Zechariah 3:8–11:17

The Branch

8 ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a asymbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the 1bBranch.

9 ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are aseven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will bremove the iniquity of that land in one day.

10 ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his avine and under his fig tree.’ ”

Chapter 4

The Golden Lampstand and Olive Trees

1 Then athe angel who was speaking with me returned and broused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.

2 He said to me, “aWhat do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a blampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its cseven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;

3 also atwo olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”

4 Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, amy lord?”

5 So athe angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “bDo you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

6 Then he 1said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to aZerubbabel saying, ‘bNot by might nor by power, but by My cSpirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.

7 ‘What are you, O great amountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with bshouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

8 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have alaid the foundation of this house, and his hands will bfinish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to 1you.

10 “For who has despised the day of asmall things? 1But these bseven will be glad when they see the 2cplumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the deyes of the Lord which erange to and fro throughout the earth.”

11 Then I said to him, “What are these atwo olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”

12 And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive 1branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”

13 So he answered me, saying, “aDo you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, bmy lord.”

14 Then he said, “These are the two 1aanointed ones who are bstanding by the cLord of the whole earth.”

Chapter 5

The Flying Scroll

1 Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying ascroll.

2 And he said to me, “aWhat do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty 1cubits and its width ten cubits.”

3 Then he said to me, “This is the acurse that is going forth over the face of the whole 1land; surely everyone who bsteals will be purged away according to 2the writing on one side, and everyone who cswears will be purged away according to 2the writing on the other side.

4 “I will amake it go forth,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and it will benter the house of the cthief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and dconsume it with its timber and stones.”

5 Then athe angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”

6 I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the 1aephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their 2appearance in all the 3land

7 (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”

8 Then he said, “This is aWickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its 1opening.

9 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a astork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.

10 I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”

11 Then he said to me, “To build a 1temple for her in the land of aShinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

Chapter 6

The Four Chariots

1 Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, afour chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.

2 With the first chariot were ared horses, with the second chariot bblack horses,

3 with the third chariot awhite horses, and with the fourth chariot strong bdappled horses.

4 Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “aWhat are these, my lord?”

5 The angel replied to me, “These are the afour spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,

6 with one of which the black horses are going forth to the anorth country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the bsouth country.

7 “When the strong ones went out, they 1were eager to go to 2apatrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, 2patrol the earth.” So they 3patrolled the earth.

8 Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have 1aappeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

9 The aword of the Lord also came to me, saying,

10 “aTake an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

The Symbolic Crowns

11 “Take silver and gold, make an ornate acrown and set it on the head of bJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

12 “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is 1aBranch, for He will 2bbranch out from where He is; and He will cbuild the temple of the Lord.

13 “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will abear the honor and sit and brule on His throne. Thus, He will be a cpriest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two 1offices.” ’

14 “Now the acrown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and 1Hen the son of Zephaniah.

15 “aThose who are far off will come and 1build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will bknow that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely cobey the Lord your God.

Chapter 7

Hearts like Flint

1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is aChislev.

2 Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and 1their men to 2aseek the favor of the Lord,

3 speaking to the apriests who belong to the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the bfifth month 1and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months 1these aseventy years, was it actually for bMe that you fasted?

6 ‘When you eat and drink, 1do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?

7 ‘Are not these the words which the Lord aproclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and 1bprosperous along with its cities around it, and the 2cNegev and the 3foothills were inhabited?’ ”

8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying,

9 “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘aDispense true justice and practice bkindness and compassion each to his brother;

10 and ado not oppress the widow or the 1orphan, the 2stranger or the poor; and do bnot devise evil in your hearts against one another.’

11 “But they arefused to pay attention and 1bturned a stubborn shoulder and 2cstopped their ears from hearing.

12 “They made their ahearts like 1bflint 2so that they could not hear the law and the cwords which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the dformer prophets; therefore great ewrath came from the Lord of hosts.

13 “And just as aHe called and they would not listen, so bthey called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts;

14 “but I 1ascattered them with a bstorm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is cdesolated behind them 2so that dno one went back and forth, for they emade the pleasant land desolate.”

Chapter 8

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

1 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying,

2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am aexceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’

3 “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and will adwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of bTruth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘aOld men and old women will again sit in the 1streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of 2age.

5 ‘And the 1streets of the city will be filled with aboys and girls playing in its 1streets.’

6 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If it is 1atoo difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be 1btoo difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of hosts.

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the 1aeast and from the land of the 2west;

8 and I will abring them back and they will blive in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be cMy people, and I will be their God in 1truth and righteousness.’

9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Let your hands be astrong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the bprophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.

10 ‘For before those days there was ano wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no 1bpeace because of 2his enemies, and I cset all men one against another.

11 ‘But now I will anot 1treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For there will be apeace for the …