Zechariah 1–3

A Call to Repentance

1In the eighth month ^aof the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came ^bto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of ^cIddo the prophet, saying, ²“The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. ³Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return ^dto Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁴“Do not be like your fathers, ^eto whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^f“Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.

⁵“Your fathers, where are they?

And the prophets, do they live forever?

⁶Yet surely ^gMy words and My statutes,

Which I commanded My servants the prophets,

Did they not overtake your fathers?

“So they returned and said:

^h‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us,

According to our ways and according to our deeds,

So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”

Vision of the Horses

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet: ⁸I saw by night, and behold, ⁱa man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were ^jhorses: red, sorrel, and white. ⁹Then I said, ^k“My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”

¹⁰And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, ^l“These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”

^11mSo they answered the Angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is ¹resting quietly.”

The Lord Will Comfort Zion

¹²Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, “O Lord of hosts, ⁿhow long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry ^othese seventy years?”

¹³And the Lord answered the angel who talked to me, with ^pgood and comforting words. ¹⁴So the angel who spoke with me said to me, ²“Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“I am ^qzealous ³for Jerusalem

And for Zion with great ⁴zeal.

¹⁵I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease;

For ^rI was a little angry,

And they helped—but with evil intent.”

¹⁶‘Therefore thus says the Lord:

^s“I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy;

My ^thouse ^ushall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts,

“And ^va surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’

¹⁷“Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“My cities shall again ⁵spread out through prosperity;

^wThe Lord will again comfort Zion,

And ^xwill again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”

Vision of the Horns

¹⁸Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four ^yhorns. ¹⁹And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?”

So he answered me, ^z“These are the ⁶horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

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

So he said, “These are the ^ahorns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but ⁷the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that ^blifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Vision of the Measuring Line

2Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, ^aa man with a measuring line in his hand. ²So I said, “Where are you going?”

And he said to me, ^b“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”

³And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, ⁴who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ^c‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. ⁵For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be ^da wall of fire all around her, ^eand I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”

Future Joy of Zion and Many Nations

⁶“Up, up! Flee ^ffrom the land of the north,” says the Lord; “for I have ^gspread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord. ⁷“Up, Zion! ^hEscape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”

⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who ⁱtouches you touches the ¹apple of His eye. ⁹For surely I will ^jshake My hand against them, and they shall become ²spoil for their servants. Then ^kyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.

^10l“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I ^mwill dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. ¹¹ⁿ“Many nations shall be joined to the Lord ^oin that day, and they shall become ^pMy people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then ^qyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. ¹²And the Lord will ^rtake possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. ^13sBe silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused ^tfrom His holy habitation!”

Vision of the High Priest

3Then he showed me ^aJoshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and ^bSatan ¹standing at his right hand to oppose him. ²And the Lord said to Satan, ^c“The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who ^dhas chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! ^eIs this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

³Now Joshua was clothed with ^ffilthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

⁴Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, ^gand I will clothe you with rich robes.”

⁵And I said, “Let them put a clean ^hturban on his head.”

So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

The Coming Branch

⁶Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘If you will walk in My ways,

And if you will ⁱkeep My command,

Then you shall also ^jjudge My house,

And likewise have charge of My courts;

I will give you places to walk

Among these who ^kstand here.

⁸‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,

You and your companions who sit before you,

For they are ^la ²wondrous sign;

For behold, I am bringing forth ^mMy Servant the ⁿBRANCH.

⁹For behold, the stone

That I have laid before Joshua:

^oUpon the stone are ^pseven eyes.

Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’

Says the Lord of hosts,

‘And ^qI will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

^10rIn that day,’ says the Lord of hosts,

‘Everyone will invite his neighbor

^sUnder his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”