And it will become to me a source of joy, honor, and splendor for all the earth to see. When they hear of all the prosperity that I bestow upon the people, they will be shaken to the core at all the good and prosperity that I lavish upon it.
“They say about this place, ‘It is a wasteland, without people or animals.’ But this is what I, YAHWEH, say to you: In the desolate towns of Judah and in the abandoned streets of Jerusalem without people or animals, you will hear once more the raucous shouts of joy and mirth and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. You will once again hear the glad songs sung by those who bring thank offerings to my temple, singing,
‘We give thanks to mighty YAHWEH,
Commander of Angel Armies,
for he is so good,
and he will love you forever!’
“I, YAHWEH, promise that I will bring back the country’s captives, as before. And surrounding all the towns of this uninhabited wasteland without people or animals, there will once again be pastureland for the shepherds to rest their flocks,” says YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. “In the towns of the highlands, the lowlands, and the southern desert, in the land of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, flocks will once again pass under the hand of a shepherd who counts them,” declares YAHWEH.
YAHWEH
YAHWEH says, “The time is coming when I will fulfill the gracious promise of good things to come that I made to the people of Israel and Judah