The Branch of the Lord

² At that time Israel’s king will be beautiful and glorious. He will be called The Branch of the Lord. The fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of those who are still left alive in Israel. ³ Those who are left in Zion will be called holy. They will be recorded among those who are alive in Jerusalem. ⁴ The Lord will wash away the sin of the women in Zion. He will clean up the blood that was spilled there. He will judge those who spilled that blood. His burning anger will blaze out at them. ⁵ Then the Lord will create over Jerusalem a cloud of smoke by day. He will also create a glow of flaming fire at night. The cloud and fire will appear over all of Mount Zion. They will also appear over the people who gather together there. The Lord’s glory will be like a tent over everything. ⁶ It will cover the people and give them shade from the hot sun all day long. It will be a safe place where they can hide from storms and rain.