Zechariah 1–5

A Plea for Repentance

1In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, ^athe word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah ^bson of Berechiah, son of Iddo: ²“The Lord was extremely angry with your ancestors. ^c3So tell the people: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Return to Me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts. ^d4Do not be like your ancestors; ^ethe earlier prophets proclaimed to them: ^fThis is what the Lord of Hosts says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. ^gBut they did not listen or pay attention to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ⁵“Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? ⁶But didn’t My words and My statutes that I commanded My servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? They repented and said: As the Lord of Hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so He has dealt with us.” ^h

The Night Visions

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:

First Vision: Horsemen

⁸I looked out in the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. ⁱHe was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley. Behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. ⁹I asked, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel who was talking to me replied, “I will show you what they are.”

¹⁰Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.”

¹¹They reported to the Angel of the Lord standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet.” ^j

¹²Then the Angel of the Lord responded, “How long, Lord of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that You have been angry with these 70 years?” ^k13The Lord replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.

¹⁴So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: The Lord of Hosts says: I am extremely jealous ^lfor Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, ^mfor I was a little angry, but they made it worse. ¹⁶Therefore, this is what the Lord says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; My house will be rebuilt within it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. ⁿ

¹⁷“Proclaim further: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.” ^o

Second Vision: Four Horns and Craftsmen

^18pThen I looked up and saw four horns. ^q19So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?”

And he said to me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

²⁰Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. ²¹I asked, “What are they coming to do?”

He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off the horns of the nations that raised their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Third Vision: Surveyor

2^rI looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. ²I asked, “Where are you going?”

He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem to determine its width and length.”

³Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him. ⁴He said to him, “Run and tell this young man: Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and livestock in it.” ^s5The declaration of the Lord: “I will be a wall ^tof fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.”

⁶“Get up! Leave the land of the north” ^u—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ⁷“Go, Zion! Escape, you who are living with Daughter Babylon.” ⁸For the Lord of Hosts says this: “He has sent Me ^vfor His glory against the nations who are plundering you, for anyone who touches you touches the pupil ^wof His ^xeye. ⁹I will move against them with My ^ypower, and they will become plunder for their own servants. ^zThen you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me. ^a

¹⁰“Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹¹“Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and become My ^bpeople. ^cI will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me ^dto you. ¹²The Lord will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem. ^e13Let all people be silent ^fbefore the Lord, for He is coming from His holy dwelling.”

Fourth Vision: High Priest and Branch

3Then he showed me Joshua ^gthe high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, ^hwith Satan ^ijstanding at his right side to accuse him. ²The Lord ^ksaid to Satan: “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” ^l

³Now Joshua was dressed with filthy ^mclothes ⁿas he stood before the Angel. ^o4So the Angel of the Lord ^pspoke to those ^qstanding before Him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then He said to him, “See, I have removed your guilt from you, ^rand I will clothe you with splendid robes.”

⁵Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban ^son his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him in garments while the Angel of the Lord was standing nearby.

⁶Then the Angel of the Lord charged Joshua: ⁷“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, you will both rule My house and take care of My courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.

⁸“Listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your colleagues sitting before you; indeed, these men are a sign that I am about to bring My servant, the Branch. ^t9Notice the stone ^uI have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. ^vI will engrave an inscription on it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will take away the guilt of this land in a single day. ¹⁰On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree.” ^wThis is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

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 there with a bowl on its top. It has seven lamps on it and seven channels for each of ^xthe lamps on its top. 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,’ ^ysays the Lord of Hosts. ⁷‘What are you, great mountain? ^zBefore Zerubbabel you will become a plain. ^aAnd he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’ ”

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me: ^b9“Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house, ^cand his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁰For who scorns the day of small things? ^dThese seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line ^ein Zerubbabel’s hand.” ^f

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 olive branches beside the two gold conduits, from which golden oil pours out?”

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

“No, my lord,” I replied.

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

Sixth Vision: Flying Scroll

5I looked up again and saw a flying scroll. ^j2“What do you see?” he asked me.

“I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “30 feet ^klong and 15 feet ^lwide.” ^m

³Then he said to me, “This is the curse ⁿthat is going out over the whole land, for every thief will be removed according to what is written on one side, and everyone who swears falsely will be removed according to what is written on the other side. ⁴I will send it out,” ^o—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“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.” ^p

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 ^qthat is approaching.” And he continued, “This is their iniquity ^rin all the land.” ⁷Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman ^ssitting inside the basket. ^t8“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, ^uand 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,” ^vhe told me. “When that is ready, the basket will be placed there on its pedestal.”