Zechariah 4–6

FIFTH VISION: GOLD LAMPSTAND

4The angel who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep. ²He asked me, “What do you see?”

I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. The lampstand also has seven lamps at the top with seven spouts for each of^C the lamps. ³There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

⁴Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵“Don’t you know what they are?” replied the angel who was speaking with me.

I said, “No, my lord.”

⁶So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’^t says the Lord of Armies. ⁷‘What are you, great mountain?^u Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.^v And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’ ”

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me:^{w 9}“Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house,^x and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. ¹⁰For who despises the day of small things?^y These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone^D in Zerubbabel’s hand.”^z

¹¹I asked him, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?” ¹²And I questioned him further, “What are the two streams^E of the olive trees, from which the golden oil is pouring through the two golden conduits?”

¹³Then he inquired of me, “Don’t you know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

¹⁴“These are the two anointed ones,”^Aa he said, “who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”^b

SIXTH VISION: FLYING SCROLL

5I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.^{c 2}“What do you see?” he asked me.

“I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “thirty feet^B long and fifteen feet^C wide.”^d

³Then he said to me, “This is the curse^e that is going out over the whole land, for everyone who is a thief, contrary to what is written on one side, has gone unpunished,^D and everyone who swears falsely, contrary to what is written on the other side, has gone unpunished. ⁴I will send it out,”^f—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by my name. It will stay inside his house and destroy it along with its timbers and stones.”^g

SEVENTH VISION: WOMAN IN THE BASKET

⁵Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Look up and see what this is that is approaching.”

⁶So I asked, “What is it?”

He responded, “It’s a measuring basket^E that is approaching.” And he continued, “This is their iniquity^F in all the land.” ⁷Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman^h sitting inside the basket.^{i 8}“This is Wickedness,” he said. He shoved her down into the basket and pushed the lead weight over its opening. ⁹Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork,^j and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.

¹⁰So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

¹¹“To build a shrine for it in the land of Shinar,”^k he told me. “When that is ready, the basket will be placed there on its pedestal.”

EIGHTH VISION: FOUR CHARIOTS

6Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. The mountains were made of bronze. ²The first chariot had chestnut^G horses,^l the second chariot black horses,^{m 3}the third chariot white horses,ⁿ and the fourth chariot dappled^o horses—all strong horses. ⁴So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵The angel told me, “These are the four spirits^Hp of heaven going out after presenting themselves to the Lord of the whole earth. ⁶The one with the black horses is going to the land of the north, the white horses are going after them, but the dappled horses are going to the land of the south.” ⁷As the strong horses went out, they wanted to go patrol the earth, and the Lord said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. ⁸Then he summoned me saying, “See, those going to the land of the north have pacified my Spirit in the northern land.”

CROWNING OF THE BRANCH

⁹The word of the Lord came to me:^{q 10}“Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹Take silver and gold, make a crown,^A and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹²You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Armies says: Here is a man whose name is Branch;^r he will branch out from his place and build the Lord’s temple. ¹³Yes, he will build the Lord’s temple; he will bear royal splendor^s and will sit on his throne and rule. There will be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them.^{t 14}The crown will reside in the Lord’s temple as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen^B son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵People who are far off will come and build the Lord’s temple, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the Lord your God.”^u