Zechariah 6–9

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

⁶And again I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. ²The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses,^{* 3}the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray^t horses.^{* 4}Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵The angel answered me, “These are the four winds^u of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of the whole earth.^{* 6}The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country,^v and the dappled ones go toward the south country.”^{* 7}When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. ⁸Then he cried out to me, “See, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”^*

The Coronation of the Branch

⁹The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰“Collect silver and gold^w from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah—who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.^{* 11}Take the silver and gold and make a crown^x and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak;^{* 12}say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch, for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.^{* 13}It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord; he shall bear royal honor and shall sit upon his throne and rule. There shall be a priest by his throne, with peaceful understanding between the two of them.^{* 14}And the crown^y shall be in the care of Heldai,^z Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah^a son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.

¹⁵“Those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”^*

Hypocritical Fasting Condemned

⁷In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.^{* 2}Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord^{* 3}and to ask the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I mourn and practice abstinence in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”^{* 4}Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: ⁵“Say to all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth month and in the seventh for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?^{* 6}And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink only for yourselves? ⁷Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, along with the towns around it, and when the Negeb and the Shephelah were inhabited?”

Punishment for Rejecting God’s Demands

⁸The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: ⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another;^{* 10}do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.^{* 11}But they refused to listen and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears in order not to hear.^{* 12}They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.^{* 13}Just as, when I^b called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the Lord of hosts,^{* 14}and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate.”^*

God’s Promises to Zion

⁸The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: ²“Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Zion with great zeal, and I am zealous for her with great wrath.^{* 3}Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain.^{* 4}Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age.^{* 5}And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.^{* 6}Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the Lord of hosts?^{* 7}Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,^{* 8}and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”^*

⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong—you who have recently been hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets who were present when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of hosts.^{* 10}For before those days there were no wages for people or for animals, nor was there any safety from the foe for those who went out or came in, and I set them all against one another.^{* 11}But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the Lord of hosts. ¹²For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.^{* 13}Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”^*

¹⁴“For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I purposed to bring disaster upon you when your ancestors provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts,^{* 15}so again I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid. ¹⁶These are the things that you shall do: speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace,^{* 17}do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord.”^*

Joyful Fasting

¹⁸The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: ¹⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; therefore love truth and peace.”^*

Many Peoples Drawn to Jerusalem

²⁰“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; ²¹the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’^{* 22}Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.^{* 23}Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”^*

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

⁹An Oracle.

The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach

and will rest upon Damascus.

For to the Lord belongs the capital^c of Aram,^d

as do all the tribes of Israel;

²Hamath also, which borders on it,

Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.^*

³Tyre has built itself a rampart

and heaped up silver like dust

and gold like the dirt of the streets.^*

⁴But now, the Lord will strip it of its possessions

and hurl its wealth into the sea,

and it shall be devoured by fire.^*

⁵Ashkelon shall see it and be afraid;

Gaza, too, and shall writhe in anguish;

Ekron also, because its hopes are withered.

The king shall perish from Gaza;

Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;^*

⁶a mongrel people shall settle in Ashdod,

and I will make an end of the pride of Philistia.^*

⁷I will take away its blood from its mouth

and its abominations from between its teeth;

it, too, shall be a remnant for our God;

it shall be like a clan in Judah,

and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.^*

⁸Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,

so that no one shall march to and fro;

no oppressor shall again overrun them,

for now I have seen with my own eyes.^*

The Coming Ruler of God’s People

⁹Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you;

triumphant and victorious is he,

humble and riding on a donkey,

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

¹⁰He^e will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

and he shall command peace to the nations;

his dominion shall be from sea to sea

and from the River to the ends of the earth.^*

¹¹As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.^*

¹²Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;

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

¹³For I have bent Judah as my bow;

I have made Ephraim its arrow.^f

I will arouse your sons, O Zion,

against your sons, O Greece,

and wield you like a warrior’s sword.^*

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them,

and his arrow go forth like lightning;

the Lord God will sound the trumpet

and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.^*

¹⁵The Lord of hosts will protect them,

and they shall consume and conquer the slingers;^g

they shall drink their blood^h like wine

and be full like a bowl,

drenched like the corners of the altar.^*

¹⁶On that day the Lord their God will save them,

for they are the flock of his people,

for like the jewels of a crown

they shall shine on his land.^*

¹⁷For what goodness and beauty are his!

Grain shall make the…