A Vision of a Horseman

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(A)Zechariah, the son of ^(B)Berechiah, son of ^(C)Iddo, saying,

¹² Then ^(A)the angel of the Lord said, ^(B)‘O Lord of hosts, ^(C)how long will you ^(D)have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these ^(E)seventy years?’

¹⁶ Therefore, thus says the Lord, ^(A)I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; ^(B)my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^(C)the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(D)My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, ^(E)and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again ^(F)choose Jerusalem.’”

³ And behold, ^(A)the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him ⁴ and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ^(B)‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited ^(C)as villages without walls, because of ^(D)the multitude of people and livestock in it. ⁵ And I will be to her ^(E)a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

The Crown and the Temple

⁹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take from the exiles ^(A)Heldai, Tobijah, and ^(B)Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of ^(C)Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, ^(D)and set it on the head of ^(E)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 ^(F)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and ^(G)he shall build the temple of the Lord. ^13 (H)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord ^(I)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there^[a] shall be a ^(J)priest on his throne, ^(K)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ ¹⁴ And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as ^(L)a reminder to ^(M)Helem,^{[b] (N)}Tobijah, ^(O)Jedaiah, and Hen ^(P)the son of Zephaniah.

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