A Vision of Four Chariots

6 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of ^(A)bronze. ² The first chariot had ^(B)red horses, the second ^(C)black horses, ³ the third ^(D)white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.^{[a] 4} Then I answered and said to ^(E)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel answered and said to me, ^(F)“These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after ^(G)presenting themselves before ^(H)the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The chariot with the black horses goes toward ^(I)the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward ^(J)the south country.” ⁷ When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and ^(K)patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, ^(L)patrol the earth.” ^(M)So they patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward ^(N)the north country have set my Spirit at rest in ^(O)the north country.”

The Crown and the Temple

⁹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take from the exiles ^(P)Heldai, Tobijah, and ^(Q)Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of ^(R)Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, ^(S)and set it on the head of ^(T)Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is ^(U)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and ^(V)he shall build the temple of the Lord. ^13 (W)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord ^(X)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there^[b] shall be a ^(Y)priest on his throne, ^(Z)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ ¹⁴ And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as ^(AA)a reminder to ^(AB)Helem,^{[c] (AC)}Tobijah, ^(AD)Jedaiah, and Hen ^(AE)the son of Zephaniah.

^15 (AF)“And those who are far off shall come and ^(AG)help to build the temple of the Lord. ^(AH)And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ^(AI)And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

³ At the same time ^(A)Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: ^(B)“Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” ⁴ They also asked them this:^[a] “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” ⁵ But ^(C)the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

Tattenai's Letter to King Darius

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that ^(D)Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the ^(E)governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. ⁷ They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸ Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. ⁹ Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ^(F)‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.^{[b] 11} And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, ^(G)which a great king of Israel built and ^(H)finished. ^12 (I)But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he ^(J)gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. ^13 (K)However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. ^14 (L)And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was ^(M)Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; ¹⁵ and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” ¹⁶ Then this ^(N)Sheshbazzar came and ^(O)laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is ^(P)not yet finished.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, if it seems good to the king, ^(Q)let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”

The Decree of Darius

6 Then Darius the king made a decree, and ^(R)search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. ² And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is ^(S)in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. ³ In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits^[c] and its breadth sixty cubits, ^4 (T)with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. ⁵ And also ^(U)let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

⁶ “Now therefore, ^(V)Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, ^(W)and your^[d] associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. ⁷ Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. ⁸ Moreover, ^(X)I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. ⁹ And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, ¹⁰ that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven ^(Y)and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and ^(Z)his house shall be made a dunghill. ¹² May the God ^(AA)who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

The Temple Finished and Dedicated

¹³ Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, ^(AB)Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. ^14 (AC)And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and ^(AD)by decree of Cyrus and ^(AE)Darius and ^(AF)Artaxerxes king of Persia;

A Call for Justice and Mercy

7 ^(A)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 ^(B)Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men ^(C)to entreat the favor of the Lord, ^3 (D)saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and ^(E)the prophets, “Should I weep and ^(F)abstain in ^(G)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 mourned in ^(H)the fifth month and in ^(I)the seventh, for these ^(J)seventy years, ^(K)was it ^(L)for me that you fasted? ^6 (M)And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ^7 (N)Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed ^(O)by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, ^(P)with her cities around her, and the ^(Q)South and the ^(R)lowland were inhabited?’”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(S)Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, ^10 (T)do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, ^(U)or the poor, and ^(V)let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” ¹¹ But ^(W)they refused to pay attention ^(X)and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.^{[a] 12 (Y)}They made their hearts diamond-hard ^(Z)lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent ^(AA)by his Spirit through ^(AB)the former prophets. ^(AC)Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. ^13 (AD)“As I^[b] called, and they would not hear, ^(AE)so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, ^14 (AF)“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all ^(AG)the nations that they had not known. ^(AH)Thus the land they left was desolate, ^(AI)so that no one went to and fro, ^(AJ)and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

8 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AK)I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(AL)I have returned to Zion and ^(AM)will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, ^(AN)and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, ^(AO)and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. ⁴ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AP)Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of 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: ^(AQ)If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, ^(AR)should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? ⁷ Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, ^(AS)I will save my people ^(AT)from the east country and from the west country, ⁸ and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. ^(AU)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, ^(AV)in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

⁹ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AW)“Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of ^(AX)the prophets who were present on ^(AY)the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. ¹⁰ For before those days ^(AZ)there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. ¹¹ But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. ^12 (BA)For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, ^(BB)and the heavens shall give their dew. ^(BC)And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. ¹³ And as ^(BD)you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, ^(BE)so will I save you, and ^(BF)you shall be a blessing. ^(BG)Fear not, but ^(BH)let your hands be strong.”

¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(BI)“As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, ¹⁵ so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ^(BJ)fear not. ¹⁶ These are the things that you shall do: ^(BK)Speak the truth to one another; ^(BL)render in your gates judgments ^(BM)that are true and make for peace; ^17 (BN)do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ^(BO)love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

¹⁸ And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the ^(BP)fourth month and the fast of the ^(BQ)fifth and the fast of the ^(BR)seventh and the fast of the ^(BS)tenth shall be to the house of Judah ^(BT)seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love ^(BU)truth and peace.

²⁰ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ²¹ The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ^(BV)‘Let us go at once ^(BW)to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ ^22 (BX)Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and ^(BY)to entreat the favor of the Lord. ²³ Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ^(BZ)ten men ^(CA)from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for ^(CB)we have heard that God is with you.’”