So the Lord says, “I will come back to Jerusalem and comfort her.” The Lord All-Powerful says, “Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and my house will be built there.”
The Lord says, “I have come back to Zion, and I am living in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called Faithful City. The mountain of the Lord All-Powerful will be called Holy Mountain.”
“Zerubbabel will lay the foundations for my Temple, and he will finish building it. Then you will know that the Lord All-Powerful sent me to you people.
The man walked east with a tape measure in his hand. He measured 1000 cubits. Then he told me to walk through the water at that place. The water was only ankle deep.
He took me to that place. There was a man there who looked like polished bronze. He had a cloth tape measure and a measuring rod in his hand. He was standing by the gate.
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel was the governor of Judah. Joshua son of Jehozadak was the high priest. The Lord made them and the rest of the people excited about working on the Temple of their God, the Lord All-Powerful.
Birds and small animals will own that land. It will be a home for owls and ravens. God will leave that land in ruins. People will call it “the empty desert.”
He said to him, “Run and tell that young man this: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls, because there will be too many people and animals living there.’
I will make Judah’s family strong. I will help Joseph’s family win the war. I will bring them back safely and comfort them. It will be as if I never left them. I am the Lord their God, and I will help them.
This is what the Lord says: “Jacob’s people are now in captivity, but they will come back. And I will have pity on Jacob’s houses. The city is now only an empty hill covered with ruined buildings, but the city will be rebuilt on its hill. And the king’s palace will be rebuilt where it should be.