The word of the Lord who rules over all then came to me,

Then the word of the Lord who rules over all ¹  came to me as follows:

I asked the messenger who was speaking to me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

Again the Lord said to me, “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹ 

Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated.

The angel ¹  spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you ²  in fine clothing.”

“But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear.

I will remove ¹  the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be removed. Then he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River ²  to the ends of the earth.

Return to the stronghold, you prisoners, with hope; today I declare that I will return double what was taken from you.

So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations ¹  that come against Jerusalem.”

and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man ¹  as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls ²  because of the multitude of people and animals there.

The speaker went on to say, “This is a curse ¹  traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals ²  will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate.”

He replied, “To build a temple ¹  for her in the land of Babylonia. ²  When it is finished, she will be placed there in her own residence.”

“The Lord who rules over all said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other.

Then I ¹  said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, forget it.” So they weighed out my payment – thirty pieces of silver. ² 

“The Lord who rules over all says, ‘If you live ¹  and work according to my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple ²  and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you.

After this the angelic messenger ¹  who had been speaking to me went out and said, “Look, see what is leaving.”

I then said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”

Moreover, on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, ¹  half of them to the eastern sea ²  and half of them to the western sea; ³  it will happen both in summer and in winter.

The crown will then be turned over to Helem, ¹  Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen ²  son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.