At that time you were separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the prominent patriarchs of Israel said to them, “It is not for you and us to build a House for our God—but we alone will build it for Adonai the God of Israel, just as Cyrus—king of Persia—has commanded us.”
For Adonai will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The outsider will join himself with them and will cling to the house of Jacob.
“Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, fugitives of the nations! Those who carry their wooden idols have no knowledge, praying to a god who cannot save.
Adonai, You are the hope of Israel! All who forsake You will be ashamed. Those who depart from You will be written in the dirt, for they have forsaken Adonai, the fountain of living waters.
“My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not remain in the assembly of My people, nor will they be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor enter into the land of Israel. You will know that I am Adonai.
I will cut a covenant of shalom with them—it will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will give to them and multiply them. I will set up My Sanctuary among them forever.
So you are to divide it by lot for an inheritance for you and for the outsiders who dwell among you, whoever bears children among you. They will be to you like the native-born of Bnei-Yisrael; they will be allotted an inheritance along with you among the tribes of Israel.
Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings which Bnei-Yisrael present to Adonai, I have given to you, your sons and your daughters with you as a permanent share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before Adonai for you and your offspring.”
You are the sons of the prophets and also of the covenant that God cut with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘In your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’
So by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! In His great mercy He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead.