Zechariah 2

₁The Lord again showed me something. I saw a man and he had a measuring-line in his hand to find out how big the city of Jerusalem was. ₂I asked him: ‘Where are you going?’

And he told me: ‘I am going to measure Jerusalem. I want to see how long and how wide the city is.’

₃The angel who had to tell me what everything meant went away. But another angel went to him and told him: ₄‘Go back. Run to that young man, Zechariah, and tell him that Jerusalem will have no walls, because there will be too many people and animals in the city. ₅The Lord Himself will protect the city. He will be a wall of fire around the city and a light that will shine inside the city.’

₆The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem: ‘Come, you must run away and flee from that land in the north. Long ago I sent your enemies to take you away to other lands. ₇You who are in the land of Babylon now, you must run away and escape.’

₈This is what the Lord who rules over all says. He is the light and He has sent me to the people who caught you and took you away. If someone makes war_against you, he is making war against God's own people and the Lord loves them very much.

₉The Lord says: ‘I am now going to punish the people of Babylon. Their own slaves will catch them and take them away.’

You will know that it was the Lord who rules over all who has sent me to say this.

₁₀The Lord says: ‘People of Jerusalem, rejoice and be happy, because I am coming to you, and I will live among you. ₁₁On that day people from many nations will come to Me. They will also be my people and I will live in Jerusalem.’

You will know that it was the Lord who rules over all who has sent me to say this. ₁₂The people of Judah belong to the Lord and they will be his people again, living in the Holy_Land. The Lord will again say that Jerusalem is his city. ₁₃All the people must be quiet before the Lord, because He comes from his holy place.