The Builders Encouraged

2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by ^(A)Haggai the prophet, saying, ² “Speak now to ^(B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(C)governor of Judah, and to ^(D)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^(E)remnant of the people, saying, ³ ‘Who is ^(F)left among you who saw this ^[a]temple in its ^(G)former glory? And how do you see it now? ^[b]Does it not seem to you like nothing ^[c]in comparison? ⁴ But now ^[d](H)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for ^(I)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁵ ‘As for the ^[e](J)promise which I ^[f]made you when you came out of Egypt, ^[g]My ^(K)Spirit remains in your midst; ^(L)do not fear!’ ⁶ For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘^(M)Once more ^[h]in a ^(N)little while, I am going to ^(O)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake ^(P)all the nations; and ^[i]they will come with the ^(Q)wealth of all nations, and I will ^(R)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁸ ‘The ^(S)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁹ ‘The latter ^(T)glory of this house will be greater than the ^(U)former,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and in this place I will give ^(V)peace,’ declares the Lord of armies.”

¹⁰ On the ^(W)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying, ¹¹ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘^(X)Now ask the priests for a ^[j]ruling: ¹² If someone carries ^(Y)holy meat in the ^[k]fold of his garment, and touches bread with ^[l]this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” ¹³ Then Haggai said, “^(Z)If one who is unclean from a ^[m]corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” ¹⁴ Then Haggai responded and said, “‘^(AA)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. ¹⁵ But now, do ^[n](AB)consider from this day ^[o]onward: before one ^(AC)stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, ^16 [p]from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty ^[q]measures, there would be only twenty. ¹⁷ I struck you and every work of your hands with ^(AD)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; ^[r]yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Do ^[s](AE)consider from this day ^[t]onward, from the ^(AF)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was ^(AG)founded, ^[u]consider: ¹⁹ Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^(AH)bless you.’”

²⁰ Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the ^(AI)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, ²¹ “Speak to ^(AJ)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^(AK)shake the heavens and the earth. ²² And I will ^(AL)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^(AM)power of the kingdoms of the ^[v]nations; and I will ^(AN)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^(AO)horses and their riders will go down, ^(AP)every one by the sword of another.’ ²³ ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a ^[w](AQ)signet ring, for ^(AR)I have chosen you,’” declares the Lord of armies.

A Call to Repentance

1 In the eighth month of the second year of ^(A)Darius, the word of the Lord came to ^(B)Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of ^(C)Iddo saying, ² “The Lord was very ^(D)angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(E)Return to Me,” declares the Lord of armies, “^[a]that I may return to you,” says the Lord of armies. ⁴ “Do not be ^(F)like your fathers, to whom the ^(G)former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(H)Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did ^(I)not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord. ⁵ “Your ^(J)fathers, where are they? And the ^(K)prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But did My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, not ^[b](L)overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘^(M)Just as the Lord of armies planned to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”

Patrol of the Earth

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, ^[c]as follows: ⁸ I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a ^(N)red horse, and he was standing among the ^(O)myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, ^[d]sorrel, and ^(P)white horses behind him. ⁹ Then I said, “What are these, my ^(Q)lord?” And the ^(R)angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” ¹⁰ And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees responded and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to ^[e](S)patrol the earth.” ¹¹ So they responded to the angel of the Lord who was ^(T)standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have ^[f]patrolled the earth, and behold, ^(U)all the earth is ^[g]still and quiet.”

¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord of armies, ^(V)how long will You ^(W)take no pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been ^(X)indignant for these ^(Y)seventy years?” ¹³ And the Lord responded to the ^(Z)angel who was speaking with me with ^[h]gracious words, ^(AA)comforting words. ¹⁴ So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “^(AB)Proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “I am ^(AC)exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵ But I am very ^(AD)angry with the nations who are ^(AE)carefree; for while I was only a little angry, they ^[i](AF)furthered the disaster.” ¹⁶ Therefore the Lord says this: “I will ^(AG)return to Jerusalem with compassion; My ^(AH)house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of armies, “and a measuring ^(AI)line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ ¹⁷ Again, proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “My ^(AJ)cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again ^(AK)comfort Zion and again ^(AL)choose Jerusalem.”’”

^18 [j]Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. ¹⁹ So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the ^(AM)horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four ^(AN)craftsmen. ²¹ And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the ^(AO)horns that have scattered Judah so that no one lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to frighten them, to ^(AP)throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”

God’s Favor to Zion

2 ^[a]Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a ^(A)measuring line in his hand. ² So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To ^(B)measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.” ³ And behold, the ^(C)angel who had been speaking with me was going out, and another angel was going out to meet him. ⁴ And he said to him, “Run, speak to that ^(D)young man there, saying, ‘^(E)Jerusalem will be inhabited ^(F)as open country because of the ^(G)multitude of people and cattle within it. ⁵ But I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a ^(H)wall of fire to her on all sides, and I will be the ^(I)glory in her midst.’”

⁶ “^[b]You there! ^(J)Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “because I have ^(K)spread you out like the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord. ⁷ “^[c]You, Zion! ^(L)Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” ⁸ For the Lord of armies says this: “After ^(M)glory He has sent me against the nations that plunder you, for the one who touches you, touches the ^[d](N)apple of His eye. ⁹ For behold, I am going to ^(O)wave My hand over them so that they will be ^(P)plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent Me. ^10 (Q)Shout for joy and rejoice, daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will ^(R)dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord. ¹¹ “And ^(S)many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and will become My people. Then I will ^(T)dwell in your midst, and you will ^(U)know that the Lord of armies has sent Me to you. ¹² And the Lord will ^[e](V)possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again ^(W)choose Jerusalem.

¹³ “^[f](X)Be silent, all ^[g]mankind, before the Lord; for He has ^(Y)roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”

Joshua, the High Priest

3 Then he showed me ^(A)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and ^[a](B)Satan standing at his right to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “^(C)The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has ^(D)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a ^(E)log snatched from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was clothed in ^(F)filthy garments and was standing before the angel. ⁴ And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “^(G)Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have ^(H)taken your guilt away from you and ^[b]will ^(I)clothe you with festive robes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Have them put a clean ^(J)headband on his head.” So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘If you ^(K)walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both ^(L)govern My house and be in charge of My ^(M)courtyards, and I will grant you ^[c]free access among these who are standing here.

The Branch

⁸ Now listen, Joshua, you high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a ^(N)sign: for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the ^[d](O)Branch. ⁹ For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are ^(P)seven eyes. Behold, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘and I will ^(Q)remove the guilt of that land in one day. ¹⁰ On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his ^(R)vine and under his fig tree.’”

The Golden Lampstand and the Olive Trees

4 Then ^(A)the angel who had been speaking with me returned and ^(B)woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. ² And he said to me, “^(C)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a ^(D)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its ^(E)seven lamps on it with seven ^[a]spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; ³ also ^(F)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, ^(G)my lord?” ⁵ So ^(H)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “^(I)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to ^[b]me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^(J)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘^(K)Not by might nor by power, but by My ^(L)Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁷ ‘What are you, you great ^(M)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with ^(N)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

⁸ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have ^(O)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will ^(P)finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to ^[c]you. ¹⁰ For who has shown contempt for the day of ^(Q)small things? ^[d]But these ^(R)seven will rejoice when they see the ^[e](S)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the ^(T)eyes of the Lord ^(U)roaming throughout the earth.”

¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these ^(V)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” ¹² And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive ^[f]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” ¹³ So he answered me, saying, “^(W)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, ^(X)my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two ^[g](Y)anointed ones, who are ^(Z)standing by the ^(AA)Lord of the whole earth.”