| 1. And the word of the Lord of Hosts came [to me], saying: |
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א. |
| 2. So said the Lord of Hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and with great fury I am jealous for her. |
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ב. |
| I am jealous for her: For [not 'to’] her. And you will not need to fast and to mourn. And so is the end of the chapter: “The fast of the fifth month, etc.” |
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| 3. So said the Lord: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mount of the Lord of Hosts [shall be called] the holy mountain. |
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ג. |
| 4. So said the Lord of Hosts: Old men and women shall yet sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of old age. |
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ד. |
| because of old age: they will require the staff in their hand. |
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| 5. And the streets of the city shall be filled, with boys and girls playing in its streets. |
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ה. |
| 6. So said the Lord of Hosts: As it will be wonderful in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, it will also be wonderful in My eyes, says the Lord of Hosts. |
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ו. |
| As it will be wonderful: in their eyes, the great loving-kindness that I will do for them. |
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| it will also be wonderful in My eyes: how I returned from the great wrath. And our Sages expounded on [this phrase], concerning the slaughter of the evil inclination, in tractate Sukkah (52a). |
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| it will also be wonderful in My eyes: how the righteous will be able to stand up against [the evil inclination] during their lifetime. |
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| 7. So said the Lord of Hosts: Behold I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. |
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ז. |
| 8. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I shall be their God, in truth and in righteousness. |
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ח. |
| 9. So said the Lord of Hosts: Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets that were [prophesying] in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of Hosts was laid, even the Temple, that it might be built. |
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ט. |
| Let your hands be strong: to build and to complete [the Temple]; and do not fear the people of the land, who are weakening your hands and frightening you from building it, as is related in the Book of Ezra (4:4). |
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| you who hear in these days: In the fourth year of Darius |
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| these words: of consolations from the mouths of the prophets who prophesied for [the people] - on the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the second year of Darius - to begin the work. Those prophets were proven with their words to be true prophets in your eyes; therefore, it is also worthy to rely on them for the words of consolation concerning the present time. And in what way were they proven? |
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| 10. For before those days, there was no hire for man; neither was there any hire for beast. And for him that went out or came in, there was no peace because of the adversary, and I would incite all men, each one against his neighbor. |
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י. |
| For before those days, there was no hire for man, etc.: They prophesied for you that when you would begin the work, a blessing would come into the work of your hands; and their words were fulfilled, for now it is not like the early days. |
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| 11. But now I am not [the same] to the remnant of this people as in the early days, said the Lord of Hosts. |
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יא. |
| 12. For the sowing is for peace. The vine shall give forth its fruit, and the earth shall give forth its produce, and the heavens shall give forth their dew-and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these. |
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יב. |
| 13. And it shall come to pass that [just] as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you-and you shall be a blessing. Fear not; may your hands be strengthened! |
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יג. |
| 14. For so said the Lord of Hosts: As I planned to do evil to you when your forefathers provoked Me-said the Lord of Hosts-and I did not repent, |
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יד. |
| and I did not repent: of what I had planned to bring upon you, [or] retract it; but I brought it. Neither will I repent of the good that I have planned for you. |
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| 15. so have I turned about. I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not fear. |
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טו. |
| 16. These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth each one with his neighbor; truth, and judgment of peace you shall judge in your cities. |
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טז. |
| and judgment of peace: I.e., compromise. |
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| 17. And let no one think evil of his neighbors in your heart, nor shall you love a false oath-for all these are what I hate, says the Lord. |
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יז. |
| And let no one think evil of his neighbors: He warned them concerning hatred without cause, which brought about the destruction of the Second Temple. |
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| 18. And the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me, saying: |
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יח. |
| 19. So said the Lord of Hosts: The fast of the fourth [month], the fast of the fifth [month], the fast of the seventh [month], and the fast of the tenth [month] shall be for the house of Judah for joy and happiness and for happy holidays-but love truth and peace. |
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יט. |
| the fast of the fourth [month]: The fast of Tammuz, which is the fourth of the months. |
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| the fast of the fifth [month]: of Av. |
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| the fast of the seventh [month]: The third of Tishri, when Gedaliah was assassinated. |
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| and the fast of the tenth [month]: Of Teveth. |
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| 20. So said the Lord of Hosts: [There will] yet [be a time] that peoples and the inhabitants of many cities shall come. |
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כ. |
| 21. And the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, "Let us go to pray before the Lord and to entreat the Lord of Hosts. I, too, will go." |
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כא. |
| 22. And many peoples and powerful nations shall come to entreat the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. |
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כב. |
| 23. So said the Lord of Hosts: In those days, when ten men of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." |
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כג. |
| ten men: from the seventy nations. This equals seven hundred for each corner. For the four corners of the tallith there will be two thousand and eight hundred. |
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