Zechariah:1-8
Seeker Overlay ON
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In the eighth month ,
in the second year of Darius ,
came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah ,
the son of Berechiah ,
the son of Iddo the prophet ,
saying ,
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The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers .
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Therefore say thou unto them ,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
Turn ye unto me ,
saith the LORD of hosts ,
and I will turn unto you ,
saith the LORD of hosts .
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Be ye not as your fathers ,
unto whom the former prophets have cried ,
saying ,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
Turn ye now from your evil ways ,
and from your evil doings :
but they did not hear ,
nor hearken unto me ,
saith the LORD .
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Your fathers ,
where are they ?
and the prophets ,
do they live for ever ?
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But my words and my statutes ,
which I commanded my servants the prophets ,
did they not take hold of your fathers ?
and they returned and said ,
Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us ,
according to our ways ,
and according to our doings ,
so hath he dealt with us .
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Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month ,
which is the month Sebat ,
in the second year of Darius ,
came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah ,
the son of Berechiah ,
the son of Iddo the prophet ,
saying ,
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I saw by night ,
and behold a man riding upon a red horse ,
and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom ;
and behind him were there red horses ,
speckled ,
and white .
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Then said I ,
O my lord ,
what are these ?
And the angel that talked with me said unto me ,
I will shew thee what these be .
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And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said ,
These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth .
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And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees ,
and said ,
We have walked to and fro through the earth ,
and ,
behold ,
all the earth sitteth still ,
and is at rest .
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Then the angel of the LORD answered and said ,
O LORD of hosts ,
how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah ,
against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years ?
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And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words .
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So the angel that communed with me said unto me ,
Cry thou ,
saying ,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy .
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And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease :
for I was but a little displeased ,
and they helped forward the affliction .
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Therefore thus saith the LORD ;
I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies :
my house shall be built in it ,
saith the LORD of hosts ,
and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem .
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Cry yet ,
saying ,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad ;
and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion ,
and shall yet choose Jerusalem .
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Then lifted I up mine eyes ,
and saw ,
and behold four horns .
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And I said unto the angel that talked with me ,
What be these ?
And he answered me ,
These are the horns which have scattered Judah ,
Israel ,
and Jerusalem .
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And the LORD shewed me four carpenters .
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Then said I ,
What come these to do ?
And he spake ,
saying ,
These are the horns which have scattered Judah ,
so that no man did lift up his head :
but these are come to fray them ,
to cast out the horns of the Gentiles ,
which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it .
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I lifted up mine eyes again ,
and looked ,
and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand .
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Then said I ,
Whither goest thou ?
And he said unto me ,
To measure Jerusalem ,
to see what is the breadth thereof ,
and what is the length thereof .
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And ,
behold ,
the angel that talked with me went forth ,
and another angel went out to meet him ,
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And said unto him ,
Run ,
speak to this young man ,
saying ,
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein :
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For I ,
saith the LORD ,
will be unto her a wall of fire round about ,
and will be the glory in the midst of her .
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Ho ,
ho ,
come forth ,
and flee from the land of the north ,
saith the LORD :
for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven ,
saith the LORD .
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Deliver thyself ,
O Zion ,
that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon .
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For thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you :
for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye .
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For ,
behold ,
I will shake mine hand upon them ,
and they shall be a spoil to their servants :
and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me .
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Sing and rejoice ,
O daughter of Zion :
for ,
lo ,
I come ,
and I will dwell in the midst of thee ,
saith the LORD .
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And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day ,
and shall be my people :
and I will dwell in the midst of thee ,
and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee .
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And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land ,
and shall choose Jerusalem again .
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Be silent ,
O all flesh ,
before the LORD :
for he is raised up out of his holy habitation .
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And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD ,
and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him .
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And the LORD said unto Satan ,
The LORD rebuke thee ,
O Satan ;
even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee :
is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ?
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Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments ,
and stood before the angel .
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And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him ,
saying ,
Take away the filthy garments from him .
And unto him he said ,
Behold ,
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee ,
and I will clothe thee with change of raiment .
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And I said ,
Let them set a fair mitre upon his head .
So they set a fair mitre upon his head ,
and clothed him with garments .
And the angel of the LORD stood by .
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And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua ,
saying ,
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
If thou wilt walk in my ways ,
and if thou wilt keep my charge ,
then thou shalt also judge my house ,
and shalt also keep my courts ,
and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by .
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Hear now ,
O Joshua the high priest ,
thou ,
and thy fellows that sit before thee :
for they are men wondered at :
for ,
behold ,
I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH .
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For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua ;
upon one stone shall be seven eyes :
behold ,
I will engrave the graving thereof ,
saith the LORD of hosts ,
and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day .
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In that day ,
saith the LORD of hosts ,
shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree .
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And the angel that talked with me came again ,
and waked me ,
as a man that is wakened out of his sleep ,
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And said unto me ,
What seest thou ?
And I said ,
I have looked ,
and behold a candlestick all of gold ,
with a bowl upon the top of it ,
and his seven lamps thereon ,
and seven pipes to the seven lamps ,
which are upon the top thereof :
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And two olive trees by it ,
one upon the right side of the bowl ,
and the other upon the left side thereof .
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So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me ,
saying ,
What are these ,
my lord ?
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Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me ,
Knowest thou not what these be ?
And I said ,
No ,
my lord .
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Then he answered and spake unto me ,
saying ,
This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel ,
saying ,
Not by might ,
nor by power ,
but by my spirit ,
saith the LORD of hosts .
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Who art thou ,
O great mountain ?
before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain :
and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings ,
crying ,
Grace ,
grace unto it .
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Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me ,
saying ,
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The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house ;
his hands shall also finish it ;
and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you .
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For who hath despised the day of small things ?
for they shall rejoice ,
and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven ;
they are the eyes of the LORD ,
which run to and fro through the whole earth .
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Then answered I ,
and said unto him ,
What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof ?
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And I answered again ,
and said unto him ,
What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves ?
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And he answered me and said ,
Knowest thou not what these be ?
And I said ,
No ,
my lord .
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Then said he ,
These are the two anointed ones ,
that stand by the Lord of the whole earth .
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Then I turned ,
and lifted up mine eyes ,
and looked ,
and behold a flying roll .
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And he said unto me ,
What seest thou ?
And I answered ,
I see a flying roll ;
the length thereof is twenty cubits ,
and the breadth thereof ten cubits .
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Then said he unto me ,
This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth :
for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it ;
and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it .
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I will bring it forth ,
saith the LORD of hosts ,
and it shall enter into the house of the thief ,
and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name :
and it shall remain in the midst of his house ,
and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof .
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Then the angel that talked with me went forth ,
and said unto me ,
Lift up now thine eyes ,
and see what is this that goeth forth .
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And I said ,
What is it ?
And he said ,
This is an ephah that goeth forth .
He said moreover ,
This is their resemblance through all the earth .
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And ,
behold ,
there was lifted up a talent of lead :
and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah .
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And he said ,
This is wickedness .
And he cast it into the midst of the ephah ;
and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof .
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Then lifted I up mine eyes ,
and looked ,
and ,
behold ,
there came out two women ,
and the wind was in their wings ;
for they had wings like the wings of a stork :
and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven .
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Then said I to the angel that talked with me ,
Whither do these bear the ephah ?
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And he said unto me ,
To build it an house in the land of Shinar :
and it shall be established ,
and set there upon her own base .
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And I turned ,
and lifted up mine eyes ,
and looked ,
and ,
behold ,
there came four chariots out from between two mountains ;
and the mountains were mountains of brass .
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In the first chariot were red horses ;
and in the second chariot black horses ;
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And in the third chariot white horses ;
and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses .
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Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me ,
What are these ,
my lord ?
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And the angel answered and said unto me ,
These are the four spirits of the heavens ,
which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth .
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The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country ;
and the white go forth after them ;
and the grisled go forth toward the south country .
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And the bay went forth ,
and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth :
and he said ,
Get you hence ,
walk to and fro through the earth .
So they walked to and fro through the earth .
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Then cried he upon me ,
and spake unto me ,
saying ,
Behold ,
these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country .
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And the word of the LORD came unto me ,
saying ,
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Take of them of the captivity ,
even of Heldai ,
of Tobijah ,
and of Jedaiah ,
which are come from Babylon ,
and come thou the same day ,
and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah ;
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Then take silver and gold ,
and make crowns ,
and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech ,
the high priest ;
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And speak unto him ,
saying ,
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts ,
saying ,
Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH ;
and he shall grow up out of his place ,
and he shall build the temple of the LORD :
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Even he shall build the temple of the LORD ;
and he shall bear the glory ,
and shall sit and rule upon his throne ;
and he shall be a priest upon his throne :
and the counsel of peace shall be between them both .
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And the crowns shall be to Helem ,
and to Tobijah ,
and to Jedaiah ,
and to Hen the son of Zephaniah ,
for a memorial in the temple of the LORD .
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And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD ,
and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you .
And this shall come to pass ,
if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God .
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And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius ,
that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month ,
even in Chisleu ;
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When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech ,
and their men ,
to pray before the LORD ,
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And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts ,
and to the prophets ,
saying ,
Should I weep in the fifth month ,
separating myself ,
as I have done these so many years ?
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Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me ,
saying ,
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Speak unto all the people of the land ,
and to the priests ,
saying ,
When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month ,
even those seventy years ,
did ye at all fast unto me ,
even to me ?
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And when ye did eat ,
and when ye did drink ,
did not ye eat for yourselves ,
and drink for yourselves ?
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Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets ,
when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity ,
and the cities thereof round about her ,
when men inhabited the south and the plain ?
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And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah ,
saying ,
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Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts ,
saying ,
Execute true judgment ,
and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother :
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And oppress not the widow ,
nor the fatherless ,
the stranger ,
nor the poor ;
and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart .
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But they refused to hearken ,
and pulled away the shoulder ,
and stopped their ears ,
that they should not hear .
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Yea ,
they made their hearts as an adamant stone ,
lest they should hear the law ,
and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets :
therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts .
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Therefore it is come to pass ,
that as he cried ,
and they would not hear ;
so they cried ,
and I would not hear ,
saith the LORD of hosts :
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But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not .
Thus the land was desolate after them ,
that no man passed through nor returned :
for they laid the pleasant land desolate .
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Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me ,
saying ,
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy ,
and I was jealous for her with great fury .
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Thus saith the LORD ;
I am returned unto Zion ,
and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem :
and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth ;
and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain .
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem ,
and every man with his staff in his hand for very age .
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And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof .
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days ,
should it also be marvellous in mine eyes ?
saith the LORD of hosts .
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
Behold ,
I will save my people from the east country ,
and from the west country ;
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And I will bring them ,
and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem :
and they shall be my people ,
and I will be their God ,
in truth and in righteousness .
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
Let your hands be strong ,
ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets ,
which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid ,
that the temple might be built .
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For before these days there was no hire for man ,
nor any hire for beast ;
neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction :
for I set all men every one against his neighbour .
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But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days ,
saith the LORD of hosts .
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For the seed shall be prosperous ;
the vine shall give her fruit ,
and the ground shall give her increase ,
and the heavens shall give their dew ;
and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things .
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And it shall come to pass ,
that as ye were a curse among the heathen ,
O house of Judah ,
and house of Israel ;
so will I save you ,
and ye shall be a blessing :
fear not ,
but let your hands be strong .
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For thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
As I thought to punish you ,
when your fathers provoked me to wrath ,
saith the LORD of hosts ,
and I repented not :
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So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah :
fear ye not .
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These are the things that ye shall do ;
Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour ;
execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates :
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And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour ;
and love no false oath :
for all these are things that I hate ,
saith the LORD .
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And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me ,
saying ,
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
The fast of the fourth month ,
and the fast of the fifth ,
and the fast of the seventh ,
and the fast of the tenth ,
shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness ,
and cheerful feasts ;
therefore love the truth and peace .
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
It shall yet come to pass ,
that there shall come people ,
and the inhabitants of many cities :
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And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another ,
saying ,
Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD ,
and to seek the LORD of hosts :
I will go also .
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Yea ,
many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem ,
and to pray before the LORD .
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Thus saith the LORD of hosts ;
In those days it shall come to pass ,
that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations ,
even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew ,
saying ,
We will go with you :
for we have heard that God is with you .
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The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach ,
and Damascus shall be the rest thereof :
when the eyes of man ,
as of all the tribes of Israel ,
shall be toward the LORD .