ZECHARIAH
2
1 When I looked
around me again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.
2 "Where are you going?" I asked. He replied, "I
am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it
is." 3 Then the angel who was with me went to meet a second
angel who was coming toward him. 4 The other angel said, "Hurry,
and say to that young man, 'Jerusalem will someday be so full
of people that it won't have room enough for everyone! Many will
live outside the city walls, with all their livestock -- and yet
they will be safe. 5 For I, myself, will be a wall of fire around
Jerusalem, says the LORD. And I will be the glory inside the city!'"
6 The LORD says, "Come away! Flee from the north, for I have
scattered you to the four winds. 7 Come away! Escape to Jerusalem,
you who are exiled in Babylon!" 8 "After a period of
glory, the LORD Almighty sent me against the nations who oppressed
you. For he said, 'Anyone who harms you harms my most precious
possession. 9 I will raise my fist to crush them, and their own
slaves will plunder them.' Then you will know that the LORD Almighty
has sent me." 10 The LORD says, "Shout and rejoice,
O Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you. 11 Many nations
will join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they, too, will
be my people. I will live among you, and you will know that the
LORD Almighty sent me to you. 12 The land of Judah will be the
LORD's inheritance in the holy land, and he will once again choose
Jerusalem to be his own city. 13 Be silent before the LORD, all
humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling."
ZECHARIAH 3
1 Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before
the angel of the LORD. Satan was there at the angel's right hand,
accusing Jeshua of many things. 2 And the LORD said to Satan,
"I, the LORD, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the LORD,
who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning
stick that has been snatched from a fire." 3 Jeshua's clothing
was filthy as he stood there before the angel. 4 So the angel
said to the others standing there, "Take off his filthy clothes."
And turning to Jeshua he said, "See, I have taken away your
sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes." 5
Then I said, "Please, could he also have a clean turban on
his head?" So they put a clean priestly turban on his head
and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the LORD stood
by. 6 Then the angel of the LORD spoke very solemnly to Jeshua
and said, 7 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: If you
follow my ways and obey my requirements, then you will be given
authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk
in and out of my presence along with these others standing here.
8 Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests.
You are symbols of the good things to come. Soon I am going to
bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Now look at the jewel I have set
before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave
an inscription on it, says the LORD Almighty, and I will remove
the sins of this land in a single day. 10 And on that day, says
the LORD Almighty, each of you will invite your neighbor into
your home to share your peace and prosperity."
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