After an extremity of evils that shall fall upon the Jews, a remnant shall be comforted by Christ.

¹ And seven women will take hold of one man, in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing, only let us be called by your name, so as to take away our reproach.”

² In that day, the seedling of the Lord will have magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be greatly-esteemed and a source of joy to those who will have been saved out of Israel.¹

1. 4:2The bud of the Lord: That is, Christ.(Challoner)

³ And this shall be: all who are left behind in Zion, and who remain in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, all who have been written in life in Jerusalem.¹

1. 4:3The meaning of the expression ‘omnis qui scriptus est in vita in Ierusalem’ is somewhat obscure. Bible translators should not try to take away all of the obscurity of the sacred texts, because in doing so they do violence to the many different levels of meaning of Scripture and so discourage the search for truth among readers of the Bible. Passages which are obscure in the source text should perhaps remain somewhat obscure in translation, lest the translator substitute his own limited understanding for the ineffable source of truth which is Sacred Scripture.(Conte)

⁴ Then the Lord will have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and will have washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst, by means of a spirit of judgment and a spirit of intense devotion.

⁵ And the Lord will create, over every place of Mount Zion and wherever he is called upon, a cloud by day and a smoke with the splendor of burning fire by night. For protection will be over every glory.

⁶ And there will be a tabernacle for shade from the heat in daytime, and for security, and for protection from the whirlwind and from rain.