Then he told them, “Go, eat rich foods, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who cannot provide for themselves. Today is a holy day for the Lord. Don’t be sad because the joy you have in the Lord is your strength.”
Nothing’s left but to crouch among prisoners and to fall with those who are killed. Even after all this, his anger will not disappear, and he is still ready to use his power.
O Lord, you are my God. I will highly honor you; I will praise your name. You have done miraculous things. You have been completely reliable in carrying out your plans from long ago.
On that day ⌞his people⌟ will say, “This is our God; we have waited for him, and now he will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him. Let us rejoice and be glad because he will save us.”
The people ransomed by the Lord will return. They will come to Zion singing with joy. Everlasting happiness will be on their heads ⌞as a crown⌟. They will be glad and joyful. They will have no sorrow or grief.
Sing with joy, you heavens! Rejoice, you earth! Break into shouts of joy, you mountains! The Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his humble people.
So the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort all those who live among its ruins. He will make its desert like Eden. He will make its wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
“To me this is like Noah’s floodwaters, when I swore an oath that Noah’s floodwaters would never cover the earth again. So now I swear an oath not to be angry with you or punish you.
I will find joy in the Lord. I will delight in my God. He has dressed me in the clothes of salvation. He has wrapped me in the robe of righteousness like a bridegroom with a priest’s turban, like a bride with her jewels.
You greeted the one who gladly does right and remembers your ways. You showed your anger, because we’ve sinned. We’ve continued to sin for a long time. Can we still be saved?
The people who live there will sing songs of praise, and the sound of laughter will be heard from there. I’ll make them numerous, and their number won’t decrease. I’ll bring them honor, and they won’t be considered unimportant.
Then young women will rejoice and dance along with young men and old men. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them. I will give them joy in place of their sorrow.
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboim? I have changed my mind. I am deeply moved.
This is what the Lord of Armies says: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My house will be rebuilt in it, declares the Lord of Armies. A measuring line will be used to rebuild Jerusalem.
On that day “Holy to the Lord” will be written on the bells of the horses. And the cooking pots in the house of the Lord will be like the bowls in front of the altar.
This is what the Lord of Armies says: The fast in the fourth month, the fast in the fifth month, the fast in the seventh month, and the fast in the tenth month will become joyful and glad occasions as well as happy festivals for the nation of Judah. So love truth and peace.
If Israel’s rejection means that the world has been brought back to God, what does Israel’s acceptance mean? It means that Israel has come back to life.