Zechariah 1
Lexham English Bible
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came[a] to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying, 2 “Yahweh was very angry with your ancestors.[b] 3 You must say to them: ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Return to me,” declares[c] Yahweh of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts. 4 “Do not be like your ancestors,[d] to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!”’ But they did not hear[e] and they did not pay attention[f] to me,” declares[g] Yahweh. 5 “Your ancestors,[h] where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors?[i] And they repented and said, ‘Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.’”’”
Zechariah’s First Vision
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying, 8 I had a vision in the night,[j] and look, a man riding on a red horse. And he was standing between the myrtle shrubs that were in the ravine, and behind him were red, reddish-brown, and white horses. 9 And I asked, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel who was talking with me said, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the man standing between the myrtle shrubs answered and said, “These are those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol[k] the earth.” 11 And they answered the angel of Yahweh who was standing between the myrtle shrubs, and they said, “We have patrolled[l] the earth, and look, all the earth is dwelling in peace.”[m] 12 The angel of Yahweh answered and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, how long[n] will you have no compassion on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you showed fury these seventy years?”[o] 13 With gracious[p] and comforting words Yahweh answered the angel who was talking with me. 14 And the angel who was talking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “I am very jealous[q] for Jerusalem and for Zion! 15 And I am extremely angry[r] with the nations that are at ease, for while I was a little angry, they furthered disaster.”[s] 16 Therefore, thus says Yahweh: “I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My temple[t] will be built in it,” declares[u] Yahweh of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’ 17 Proclaim again, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “My cities shall again overflow from prosperity, and Yahweh will comfort Zion again, and he will choose Jerusalem again.”’”
Zechariah’s Second Vision
18 [v] And I looked up[w] and I saw, and look, there were four horns! 19 And I said to the angel who was talking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then Yahweh showed me four skilled craftsmen, 21 and I asked, “What are these coming to do?” And he answered, saying, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no man[x] lifted up his head; but these have come to frighten them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 1:1 Literally “was”
- Zechariah 1:2 Literally “was angry against your ancestors with anger”
- Zechariah 1:3 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 1:4 Or “fathers”
- Zechariah 1:4 Or “listen”
- Zechariah 1:4 Or “give heed”
- Zechariah 1:4 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 1:5 Or “fathers”
- Zechariah 1:6 Or “fathers”
- Zechariah 1:8 Literally “I saw the night,” which means “I had a vision”
- Zechariah 1:10 Or “to go about,” or “to walk through”
- Zechariah 1:11 Or “have gone about,” or “have walked through”
- Zechariah 1:11 Literally “is dwelling and is at rest”
- Zechariah 1:12 Literally “until when”
- Zechariah 1:12 Hebrew “year”
- Zechariah 1:13 Or “kind”; literally “good”
- Zechariah 1:14 Literally “I am jealous with a great jealousy”
- Zechariah 1:15 Literally “With a great anger I am angry”
- Zechariah 1:15 Literally “helped disaster”
- Zechariah 1:16 Or “house”
- Zechariah 1:16 Literally “a declaration of”
- Zechariah 1:18 Zechariah 1:18–2:17 in the English Bible is 2:1–13 in the Hebrew Bible
- Zechariah 1:18 Literally “lifted up my eyes”
- Zechariah 1:21 Literally “according to the mouth of a man”
Zechariah 1
International Standard Version
A Call to Return
1 In the eighth month of the second year[a] of the reign of[b] Darius, this message from the Lord came to Berechiah’s son Zechariah,[c] the grandson of Iddo the prophet: 2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “Return to me,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, “and I will return to you.[d] 4 Don’t be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “It’s time to turn from your evil lifestyles[e] and from your evil actions,” ‘but they would neither listen nor pay attention to me,’” declares the Lord.’ 5 “Your ancestors—where are they? And the prophets—do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets—did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me:[f] ‘The Lord of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do—in keeping with our lifestyles[g] and in keeping with our actions.’”
The Vision of Horses
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month Shebat) in the second year of the reign of[h] Darius, this message from the Lord came to Berechiah’s son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet: 8 “I stared into the night, and there was a man mounted on a red horse! The horse[i] was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him there were red, brown,[j] and white horses.”
9 Then I asked, “Who are these, sir?”[k]
The messenger who was talking to me answered, “I will tell you who these are.”
10 The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, “These are the ones whom the Lord sent out to wander throughout the earth.”
11 Then they reported to the angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtle trees, “We have wandered throughout the earth—and look!—the entire earth is at rest. Everything is quiet and peaceful.”[l]
12 And the angel of the Lord replied, “Lord of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?”
13 So the Lord answered the angel who was speaking to me with kind and comforting words.
The Lord’s Concern for Zion
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me told me, “Announce this: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “I have a deep concern for Jerusalem, a great concern for Zion. 15 I am deeply angry with the nations who are complacent, with whom I was only a little displeased—but they made things worse!” 16 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says: “I have returned to Jerusalem with compassionate intentions. My Temple will be rebuilt there,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, “and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’”
The Future Prosperity of Zion
17 “Also announce the following: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “My cities will again overflow with prosperity. The Lord will comfort Zion once more and will choose Jerusalem again.”’”
The Vision of Four Horns
18 [m]Then I looked up and saw four horns. 19 I asked the angel who was talking to me, “What are those?”
So he answered me, “Those are the forces[n] that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
The Vision of Four Artisans
20 Then the Lord showed me four artisans.
21 Then I asked, “What have they come to do?”
He answered, “Those horns that dispersed Judah—so that no one could lift up his head—those artisans[o] are coming to disrupt the power[p] of nations, tearing them down now that they’ve come to power and dispersed the land of Judah.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 1:1 I.e. sometime from mid-October to mid-November 520 BC
- Zechariah 1:1 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- Zechariah 1:1 The Heb. name Zechariah means the Lord remembers
- Zechariah 1:3 Lit. you,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
- Zechariah 1:4 Lit. paths
- Zechariah 1:6 The Heb. lacks to me
- Zechariah 1:6 Lit. paths
- Zechariah 1:7 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- Zechariah 1:8 Lit. He
- Zechariah 1:8 Or sorrel
- Zechariah 1:9 Lit. My lord
- Zechariah 1:11 Lit. is rest and remains
- Zechariah 1:18 This v. is 2:1 in MT, 1:19 is 2:2 in MT, and so through v. 21
- Zechariah 1:19 Lit. horns
- Zechariah 1:21 The Heb. lacks artisans
- Zechariah 1:21 Lit. to terrify the horns
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