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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Zechariah 8 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/zechariah/8.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/zechariah/8-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Zechariah 8</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../zechariah/7.htm" title="Zechariah 7">◄</a> Zechariah 8 <a href="../zechariah/9.htm" title="Zechariah 9">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">The <span class="nd">Lord</span>'s Promises to Zion</h3><p class="par"><span class="v38_8_1"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.1" class="v38_8_1">1</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful said to me:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_2"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.2" class="v38_8_2">2</span>I love Zion so much that her enemies make me angry. </span><span class="v38_8_3"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.3" class="v38_8_3">3</span>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.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_4"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.4" class="v38_8_4">4</span>Very old people with walking sticks will once again sit around in Jerusalem, </span><span class="v38_8_5"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.5" class="v38_8_5">5</span>while boys and girls play in the streets. </span><span class="v38_8_6"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.6" class="v38_8_6">6</span>This may seem impossible for my people who are left, but it isn't impossible for me, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful. </span><span class="v38_8_7"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.7" class="v38_8_7">7</span>I will save those who were taken to lands in the east and the west, </span><span class="v38_8_8"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.8" class="v38_8_8">8</span>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.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_9"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.9" class="v38_8_9">9</span>I am the <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful! So don't give up. Think about the message my prophets spoke when the foundation of my temple was laid. </span><span class="v38_8_10"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.10" class="v38_8_10">10</span>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.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_11"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.11" class="v38_8_11">11</span>My people, only a few of you are left, and I promise not to punish you as I did before. </span><span class="v38_8_12"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.12" class="v38_8_12">12</span>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. </span><span class="v38_8_13"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.13" class="v38_8_13">13</span>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.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_14"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.14" class="v38_8_14">14</span>When your ancestors made me angry, I decided to punish you with disasters, and I didn't hold back. </span><span class="v38_8_15"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.15" class="v38_8_15">15</span>Now you no longer need to be afraid. I have decided to treat Jerusalem and Judah with kindness. </span><span class="v38_8_16"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.16" class="v38_8_16">16</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Zech.8.16!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> But you must be truthful with each other, and in court you must give fair decisions that lead to peace. </span><span class="v38_8_17"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.17" class="v38_8_17">17</span>Don't ever plan evil things against others or tell lies under oath. I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, hate such things.</span></p><h3 class="s1">A Time of Celebration</h3><p class="par"><span class="v38_8_18"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.18" class="v38_8_18">18</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful told me to say:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_19"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.19" class="v38_8_19">19</span>People of Judah, I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, 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.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_20"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.20" class="v38_8_20">20</span>I tell you that people will come here from cities everywhere. </span><span class="v38_8_21"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.21" class="v38_8_21">21</span>Those of one town will go to another and say, “We're going to ask the <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful to treat us with kindness. Come and join us.”</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v38_8_22"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.22" class="v38_8_22">22</span>Many people from strong nations will come to Jerusalem to worship me and to ask me to treat them with kindness. </span><span class="v38_8_23"><span class="reftext" id="Zech.8.23" class="v38_8_23">23</span>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 <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful, have spoken!</span></p> </div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (<a href="http://www.americanbible.org">www.americanbible.org</a>). Learn more at <a href="http://www.cev.bible">www.cev.bible</a>. 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