Zechariah 2
Chapter 2
Future Prosperity of Jerusalem
1 tWhen I looked 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 and livestock that there won’t be room enough for everyone! Many will live outside the city walls.
5 Then I, myself, will be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem, says the LORD. And I will be the glory inside the city!’”
The Exiles Are Called Home
6 The LORD says, “Come away! Flee from Babylon in the land of the north, for I have scattered you to the four winds.
7 Come away, people of Zion, you who are exiled in Babylon!”
8 After a period of glory, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent met against the nations who plundered you. For he said, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.t
9 I will raise my fist to crush them, and their own slaves will plunder them.” Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
10 The LORD says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem,t 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 of Heaven’s Armies sent me to you.12 The land of Judah will be the LORD’s special possession 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 2
Third Vision: //A Measuring Line
1 This time I saw someone holding a measuring line,
2 and I asked, “Where are you going?”
“To measure Jerusalem,” was the answer. “To find out how wide and long it is.”
3 The angel who had spoken to me came toward me, when another angel came up to him 4 and said, “Hurry! Tell that man with the measuring line that Jerusalem won't have any boundaries. It will be too full of people and animals even to have a wall.
5 The [Lord] himself has promised to be a protective wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem, and he will be its shining glory in the heart of the city.”A Call to Action
6 The [Lord] says to his people, “Run! Escape from the land in the north, where I scattered you to the four winds.
7 Leave Babylonia and hurry back to Zion.”
8 Then the glorious [Lord] All-Powerful ordered me to say to the nations that had raided and robbed Zion:
Zion is as precious to the [Lord] as are his eyes. Whatever you do to Zion, you do to him.
9 And so, he will put you in the power of your slaves, and they will raid and rob you. Then you will know that I am a prophet of the [Lord] All-Powerful.
10 City of Zion, sing and celebrate! The [Lord] has promised to come and live with you. 11 When he does, many nations will turn to him and become his people. At that time you will know that I am a prophet of the [Lord] All-Powerful.
12 Then Judah will be his part of the holy land, and Jerusalem will again be his chosen city.
13 Everyone, be silent!
The [Lord] is present
and moving about
in his holy place.
