorn it,”says the
Lord
of Hosts. “You bring stolen, lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands? ” asks the
Lord
.

14
 “The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says Yahweh of Hosts, “and My name will be feared among the nations.

Malachi

Warning to the Priests

2
“Therefore, this decree is for you priests:
2
 If you don't listen, and if you don't take it to heart to honor My name,” says
•Yahweh
of
•Hosts
, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.

3
 “Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread animal waste over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices, and you will be taken away with it.
4
 Then you will know that I sent you this decree so My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the
Lord
of Hosts.
5
 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. 
6
 True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and fairness and turned many from sin. 
7
 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the
Lord
of Hosts.