Our enemies had brought us here as their prisoners, and now they wanted us to sing and entertain them. They insulted us and shouted, “Sing about Zion!”
In front of his friends and the Samaritan army he said, “What is this feeble bunch of Jews trying to do? Are they going to rebuild the wall and offer sacrifices all in one day? Do they think they can make something out of this pile of scorched stones?”
The people the LORD has rescued will come back singing as they enter Zion. Happiness will be a crown they will always wear. They will celebrate and shout because all sorrows and worries will be gone far away.
Now those you have rescued will return to Jerusalem, singing on their way. They will be crowned with great happiness, never again to be burdened with sadness and sorrow.
years ago when Hezekiah was king of Judah, a prophet named Micah from the town of Moresheth had said: “I, the LORD All-Powerful, say Jerusalem will be ploughed under and left in ruins. Thorns will cover the mountain where the temple now stands.”