Zechariah 6–9

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

6Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. And the mountains were made of bronze. ²The first chariot had red horses, ^wthe second chariot black horses, ^x3the third chariot white horses, ^yand the fourth chariot dappled ^zhorses—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 ^abof 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: ^c10“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 crowns and place them on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹²You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; ^dHe will branch out from His place and build the Lord’s temple. ¹³Yes, He will build the Lord’s temple; He will be clothed in splendor ^eand will sit on His throne and rule. There will also be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them. ^f14The crown will reside in the Lord’s temple as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen ^gson of Zephaniah. ¹⁵People who are far off will come and build the Lord’s temple, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the Lord your God.” ^h

Disobedience and Fasting

7In the fourth year of King Darius, ⁱthe word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. ²Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer, Regem-melech, and their men to plead for the Lord’s favor ^j3by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Hosts as well as the prophets, “Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?”

⁴Then the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me: ⁵“Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these 70 years, did you really fast for Me? ^k6When you eat and drink, don’t you eat and drink simply for yourselves? ^l7Aren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure, ^malong with its surrounding cities, and when the southern region and the Judean foothills were inhabited?”

⁸The word of the Lord came to Zechariah: ⁹“The Lord of Hosts says this: Make fair decisions. ⁿShow faithful love and compassion ^oto one another. ¹⁰Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor, ^pand do not plot evil in your hearts against one another. ^q11But they refused to pay attention ^rand turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear. ^s12They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. ^tTherefore great anger came from the Lord of Hosts. ¹³Just as He had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord of Hosts. ¹⁴“I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation.”

Obedience and Feasting

8The word of the Lord of Hosts came: ²“The Lord of Hosts says this: I am extremely jealous ^ufor Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” ³The Lord says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, ^vthe mountain of the Lord of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain.” ⁴The Lord of Hosts says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. ⁵The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” ⁶The Lord of Hosts says this: “Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me?”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. ⁷The Lord of Hosts says this: “I will save My people from the land of the east and the land of the west. ⁸I will bring them back ^wto live in Jerusalem. They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.” ^x

⁹The Lord of Hosts says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of Hosts. ¹⁰For prior to those days neither man nor beast had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor. ¹¹But now, I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. ¹²“For they will sow in peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the skies will yield their dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance. ^y13As you have been a curse among the nations, ^zhouse of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. ^aDon’t be afraid; let your hands be strong.” ¹⁴For the Lord of Hosts says this: “As I resolved to treat you badly when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the Lord of Hosts, ¹⁵“so I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. ^bDon’t be afraid. ¹⁶These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another; make true and sound decisions within your gates. ¹⁷Do not plot evil ^cin your hearts against your neighbor, ^dand do not love perjury, ^efor I hate all this”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁸Then the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me: ¹⁹“The Lord of Hosts says this: The fast of the fourth month, ^fthe fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth ^gwill become times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace.” ²⁰The Lord of Hosts says this: “Peoples will yet come, the residents of many cities; ²¹the residents of one city will go to another, saying: Let’s go at once to plead for the Lord’s favor and to seek the Lord of Hosts. I am also going. ²²Many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead for the Lord’s favor.” ^h23The Lord of Hosts says this: “In those days, 10 men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, ⁱfor we have heard that God is with you.”

Judgment of Zion’s Enemies

9An Oracle

The word of the Lord

is against the land of Hadrach,

and Damascus ^jis its resting place—

for the eyes of men

and all the tribes of Israel

are on the Lord ^k—

²and also against Hamath, ^lwhich borders it,

as well as Tyre ^mand Sidon, ⁿ

though they are very shrewd.

³Tyre has built herself a fortress;

she has heaped up silver like dust

and gold like the dirt of the streets.

⁴Listen! The Lord will impoverish her

and cast her wealth into the sea;

she herself will be consumed by fire. ^o

⁵Ashkelon will see it and be afraid;

Gaza too, and will writhe in great pain,

as will Ekron, for her hope will fail.

There will cease to be a king in Gaza,

and Ashkelon will become uninhabited.

⁶A mongrel people will live in Ashdod,

and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines. ^p

⁷I will remove the blood from their mouths

and the detestable things ^q

from between their teeth.

Then they too will become a remnant for our God;

they will become like a clan in Judah

and Ekron like the Jebusites. ^r

⁸I will set up camp at My house against an army, ^s

against those who march back and forth,

and no oppressor will march against them again,

for now I have seen with My own eyes.

The Coming of Zion’s King

⁹Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem!

Look, your King is coming to you;

He is righteous and victorious, ^t

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ^u

¹⁰I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the horse from Jerusalem.

The bow of war will be removed,

and He will proclaim peace to the nations.

His dominion will extend from sea to sea,

from the Euphrates River

to the ends of the earth. ^v

¹¹As for you,

because of the blood of your covenant, ^w

I will release your prisoners

from the waterless cistern. ^x

¹²Return to a stronghold,

you prisoners who have hope;

today I declare that I will restore double to you. ^y

¹³For I will bend Judah as My bow;

I will fill that bow with Ephraim.

I will rouse your sons, Zion,

against your sons, Greece. ^za

I will make you like a warrior’s sword.

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them,

and His arrow will fly like lightning.

The Lord God will sound the trumpet

and advance with the southern storms. ^b

¹⁵The Lord of Hosts will defend them.

They will consume and conquer with slingstones;

they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine. ^c

They will be as full as the sprinkling basin, ^d

like those at the corners of the altar. ^e

¹⁶The Lord their God will save them on that day

as the flock of His people; ^f

for they are like jewels in a crown, ^g

sparkling over His land.

¹⁷How lovely and beautiful they will be!

Grain will make the young men flourish,

and new wine, the young women.