[6:9] The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, [6:10] "Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah; and come the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have come from Babylon. [6:11] Yes, take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest; [6:12] and speak to him, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of Armies, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Yahweh; [6:13] even he shall build the temple of Yahweh; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. [6:14] 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 Yahweh. [6:15] Those who are far off shall come and build in the temple of Yahweh; and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen, if you will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your God."'"
[7:1] It happened in the fourth year of king Darius that the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. [7:2] The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech, and their men, to entreat Yahweh's favor, [7:3] and to speak to the priests of the house of Yahweh of Armies, and to the prophets, saying, "Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?"
[7:4] Then the word of Yahweh of Armies came to me, saying, [7:5] "Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me? [7:6] When you eat, and when you drink, don't you eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? [7:7] Aren't these the words which Yahweh proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?'"
[7:8] The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, [7:9] "Thus has Yahweh of Armies spoken, saying, 'Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother. [7:10] Don't oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.' [7:11] But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear. [7:12] Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Armies had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of Armies. [7:13] It has come to pass that, as he called, and they refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen," said Yahweh of Armies; [7:14] "but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant land desolate."
[8:1] The word of Yahweh of Armies came to me. [8:2] Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath."
[8:3] Thus says Yahweh: "I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called 'The City of Truth;' and the mountain of Yahweh of Armies, 'The Holy Mountain.'"
[8:4] Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "Old men and old women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age. [8:5] The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets."
[8:6] Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my eyes?" says Yahweh of Armies.
[8:7] Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; [8:8] and I will bring them, and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."
[8:9] Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who were in the day that the foundation of the house of Yahweh of Armies was laid, even the temple, that it might be built. [8:10] For before those days there was no wages for man, nor any wages for an animal; neither was there any peace to him who went out or came in, because of the adversary. For I set all men everyone against his neighbor. [8:11] But now I will not be to the remnant of this people as in the former days," says Yahweh of Armies. [8:12] "For the seed of peace and the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. [8:13] It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don't be afraid. Let your hands be strong."