Zechariah 1:1–4:14
1 In the eighth month aof the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came bto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of cIddo the prophet, saying, 2 “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return dto Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. 4 “Do not be like your fathers, eto whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: f“Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.
5 “Your fathers, where are they?
And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 Yet surely gMy words and My statutes,
Which I commanded My servants the prophets,
Did they not overtake your fathers?
“So they returned and said:
h‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us,
According to our ways and according to our deeds,
So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet: 8 I saw by night, and behold, ia man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were jhorses: red, sorrel, and white. 9 Then I said, k“My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”
10 And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, l“These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”
11 mSo they answered the Angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is 1resting quietly.”
12 Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, “O Lord of hosts, nhow long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry othese seventy years?”
13 And the Lord answered the angel who talked to me, with pgood and comforting words. 14 So the angel who spoke with me said to me, 2“Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
And for Zion with great 4zeal.
15 I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease;
For rI was a little angry,
And they helped—but with evil intent.”
16 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord:
s“I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy;
My thouse ushall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts,
“And va surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’
17 “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“My cities shall again 5spread out through prosperity;
wThe Lord will again comfort Zion,
And xwill again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”
18 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four yhorns. 19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?”
So he answered me, z“These are the 6horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?”
So he said, “These are the ahorns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but 7the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that blifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
2 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, aa man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 So I said, “Where are you going?”
And he said to me, b“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”
3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4 who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: c‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. 5 For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be da wall of fire all around her, eand I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”
Future Joy of Zion and Many Nations
6 “Up, up! Flee ffrom the land of the north,” says the Lord; “for I have gspread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord. 7 “Up, Zion! hEscape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”
8 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who itouches you touches the 1apple of His eye. 9 For surely I will jshake My hand against them, and they shall become 2spoil for their servants. Then kyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.
10 l“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I mwill dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 n“Many nations shall be joined to the Lord oin that day, and they shall become pMy people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then qyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 12 And the Lord will rtake possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 sBe silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused tfrom His holy habitation!”
3 Then he showed me aJoshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and bSatan 1standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, c“The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who dhas chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! eIs this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with ffilthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, gand I will clothe you with rich robes.”
5 And I said, “Let them put a clean hturban on his head.”
So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.
6 Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘If you will walk in My ways,
And if you will ikeep My command,
Then you shall also jjudge My house,
And likewise have charge of My courts;
I will give you places to walk
Among these who kstand here.
8 ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,
You and your companions who sit before you,
For they are la 2wondrous sign;
For behold, I am bringing forth mMy Servant the nBRANCH.
That I have laid before Joshua:
oUpon the stone are pseven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And qI will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 rIn that day,’ says the Lord of hosts,
‘Everyone will invite his neighbor
sUnder his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees
4 Now athe angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, bas a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I am looking, and there is ca lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, dand on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 eTwo olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”
And I said, “No, my lord.”
6 So he answered and said to me:
“This is the word of the Lord to fZerubbabel:
g‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
7 ‘Who are you, hO great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth ithe capstone
jWith shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”
8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
kHave laid the foundation of this 1temple;
His hands lshall also finish it.
Then myou will know
That the nLord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of osmall things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The 2plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
pThey are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these qtwo olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip 3into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”
13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?”
And I said, “No, my lord.”
14 So he said, r“These are the two 4anointed ones, swho stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”