6I looked up again,^a and I saw, and look!—four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. ²With the first chariot there were red horses, and with the second chariot there were black horses. ³And with the third chariot there were white horses, and with the fourth chariot there were strong^b dappled horses. ⁴And I answered and said to the angel that was talking to me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵And the angel answered and said to me, “These are the four winds^c of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶The one with^d the black horses is going out to the north country, and the white horses go after them,^e while the dappled ones go to the south country.” ⁷When the strong horses went out, they were anxious to go to patrol the earth. And he^f said, “Go, patrol the earth.” And they patrolled the earth. ⁸And he cried out to me and said to me, “See those going out to the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”

The Branch is Crowned

⁹And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁰“Collect^g from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, all of whom came from Babylon—and go on that day, go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹²And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Look, here is a man whose name is Branch,^h and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh. ¹³And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.” ’ⁱ ¹⁴And the crown will be for Helem,^j for Tobijah, for Jedaiah, and for Hen^k son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Yahweh. ¹⁵And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God.”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

aLiterally “I did again, I lifted up my eyes”
bOther ancient versions read “grey” here
cOr “spirits” (The same Hebrew word can be translated “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context)
dLiterally “Her with which”
eSome interpret the word “after” to indicate a westward direction
fThat is, “Lord of all the earth”
gThe imperative “Collect” has no object; many translations supply “silver and gold” or “an offering”
hHebrew “Sprout” or “Shoot” (“Branch” is a traditional rendering in English)
iThat is, between king and priest
j“Helem” is probably another name for Heldai (v. 10)
k“Hen” is frequently understood as a reference to Josiah (v. 10)