Then tell them, ¹  ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ²  says, “I will bring ³  my servant ⁴  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones which I ⁵  have buried. He will pitch his royal tent ⁶  over them.

“So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, ¹  asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You women ¹  have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, “We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.” Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!’ ² 

I the King, whose name is the Lord who rules over all, ¹  swear this: I swear as surely as I live that ²  a conqueror is coming. He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains, as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea. ³ 

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  spoke about Moab. ²  “Sure to be judged is Nebo! Indeed, ³  it will be destroyed! Kiriathaim ⁴  will suffer disgrace. It will be captured! Its fortress ⁵  will suffer disgrace. It will be torn down! ⁶ 

I have opened up the place where my weapons are stored. ¹  I have brought out the weapons for carrying out my wrath. ²  For I, the Lord God who rules over all, ³  have work to carry out in the land of Babylonia. ⁴ 

But the one who will rescue them ¹  is strong. He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ²  He will strongly ³  champion their cause. As a result ⁴  he will bring peace and rest to the earth, but trouble and turmoil ⁵  to the people who inhabit Babylonia. ⁶ 

The Lord, who is the portion of the descendants of Jacob, is not like them. For he is the one who created everything, including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. ¹  He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ² 

This is what the Lord who rules over all ¹  says, “Babylon’s thick wall ²  will be completely demolished. ³  Her high gates will be set on fire. The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ⁴  The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ⁵ 

He was driven from human society, his mind ¹  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ²  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

‘You expected a large harvest, but instead ¹  there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. ²  Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! ³ 

So the Lord energized and encouraged ¹  Zerubbabel ²  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ³  and the whole remnant of the people. ⁴  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and ¹  all you citizens of the land,’ ²  says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? ¹  Then they paid attention ²  and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”

“Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, ¹  and they will also be my ²  people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

“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.

As for the stone ¹  I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. ²  I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ³ 

“I will send it out,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and it will enter the house of the thief and of the person who swears falsely in my name. It will land in the middle of his house and destroy both timber and stones.”

Then those who are far away ¹  will come and build the temple of the Lord so that you may know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you. This will all come to pass if you completely obey the voice of the Lord your God.”’”

The Lord who rules over all says, ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of – indeed, grab – the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” ¹