Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.

And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.

I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.

And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.

And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.

And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.

10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?

11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.

In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.

Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?

And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.

And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.

Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

10 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;

11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;

12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord:

13 Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord.

15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,

And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,

Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?

And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,

Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.

13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:

14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;

And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

10 For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.

12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:

15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying,

19 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.

22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.

23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

The Flying Scroll

I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.(A)

He asked me, “What do you see?”(B)

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.[a]

And he said to me, “This is the curse(C) that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief(D) will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely(E) will be banished. The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely(F) by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.(G)’”

The Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.(H)” And he added, “This is the iniquity[b] of the people throughout the land.”

Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.(I)

Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork,(J) and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

11 He replied, “To the country of Babylonia[c](K) to build a house(L) for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”(M)

Four Chariots

I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots(N) coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black,(O) the third white,(P) and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[d](Q) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.(R) The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,[e] and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.(S) And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit[f] rest(T) in the land of the north.”(U)

A Crown for Joshua

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.(V) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown,(W) and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua(X) son of Jozadak.[g](Y) 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,(Z) and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.(AA) 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[h] will be a priest(AB) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai,[i] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen[j] son of Zephaniah as a memorial(AC) in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,(AD) and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.(AE) This will happen if you diligently obey(AF) the Lord your God.”

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah(AG) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.(AH) The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(AI) the Lord(AJ) by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(AK) and fast in the fifth(AL) month, as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(AM) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(AN) months for the past seventy years,(AO) was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?(AP) Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets(AQ) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest(AR) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills(AS) were settled?’”(AT)

And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;(AU) show mercy and compassion to one another.(AV) 10 Do not oppress the widow(AW) or the fatherless, the foreigner(AX) or the poor.(AY) Do not plot evil against each other.’(AZ)

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly(BA) they turned their backs(BB) and covered their ears.(BC) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint(BD) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(BE) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.(BF)

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen;(BG) so when they called, I would not listen,’(BH) says the Lord Almighty.(BI) 14 ‘I scattered(BJ) them with a whirlwind(BK) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.(BL) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.(BM)’”

The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous(BN) for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

This is what the Lord says: “I will return(BO) to Zion(BP) and dwell in Jerusalem.(BQ) Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,(BR) and the mountain(BS) of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.(BT)

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem,(BU) each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.(BV)

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time,(BW) but will it seem marvelous to me?(BX)” declares the Lord Almighty.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.(BY) I will bring them back(BZ) to live(CA) in Jerusalem; they will be my people,(CB) and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.(CC)

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong(CD) so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets(CE) said who were present when the foundation(CF) was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages(CG) for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely(CH) because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,”(CI) declares the Lord Almighty.

12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,(CJ) the ground will produce its crops,(CK) and the heavens will drop their dew.(CL) I will give all these things as an inheritance(CM) to the remnant of this people.(CN) 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse[k](CO) among the nations, so I will save(CP) you, and you will be a blessing.[l](CQ) Do not be afraid,(CR) but let your hands be strong.(CS)

14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster(CT) on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good(CU) again to Jerusalem and Judah.(CV) Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth(CW) to each other, and render true and sound judgment(CX) in your courts;(CY) 17 do not plot evil(CZ) against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.(DA) I hate all this,” declares the Lord.

18 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth,(DB) fifth,(DC) seventh(DD) and tenth(DE) months will become joyful(DF) and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth(DG) and peace.”

20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat(DH) the Lord and seek(DI) the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”(DJ)

23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”(DK)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 5:2 That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide
  2. Zechariah 5:6 Or appearance
  3. Zechariah 5:11 Hebrew Shinar
  4. Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
  5. Zechariah 6:6 Or horses after them
  6. Zechariah 6:8 Or spirit
  7. Zechariah 6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak
  8. Zechariah 6:13 Or there
  9. Zechariah 6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem
  10. Zechariah 6:14 Or and the gracious one, the
  11. Zechariah 8:13 That is, your name has been used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, you have been regarded as under a curse.
  12. Zechariah 8:13 Or and your name will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or and you will be seen as blessed