« | Zechariah 14 |
1 See, a day of the Lord is coming when they will make division of your goods taken by force before your eyes.
2 For I will get all the nations together to make war against Jerusalem; and the town will be overcome, and the goods taken from the houses, and the women taken by force: and half the town will go away as prisoners, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the town.
3 Then the Lord will go out and make war against those nations, as he did in the day of the fight.
4 And in that day his feet will be on the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will be parted in the middle to the east and to the west, forming a very great valley; and half the mountain will be moved to the north and half of it to the south.
5 And the valley will be stopped ... and you will go in flight as you went in flight from the earth-shock in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah: and the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.
6 And in that day there will be no heat or cold or ice;
7 And it will be unbroken day, such as the Lord has knowledge of, without change of day and night, and even at nightfall it will be light.
8 And on that day living waters will go out from Jerusalem; half of them flowing to the sea on the east and half to the sea on the west: in summer and in winter it will be so.
9 And the Lord will be King over all the earth: in that day there will be one Lord and his name one.
10 And all the land will become like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she will be lifted up and be living in her place; from the doorway of Benjamin to the place of the first doorway, to the doorway of the angle, and from the tower of Hananel to the king's wine-crushing places, men will be living in her.
11 And there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will be living without fear of danger.
12 And this will be the disease which the Lord will send on all the peoples which have been warring against Jerusalem: their flesh will be wasted away while they are on their feet, their eyes will be wasted in their heads and their tongues in their mouths.
13 And it will be on that day that a great fear will be sent among them from the Lord; and everyone will take his neighbour's hand, and every man's hand will be lifted against his neighbour's.
14 And even Judah will be fighting against Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about will be massed together, a great store of gold and silver and clothing.
15 And the horses and the transport beasts, the camels and the asses and all the beasts in those tents will be attacked by the same disease.
16 And it will come about that everyone who is still living, of all those nations who came against Jerusalem, will go up from year to year to give worship to the King, the Lord of armies, and to keep the feast of tents.
17 And it will be that if any one of all the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to give worship to the King, the Lord of armies, on them there will be no rain.
18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or come there, they will be attacked by the disease which the Lord will send on the nations:
19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to keep the feast of tents.
20 On that day all the bells of the horses will be holy to the Lord, and the pots in the Lord's house will be like the basins before the altar.
21 And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of armies: and all those who make offerings will come and take them for boiling their offerings: in that day there will be no more traders in the house of the Lord of armies.
The Bible in Basic English (BBE)
The Bible in Basic English (BBE) is a translation of the Bible that aims to make the scriptures accessible to people with limited English proficiency. Completed in 1941 by Professor Samuel Henry Hooke and a team of scholars, the BBE utilizes a simplified vocabulary of approximately 1,000 basic English words, along with additional words necessary to maintain the integrity of the biblical text. This approach ensures that the translation is easily understandable while still conveying the core messages and teachings of the Bible.
One of the defining features of the BBE is its commitment to simplicity and clarity. By using a restricted vocabulary and straightforward sentence structures, the BBE makes it easier for readers to grasp the fundamental ideas of the scriptures without being hindered by complex language. This makes the BBE particularly valuable for non-native English speakers, children, and individuals with limited literacy skills. The translation aims to break down language barriers, allowing a broader audience to engage with Bible teachings.
Despite its simplified language, the BBE strives to remain faithful to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translators worked carefully to ensure that the essential meanings and theological concepts were preserved, even as they adapted the language to be more accessible. This balance of simplicity and fidelity to the original texts helps maintain the Bible’ s depth and spiritual richness while making it more approachable. The BBE’ s emphasis on clarity without sacrificing essential meaning has made it a useful tool for teaching and evangelism.
However, the BBE has faced some criticism, particularly from scholars and theologians who argue that the simplification process may lead to the loss of some nuances and deeper meanings present in the original languages. Some feel that the restricted vocabulary can oversimplify complex theological concepts, potentially limiting the reader’ s understanding of the full depth of the scriptures. Despite these criticisms, the Bible in Basic English remains a valuable resource for those seeking an easily understandable version of the Bible, providing a bridge for many to access the timeless messages contained within the holy scriptures.