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Zechariah 6
New King James Version
Zechariah 6
New King James Version
Vision of the Four Chariots
6 Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were (A)red horses, with the second chariot (B)black horses, 3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds. 4 Then I answered (C)and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 And the angel answered and said to me, (D)“These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their (E)station before the Lord of all the earth. 6 [a]The one with the black horses is going to (F)the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” 7 Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might (G)walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. 8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My (H)Spirit in the north country.”
The Command to Crown Joshua
9 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 10 “Receive the gift from the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold, make (I)an[b] elaborate crown, and set it on the head of (J)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:
“Behold, (K)the Man whose name is the (L)BRANCH!
From His place He shall [c]branch out,
(M)And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He (N)shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So (O)He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between [d]them both.” ’
14 “Now the [e]elaborate crown shall be (P)for a memorial in the temple of the Lord [f]for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 Even (Q)those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:6 The chariot
- Zechariah 6:11 Lit. crowns
- Zechariah 6:12 Lit. sprout up
- Zechariah 6:13 Both offices
- Zechariah 6:14 Lit. crowns
- Zechariah 6:14 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. for Heldai (cf. v. 10); LXX for the patient ones
Zechariah 6
New International Version
Zechariah 6
New International Version
Four Chariots
6 I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots(A) coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black,(B) 3 the third white,(C) and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. 4 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[a](D) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.(E) 6 The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,[b] and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”
7 When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.(F) And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.
8 Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit[c] rest(G) in the land of the north.”(H)
A Crown for Joshua
9 The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon.(I) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown,(J) and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua(K) son of Jozadak.[d](L) 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,(M) and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.(N) 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he[e] will be a priest(O) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai,[f] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen[g] son of Zephaniah as a memorial(P) in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,(Q) and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.(R) This will happen if you diligently obey(S) the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
- Zechariah 6:6 Or horses after them
- Zechariah 6:8 Or spirit
- Zechariah 6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak
- Zechariah 6:13 Or there
- Zechariah 6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem
- Zechariah 6:14 Or and the gracious one, the
Zechariah 6
Amplified Bible
Zechariah 6
Amplified Bible
The Four Chariots
6 Now again I looked up, and [a]four chariots were coming out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of [firm, immovable] bronze (divine judgment). 2 The first chariot had red horses (war, bloodshed), the second chariot had black horses (famine, death),(A) 3 the third chariot had white horses (victory), and the fourth chariot had strong dappled horses (death through judgment).(B) 4 Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth,(C) 6 with the chariot with the black horses going toward the north country; then the one with the white horses follows after them [because there are two northern powers to overcome], and the chariot with the dappled horses goes toward the south country.” 7 When the strong horses went out, they were eager to patrol the earth. And the Lord said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth [watching and protecting it]. 8 Then He called out to me and said to me, “See, those who are going to the north country have quieted My Spirit [of wrath] in the north country.”
9 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 10 “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah [as representatives]; 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 [from them], and make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then say to Joshua, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold (look, keep in sight, watch), a Man (Messiah) whose name is Branch, for He shall branch out from His place (Israel, the Davidic line); and He shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord.(D) 13 Yes, [you are to build a temple of the Lord, but] it is He who shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and majesty [as the only begotten of the Father] and sit and rule on His throne. And He shall be a [b]Priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two offices [Priest and King].”’(E) 14 Now the crown shall become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.(F) 15 And those who are far away will come and [help] build the temple of the Lord.” Then you shall know [without any doubt] that the Lord of hosts sent me (Zechariah) to you. And it will come about if you will diligently obey the [voice of the] Lord your God.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:1 I.e. four angelic spirits appointed by God to dispense His judgment.
- Zechariah 6:13 The Messiah will be both king and priest.
Zechariah 6
The Message
Zechariah 6
The Message
Eighth Vision: Four Chariots
6 Once again I looked up—another strange sight! Four chariots charging out from between two mountains. The mountains were bronze.
2-3 The first chariot was drawn by red horses, the second chariot by black horses, the third chariot by white horses, and the fourth chariot by dappled horses. All the horses were powerful.
4 I asked the Messenger-Angel, “Sir, what’s the meaning here?”
5-7 The angel answered, “These are the four winds of heaven, which originate with the Master of the whole earth. The black horses are headed north with the white ones right after them. The dappled horses are headed south.” The powerful horses galloped out, bursting with energy, eager to patrol through the earth. The Messenger-Angel commanded: “On your way! Survey the earth!” and they were off in every direction.
8 Then he called to me and said, “Look at them go! The ones going north are conveying a sense of my Spirit, serene and secure. No more trouble from that direction.”
A Man Named Branch
9-12 Then this Message from God came to me: “Take up a collection from the exiles. Target Heldai, Tobiah, and Jedaiah. They’ve just arrived from Babylon. You’ll find them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Collect silver and gold from them and fashion crowns. Place one on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and give him this message:
12-13 “‘A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Be alert. We have a man here whose name is Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of God. Yes, he’s the one. He’ll build the Temple of God. Then he’ll assume the role of royalty, take his place on the throne and rule—a priest sitting on the throne!—showing that king and priest can coexist in harmony.’
14 “The other crown will be in the Temple of God as a symbol of royalty, under the custodial care of Helem, Tobiah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah.
15 “People will come from faraway places to pitch in and rebuild the Temple of God. This will confirm that God-of-the-Angel-Armies did, in fact, send me to you. All this follows as you put your minds to a life of responsive obedience to the voice of your God.”
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson