Asa's Last Years

16 ^(A)In the ^(B)thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, ^(C)that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “There is a covenant^[a] between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” ⁴ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the ^(D)store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. ⁶ Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time ^(E)Hanani ^(F)the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, ^(G)“Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. ⁸ Were not ^(H)the Ethiopians and ^(I)the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(J)because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. ^9 (K)For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those ^(L)whose heart is blameless towards him. ^(M)You have done foolishly in this, for from now on ^(N)you will have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him ^(O)in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

^11 (P)The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. ¹³ And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier ^(Q)that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, ^(R)and they made a very great fire in his honour.

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne ^(A)a scroll written within and on the back, ^(B)sealed with seven seals. ² And ^(C)I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, ^(D)the Lion ^(E)of the tribe of Judah, ^(F)the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw ^(G)a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with ^(H)seven eyes, which are ^(I)the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders ^(J)fell down before the Lamb, ^(K)each holding a harp, and ^(L)golden bowls full of incense, ^(M)which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang ^(N)a new song, saying,

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering ^(S)myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice, ^(T)“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” ¹³ And I heard ^(U)every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!” ¹⁴ And the four living creatures ^(V)said, “Amen!” and the elders ^(W)fell down and worshipped.

A Call to Return to the Lord

1 In the eighth month, ^(A)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(B)Zechariah, the son of ^(C)Berechiah, son of ^(D)Iddo, saying, ^2 (E)“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: ^(F)Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and ^(G)I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^4 (H)Do not be like your fathers, ^(I)to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(J)Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But ^(K)they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. ⁵ Your fathers, where are they? And ^(L)the prophets, do they live for ever? ^6 (M)But my words and my statutes, which I commanded ^(N)my servants the prophets, did they not ^(O)overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ^(P)As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for ^(Q)our ways and ^(R)deeds, so has he dealt with us.”

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 ^(S)Zechariah, the son of ^(T)Berechiah, son of ^(U)Iddo, saying, ⁸ “I saw in the night, and behold, ^(V)a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were ^(W)red, sorrel, and white horses. ⁹ Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ ^(X)The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ ¹⁰ So ^(Y)the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ^(Z)‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to ^(AA)patrol the earth.’ ¹¹ And they answered ^(AB)the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ^(AC)‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth ^(AD)remains at rest.’ ¹² Then ^(AE)the angel of the Lord said, ^(AF)‘O Lord of hosts, ^(AG)how long will you ^(AH)have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these ^(AI)seventy years?’ ¹³ And the Lord answered ^(AJ)gracious and comforting words to ^(AK)the angel who talked with me. ¹⁴ So ^(AL)the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AM)I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. ^15 (AN)And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are ^(AO)at ease; ^(AP)for while I was angry but a little, ^(AQ)they furthered the disaster. ¹⁶ Therefore, thus says the Lord, ^(AR)I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; ^(AS)my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^(AT)the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AU)My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, ^(AV)and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again ^(AW)choose Jerusalem.’”

A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen

^18 [a] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(AX)four horns! ¹⁹ And I said to ^(AY)the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, ^(AZ)“These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. ²¹ And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, ^(BA)“These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come ^(BB)to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations ^(BC)who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”