"Again,proclaim,saying,'Thussaysthe LORDof hosts,"My citieswill againoverflowwith prosperity,and the LORDwill againcomfortZionand againchooseJerusalem."'"
Indeed,the LORDwill comfortZion;He will comfortallher wasteplaces.And her wildernessHe will makelike Eden,And her desertlike the gardenof the LORD;Joyand gladnesswill be foundin her, Thanksgivingand soundof a melody.
"The LORDwill possessJudahas His portionin the holyland,and will againchooseJerusalem.
Whenthe LORDwill havecompassionon Jacoband againchooseIsrael,and settlethem in their own land,then strangerswill jointhem and attachthemselves to the houseof Jacob.
And the exilesof thishostof the sonsof Israel,Whoare [among] the Canaanitesas faras Zarephath,And the exilesof Jerusalemwhoare in SepharadWill possessthe citiesof the Negev.
Thussaysthe LordGOD,"On the daythat I cleanseyou from allyour iniquities,I will cause the citiesto be inhabited,and the wasteplaceswill be rebuilt.
"As onewhomhis mothercomforts,soI will comfortyou; And you will be comfortedin Jerusalem."
"In an outburstof angerI hidMy facefrom you for a moment,But with everlastinglovingkindnessI will havecompassionon you," Saysthe LORDyour Redeemer.
Breakforth,shoutjoyfullytogether,You wasteplacesof Jerusalem;For the LORDhas comfortedHis people,He has redeemedJerusalem.
Confirmingthe wordof His servantAnd performingthe purposeof His messengers.[It is I] who saysof Jerusalem,'She shall be inhabited!'And of the citiesof Judah,They shall be built.'And I will raiseup her ruins[again].
For Godwill saveZionand buildthe citiesof Judah,That they may dwellthereand possessit.
The restof Israel,of the priests[and] of the Levites,[were] in allthe citiesof Judah,eachon his own inheritance.
but I have chosenJerusalemthat My namemight be there,and I have chosenDavidto be overMy peopleIsrael.'
justas He choseus in Him beforethe foundationof the world,that we would be holyand blamelessbeforeHim. In love
The LORDsaidto Satan,"The LORDrebukeyou, Satan!Indeed, the LORDwho has chosenJerusalemrebukeyou! Is thisnot a brandpluckedfrom the fire?"
"Also I will restorethe captivityof My peopleIsrael,And they will rebuildthe ruinedcitiesand live[in them]; They will also plantvineyardsand drinktheir wine,And makegardensand eattheir fruit.
In the citiesof the hillcountry,in the citiesof the lowland,in the citiesof the Negev,in the landof Benjamin,in the environsof Jerusalemand in the citiesof Judah,the flockswill againpassunderthe handsof the one who numbersthem,' saysthe LORD.
"Thenthe virginwill rejoicein the dance,And the youngmenand the old,together,For I will turntheir mourninginto joyAnd will comfortthem and givethem joyfor their sorrow.
"I, even I, am He who comfortsyou. Whoare you that you are afraidof manwho diesAnd of the sonof manwho is madelike grass,
Shoutfor joy,O heavens!And rejoice,O earth!Breakforthinto joyfulshouting,O mountains!For the LORDhas comfortedHis peopleAnd will havecompassionon His afflicted.
Now theseare the headsof the provinceswholivedin Jerusalem,but in the citiesof Judaheachlivedon his own propertyin their cities--the Israelites,the priests,the Levites,the templeservantsand the descendantsof Solomon'sservants.
So the angelwho was speakingwith me saidto me, "Proclaim,saying,'Thussaysthe LORDof hosts,"I am exceedinglyjealousfor Jerusalemand Zion.
Then I liftedup my eyesand looked,and behold,[there were] fourhorns.
and saidto him, "Run,speakto that youngman,saying,Jerusalemwill be inhabitedwithoutwallsbecauseof the multitudeof menand cattlewithinit.
It will be to Me a nameof joy,praiseand glorybefore allthe nationsof the earthwhichwill hearof allthe goodthat I dofor them, and they will fearand tremblebecauseof allthe goodand allthe peacethat I makefor it.'
