Isaiah 40:1-2

Comfort for God’s People

1 ^aComfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 ^bSpeak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that ^cher warfare ▼

▼Or hardship

is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

Jeremiah 29:10

10“For thus says the Lord: ^eWhen seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^fI will visit you, ^gand I will fulfill to you my promise ^hand bring you back to this place.

Jeremiah 30:10-22

10 ⁱ“Then fear not, ^jO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,
nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, ^kI will save you from far away,
^land your offspring from the land of their captivity.
^mJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
11 ⁿFor I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;
^oI will make a full end of all the nations
among whom I scattered you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
^pI will ^qdiscipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
12 “For thus says the Lord:
^rYour hurt is incurable,
^sand your wound is grievous.
13There is none to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
^tno healing for you.
14 ^uAll your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of ^van enemy,
the punishment ^wof a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
^xbecause your sins are flagrant.
15 ^yWhy do you cry out over your hurt?
^zYour pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
^aabecause your sins are flagrant,
I have done these things to you.
16 ^abTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and ^acall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
^adthose who plunder you shall be plundered,
^aeand all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 ^afFor I will restore ^aghealth to you,
and ^ahyour wounds I will heal,

declares the Lord,
because ^aithey have called you an outcast:
^aj‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’
18 “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, ^akI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt on ^alits mound,
and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19 ^amOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the voices of those who celebrate.
^anI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20 ^aoTheir children shall be as they were of old,
and their congregation shall be established before me,
and I will punish all who oppress them.
21 ^apTheir prince shall be one of themselves;
^aqtheir ruler shall come out from their midst;
^arI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
^asfor who would dare of himself to approach me?

declares the Lord.
22 ^atAnd you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.”

Jeremiah 31:3-14

3the Lord appeared to him ▼

▼Septuagint; Hebrew me

from far away.
^avI have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore ^awI have continued ^axmy faithfulness to you.
4 ^ayAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
^azAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in ^bathe dance of the merrymakers.
5 ^bbAgain you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in ^bcthe hill country of Ephraim:
^bd‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord:
^be“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for ^bfthe chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
^bg‘O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8Behold, I will bring them ^bhfrom the north country
and ^bigather them from ^bjthe farthest parts of the earth,
among them ^bkthe blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9 ^blWith weeping they shall come,
^bmand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them ^bnwalk by brooks of water,
^boin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for ^bpI am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is ^bqmy firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will ^brgather him,
and will keep him ^bsas a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 ^btFor the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from ^buhands too strong for him.
12They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
^bvand they shall be radiant ^bwover the goodness of the Lord,
^bxover the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
^bytheir life shall be like a watered garden,
^bzand they shall languish no more.
13 ^caThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
^cbI will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 ^ccI will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,

declares the Lord.”

Zechariah 1:14-16

14So ^cdthe angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^ceI am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 ^cfAnd I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are ^cgat ease; ^chfor while I was angry but a little, ^cithey furthered the disaster. 16Therefore, thus says the Lord, ^cjI have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; ^ckmy house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^clthe measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

Zechariah 2:4-12

4and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ^cm‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited ^cnas villages without walls, because of ^cothe multitude of people and livestock in it. 5And I will be to her ^cpa wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

6Up! Up! ^cqFlee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have ^crspread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. 7 ^csUp! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me ▼

▼Or he sent me after glory

to the nations who plundered you, ^cufor he who touches you touches ^cvthe apple of his eye: 9“Behold, ^cwI will shake my hand over them, ^cxand they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then ^cyyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. 10 ^czSing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for ^dabehold, I come ^dband I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. 11 ^dcAnd many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. ^ddAnd I will dwell in your midst, and ^deyou shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12 ^dfAnd the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again ^dgchoose Jerusalem.”

Zechariah 8:2-8

2“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^dhI am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3Thus says the Lord: ^diI have returned to Zion and ^djwill dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, ^dkand Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, ^dland the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^dmOld men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^dnIf it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, ^doshould it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, ^dpI will save my people ^dqfrom the east country and from the west country, 8and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. ^drAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God, ^dsin faithfulness and in righteousness.”

Zechariah 8:19

19“Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the ^dtfourth month and the fast of the ^dufifth and the fast of the ^dvseventh and the fast of the ^dwtenth shall be to the house of Judah ^dxseasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love ^dytruth and peace.