8:2 I love Zion so much that her enemies make me angry.
8:3 I will return to Jerusalem and live there on Mount Zion. Then Jerusalem will be known as my faithful city, and Zion will be known as my holy mountain.
8:4 Very old people with walking sticks will once again sit around in Jerusalem,
8:6 This may seem impossible for my people who are left, but it isn't impossible for me, the Lord All-Powerful.
8:7 I will save those who were taken to lands in the east and the west,
8:8 and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, faithful to bring about justice.
8:9 I am the Lord All-Powerful! So don't give up. Think about the message my prophets spoke when the foundation of my temple was laid.
8:10 Before that time, neither people nor animals were rewarded for their work, and no one was safe anywhere, because I had turned them against each other.
8:11 My people, only a few of you are left, and I promise not to punish you as I did before.
8:12 Instead, I will make sure that your crops are planted in peace and your vineyards are fruitful, that your fields are fertile, and the dew falls from the sky.
8:13 People of Judah and Israel, you have been a curse to the nations, but I will save you and make you a blessing to them. So don't be afraid or lose courage.
8:14 When your ancestors made me angry, I decided to punish you with disasters, and I didn't hold back.
8:15 Now you no longer need to be afraid. I have decided to treat Jerusalem and Judah with kindness.
8:16 But you must be truthful with each other, and in court you must give fair decisions that lead to peace.
8:17 Don't ever plan evil things against others or tell lies under oath. I, the Lord, hate such things.
8:19 People of Judah, I, the Lord, demand that whenever you go without food as a way of worshiping me, it should become a time of celebration. No matter if it's the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, or the tenth month, you should have a joyful festival. So love truth and live at peace.
8:20 I tell you that people will come here from cities everywhere.
8:21 Those of one town will go to another and say, “We're going to ask the Lord All-Powerful to treat us with kindness. Come and join us.”
8:22 Many people from strong nations will come to Jerusalem to worship me and to ask me to treat them with kindness.
8:23 When this happens, ten people from nations with different languages will grab a Jew by his clothes and say, “Let us go with you. We've heard that God is on your side.” I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!
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