Zechariah 1:1–21
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius,a the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariahb son of Berekiah,c the son of Iddo:d
2 “The Lord was very angrye with your ancestors. 3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Returnf to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’g says the Lord Almighty. 4 Do not be like your ancestors,h to whom the earlier prophetsi proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil waysj and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me,k declares the Lord.l 5 Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But did not my wordsm and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?n
“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve,o just as he determined to do.’ ”p
The Man Among the Myrtle Trees
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.q
8 During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a redr horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.s
9 I asked, “What are these, my lord?”
The angelt who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”u
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.”v
11 And they reported to the angel of the Lordw who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”x
12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how longy will you withhold mercyz from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah,a which you have been angry with these seventyb years?” 13 So the Lord spokec kind and comforting wordsd to the angel who talked with me.e
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealousf for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure.g I was only a little angry,h but they went too far with the punishment.’i
16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will returnj to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring linek will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.l
17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfortm Zion and choosen Jerusalem.’ ”o
18 Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. 19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”
He answered me, “These are the hornsp that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are these coming to do?”
He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their hornsq against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”a r