Jehoiada the priest sent out the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, and ordered them, “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. ¹  Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. ² 

God’s Spirit energized ¹  Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’”

He sent letters throughout all the royal provinces, to each province according to its own script and to each people according to its own language, ¹  that every man should be ruling his family ²  and should be speaking the language of his own people. ³ 

Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended? ¹  Who has gathered up the winds in his fists? ²  Who has bound up the waters in his cloak? ³  Who has established all the ends of the earth? ⁴  What is his name, and what is his son’s name? ⁵  – if you know!

then I discerned all that God has done: ¹  No one really comprehends what happens ²  on earth. ³  Despite all human ⁴  efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp ⁵  it. ⁶  Even if ⁷  a wise person claimed ⁸  that he understood, he would not really comprehend ⁹  it.

Again, ¹  I observed this on the earth: ²  the race is not always ³  won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity ⁴  does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success ⁵  always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome ⁶  them all.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ¹  and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses ²  of your heart and the desires ³  of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ⁴ 

For he says: “By my strong hand I have accomplished this, by my strategy that I devised. I invaded the territory of nations, ¹  and looted their storehouses. Like a mighty conqueror, ²  I brought down rulers. ³ 

Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me: “The Lord will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. ¹  Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. ²  In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. ³ 

Who stirs up this one from the east? ¹  Who ²  officially commissions him for service? ³  He hands nations over to him, ⁴  and enables him to subdue ⁵  kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown straw with his bow. ⁶ 

A man uses it to make a fire; ¹  he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. ² 

And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, ¹  you accomplish nothing ²  by wearing a beautiful dress, ³  decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! ⁴  You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you. ⁵ 

I said, ¹  “I will weep and mourn ²  for the grasslands on the mountains, ³  I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone.”

I ¹  hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! ²  They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” ³  All my so-called friends ⁴  are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. ⁵  They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over ⁶  him and get our revenge on him.

Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. ¹ 

For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.

“But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. ¹ 

“And you, son of man, prophesy, and clap your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times! It is a sword for slaughter, a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.

But at the end of the appointed time ¹  I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up ²  toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me. I extolled the Most High, and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever. For his authority is an everlasting authority, and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.

So know and understand: From the issuing of the command ¹  to restore and rebuild Jerusalem ²  until an anointed one, a prince arrives, ³  there will be a period of seven weeks ⁴  and sixty-two weeks. It will again be built, ⁵  with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.