The Lord's Promises to Zion

8 The Lord All-Powerful said to me:

² I love Zion so much that her enemies make me angry. ³ I will return to Jerusalem and live there on Mount Zion. Then Jerusalem will be known as my faithful city, and Zion will be known as my holy mountain.

⁴ Very old people with walking sticks will once again sit around in Jerusalem, ⁵ while boys and girls play in the streets. ⁶ This may seem impossible for my people who are left, but it isn't impossible for me, the Lord All-Powerful. ⁷ I will save those who were taken to lands in the east and the west, ⁸ and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, faithful to bring about justice.

⁹ I am the Lord All-Powerful! So don't give up. Think about the message my prophets spoke when the foundation of my temple was laid. ¹⁰ Before that time, neither people nor animals were rewarded for their work, and no one was safe anywhere, because I had turned them against each other.

¹¹ My people, only a few of you are left, and I promise not to punish you as I did before. ¹² Instead, I will make sure that your crops are planted in peace and your vineyards are fruitful, that your fields are fertile, and the dew falls from the sky. ¹³ People of Judah and Israel, you have been a curse to the nations, but I will save you and make you a blessing to them. So don't be afraid or lose courage.

¹⁴ When your ancestors made me angry, I decided to punish you with disasters, and I didn't hold back. ¹⁵ Now you no longer need to be afraid. I have decided to treat Jerusalem and Judah with kindness. ^16 (A) But you must be truthful with each other, and in court you must give fair decisions that lead to peace. ¹⁷ Don't ever plan evil things against others or tell lies under oath. I, the Lord, hate such things.

A Time of Celebration

¹⁸ The Lord All-Powerful told me to say:

¹⁹ People of Judah, I, the Lord, demand that whenever you go without food as a way of worshiping me, it should become a time of celebration. No matter if it's the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, or the tenth month, you should have a joyful festival. So love truth and live at peace.

²⁰ I tell you that people will come here from cities everywhere. ²¹ Those of one town will go to another and say, “We're going to ask the Lord All-Powerful to treat us with kindness. Come and join us.”

²² Many people from strong nations will come to Jerusalem to worship me and to ask me to treat them with kindness. ²³ When this happens, ten people from nations with different languages will grab a Jew by his clothes and say, “Let us go with you. We've heard that God is on your side.” I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!