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Zechariah 1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Zechariah 1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel Urged to Repent
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, saying:(A) 2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.(B) 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or heed me, says the Lord.(C) 5 Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your ancestors? So they repented and said, ‘The Lord of hosts has dealt with us according to our ways and deeds, just as he planned to do.’ ”(D)
First Vision: The Horsemen
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo: 8 In the night I saw a man mounted on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the shadows,[a] and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.(E) 9 Then I said, “What are these, my lord?” The angel who spoke with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”(F) 10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, “They are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.”(G) 11 Then they spoke to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and the whole earth remains at peace.”(H) 12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry these seventy years?”(I) 13 Then the Lord replied with gracious and comforting words to the angel who spoke with me.(J) 14 So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim this message: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am very zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion,(K) 15 and I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease, for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse.(L) 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and a measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.(M) 17 Proclaim further: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”(N)
Second Vision: The Horns and the Smiths
18 [b]And I looked up and saw four horns. 19 I asked the angel who spoke with me, “What are those?” And he answered me, “Those are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 21 And I asked, “What are they coming to do?” He answered, “Those are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no head could be raised, but these have come to terrify them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”[c](O)
Third Vision: The Man with a Measuring Line
2 [d]I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.(P) 2 Then I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.”(Q) 3 Then the angel who spoke with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4 and said to him, “Run, say to that young man: Jerusalem shall be inhabited like unwalled villages because of the multitude of people and animals in it.(R) 5 For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within it.”(S)
Interlude: An Appeal to the Exiles
6 Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord.(T) 7 Up! Escape to Zion, you who live with daughter Babylon. 8 For thus said the Lord of hosts after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you: Truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye.[e](U) 9 For I am going to raise[f] my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me.(V) 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord.(W) 11 Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day and shall be my people, and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.(X)
13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.(Y)
Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan
3 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord and the accuser[g] standing at his right hand to accuse him.(Z) 2 And the Lord said to the accuser,[h] “The Lord rebuke you, O accuser![i] The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?”(AA) 3 Now Joshua was wearing filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel[j] said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And to him he said, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel.”(AB) 5 And he said,[k] “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with apparel, and the angel of the Lord was standing by.(AC)
6 Then the angel of the Lord warned Joshua, saying 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.(AD) 8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch.(AE) 9 For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day.(AF) 10 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.”(AG)
Fifth Vision: The Lampstand and Olive Trees
4 The angel who spoke with me came again and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep.(AH) 2 He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.(AI) 3 And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”(AJ) 4 I said to the angel who spoke with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who spoke with me answered me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 He said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.(AK) 7 What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ ”(AL)
8 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.(AM) 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.
“These seven are the eyes of the Lord that range through the whole earth.”(AN) 11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees that pour out the oil[l] through the two golden pipes?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”(AO)
Sixth Vision: The Flying Scroll
5 Again I looked up and saw a flying scroll.(AP) 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land, for everyone who has stolen, as is forbidden on one side, has gone unpunished, and everyone who has sworn falsely,[m] as is forbidden on the other side, has gone unpunished.(AQ) 4 I have sent it out, says the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name, and it shall abide in that house and consume it, both timber and stones.”(AR)
Seventh Vision: The Woman in a Basket
5 Then the angel who spoke with me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is coming out.” 6 I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is a basket[n] coming out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity[o] in the whole land.” 7 Then a leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket![p] 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” So he thrust her back into the basket[q] and pressed the leaden weight down on its mouth.(AS) 9 Then I looked up and saw two women coming forward. The wind was in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket[r] between earth and sky. 10 Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”[s] 11 He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it, and when this is prepared, they will set it down there on its base.”(AT)
Eighth Vision: Four Chariots
6 And again I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses,(AU) 3 the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray[t] horses.(AV) 4 Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 The angel answered me, “These are the four winds[u] of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of the whole earth.(AW) 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country,[v] and the dappled ones go toward the south country.”(AX) 7 When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried out to me, “See, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”(AY)
The Coronation of the Branch
9 The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Collect silver and gold[w] from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah—who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.(AZ) 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown[x] and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak;(BA) 12 say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch, for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.(BB) 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord; he shall bear royal honor and shall sit upon his throne and rule. There shall be a priest by his throne, with peaceful understanding between the two of them.(BC) 14 And the crown[y] shall be in the care of Heldai,[z] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah[aa] son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.
15 “Those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”(BD)
Hypocritical Fasting Condemned
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.(BE) 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord(BF) 3 and to ask the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I mourn and practice abstinence in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”(BG) 4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth month and in the seventh for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?(BH) 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink only for yourselves? 7 Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, along with the towns around it, and when the Negeb and the Shephelah were inhabited?”
Punishment for Rejecting God’s Demands
8 The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another;(BI) 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.(BJ) 11 But they refused to listen and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears in order not to hear.(BK) 12 They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.(BL) 13 Just as, when I[ab] called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the Lord of hosts,(BM) 14 and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate.”(BN)
God’s Promises to Zion
8 The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Zion with great zeal, and I am zealous for her with great wrath.(BO) 3 Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain.(BP) 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age.(BQ) 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.(BR) 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the Lord of hosts?(BS) 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,(BT) 8 and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”(BU)
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong—you who have recently been hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets who were present when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of hosts.(BV) 10 For before those days there were no wages for people or for animals, nor was there any safety from the foe for those who went out or came in, and I set them all against one another.(BW) 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.(BX) 13 Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”(BY)
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I purposed to bring disaster upon you when your ancestors provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts,(BZ) 15 so again I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid. 16 These are the things that you shall do: speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace,(CA) 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord.”(CB)
Joyful Fasting
18 The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 19 “Thus says 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 seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; therefore love truth and peace.”(CC)
Many Peoples Drawn to Jerusalem
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; 21 the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’(CD) 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.(CE) 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”(CF)
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 An Oracle.
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
and will rest upon Damascus.
For to the Lord belongs the capital[ac] of Aram,[ad]
as do all the tribes of Israel;
2 Hamath also, which borders on it,
Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.(CG)
3 Tyre has built itself a rampart
and heaped up silver like dust
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(CH)
4 But now, the Lord will strip it of its possessions
and hurl its wealth into the sea,
and it shall be devoured by fire.(CI)
5 Ashkelon shall see it and be afraid;
Gaza, too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are withered.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;(CJ)
6 a mongrel people shall settle in Ashdod,
and I will make an end of the pride of Philistia.(CK)
7 I will take away its blood from its mouth
and its abominations from between its teeth;
it, too, shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like a clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.(CL)
8 Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
so that no one shall march to and fro;
no oppressor shall again overrun them,
for now I have seen with my own eyes.(CM)
The Coming Ruler of God’s People
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(CN)
10 He[ae] will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.(CO)
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.(CP)
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.(CQ)
13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.[af]
I will arouse your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior’s sword.(CR)
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and his arrow go forth like lightning;
the Lord God will sound the trumpet
and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.(CS)
15 The Lord of hosts will protect them,
and they shall consume and conquer the slingers;[ag]
they shall drink their blood[ah] like wine
and be full like a bowl,
drenched like the corners of the altar.(CT)
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
for they are the flock of his people,
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.(CU)
17 For what goodness and beauty are his!
Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.(CV)
Restoration of Judah and Israel
10 Ask rain from the Lord
in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
who gives showers of rain to you,[ai]
the vegetation in the field to everyone.(CW)
2 For the teraphim[aj] utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
the dreamers tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people[ak] wander like sheep;
they suffer for lack of a shepherd.(CX)
3 My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders,[al]
for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his proud war horse.(CY)
4 Out of them shall come the cornerstone,
out of them the tent peg,
out of them the battle bow,
out of them every commander.(CZ)
5 Together they shall be like warriors in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight, for the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.(DA)
6 I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.(DB)
7 Then the people of Ephraim shall become like warriors,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and rejoice;
their hearts shall exult in the Lord.(DC)
8 I will signal for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as numerous as they were before.(DD)
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and they shall rear their children and return.(DE)
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria;
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
until there is no room for them.(DF)
11 They[am] shall pass through the sea of distress,
and the waves of the sea shall be struck down,
and all the depths of the Nile dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.(DG)
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they shall walk in his name,
says the Lord.(DH)
11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!(DI)
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!(DJ)
3 Listen, the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is despoiled!
Listen, the roar of the lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed!(DK)
Two Kinds of Shepherds
4 “Thus says the Lord my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.(DL) 5 Those who buy them kill them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them.(DM) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. I will cause them, every one, to fall each into the hand of a neighbor and each into the hand of the king, and they shall devastate the earth, and I will deliver no one from their hand.”(DN)
7 So on behalf of the sheep merchants,[an] I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. I took two staffs; one I named Favor, the other I named Unity, and I tended the sheep.(DO) 8 In one month I disposed of the three shepherds, for I had become impatient with them, and they also detested me.(DP) 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another!” 10 I took my staff Favor and broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.(DQ) 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep merchants[ao] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord.(DR) 12 I then said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages, but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver.(DS) 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it into the treasury”[ap]—this lordly price at which I was valued by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury[aq] in the house of the Lord.(DT) 14 Then I broke my second staff Unity, annulling the family ties between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd.(DU) 16 For I am now raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering,[ar] or heal the maimed, or nourish the healthy,[as] but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
17 Oh, my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be completely withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”(DV)
Jerusalem’s Victory
12 An Oracle.
The word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within:(DW) 2 See, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples; it will be against Judah also in the siege against Jerusalem.(DX) 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it shall grievously hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth shall come together against it.(DY) 4 On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. But on the house of Judah I will keep a watchful eye, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.(DZ) 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.”(EA)
6 On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot on a pile of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves, and they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.(EB)
7 And the Lord will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah.(EC) 8 On that day the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, at their head.(ED) 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.(EE)
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that, when they look on the one[at] whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn.(EF) 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(EG) 12 The land shall mourn, each family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself and their wives by themselves.
13 On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.(EH)
Idolatry Cut Off
2 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more, and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit.(EI) 3 And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord,” and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy.(EJ) 4 On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive,(EK) 5 but each of them will say, “I am no prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for the land has been my possession[au] since my youth.” 6 And if anyone asks them, “What are these wounds on your chest?”[av] the answer will be “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”
The Shepherd Struck, the Flock Scattered
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate,”
says the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.(EL)
8 In the whole land, says the Lord,
two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one-third shall be left alive.(EM)
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ”(EN)
Future Warfare and Final Victory
14 See, a day is coming for the Lord, when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst.(EO) 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped; half the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.(EP) 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.(EQ) 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the mount shall withdraw northward and the other half southward.(ER) 5 And you shall flee by the valley of the Lord’s mountain,[aw] for the valley between the mountains shall reach to Azal,[ax] and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him.(ES)
6 On that day there shall not be[ay] either cold or frost.[az] 7 And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light.(ET)
8 On that day living water shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the eastern sea and half of it to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter.(EU)
9 And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one.(EV)
10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem[ba] shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.(EW) 11 And it shall be inhabited, for never again shall it be doomed to destruction; Jerusalem shall abide in security.(EX)
12 This shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they are still on their feet, their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths.(EY) 13 On that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other;(EZ) 14 even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected: gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.(FA) 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever animals may be in those camps.(FB)
16 Then all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Festival of Booths.[bb](FC) 17 If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain upon them.(FD) 18 And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, there will be no rain for them; there will be the plague that the Lord inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Booths.[bc](FE) 19 Such shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Booths.[bd](FF)
20 On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the cooking pots in the house of the Lord shall be as holy as[be] the bowls in front of the altar,(FG) 21 and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. And there shall no longer be traders[bf] in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.(FH)
Footnotes
- 1.8 Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 1.18 2.1 in Heb
- 1.21 Heb it
- 2.1 2.5 in Heb
- 2.8 Heb his eye
- 2.9 Or wave
- 3.1 Heb the satan
- 3.2 Heb the satan
- 3.2 Heb the satan
- 3.4 Heb He
- 3.5 Syr Vg Tg: MT I said
- 4.12 Cn: Heb gold
- 5.3 The word falsely added from verse 4
- 5.6 Heb ephah
- 5.6 Gk Compare Syr: Heb their eye
- 5.7 Heb ephah
- 5.8 Heb ephah
- 5.9 Heb ephah
- 5.10 Heb ephah
- 6.3 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 6.5 Or spirits
- 6.6 Cn: Heb go after them
- 6.10 Heb lacks silver and gold
- 6.11 Gk mss Syr Tg: Heb crowns
- 6.14 Gk Syr: Heb crowns
- 6.14 Syr: Heb Helem
- 6.14 Syr: Heb Hen
- 7.13 Heb he
- 9.1 Heb eye
- 9.1 Cn: Heb of Adam (or of humankind)
- 9.10 Gk: Heb I
- 9.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 9.15 Cn: Heb the slingstones
- 9.15 Gk: Heb they roared
- 10.1 Heb them
- 10.2 Or household gods
- 10.2 Heb they
- 10.3 Or male goats
- 10.11 Gk: Heb He
- 11.7 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.11 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.13 Syr: Heb it to the potter
- 11.13 Syr: Heb it to the potter
- 11.16 Syr Compare Gk Vg: Heb the youth
- 11.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 12.10 Heb on me
- 13.5 Cn: Heb for humankind has caused me to possess
- 13.6 Heb wounds between your hands
- 14.5 Heb my mountains
- 14.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 14.6 Cn: Heb there shall not be light
- 14.6 Compare Gk Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 14.10 Heb it
- 14.16 Or Tabernacles
- 14.18 Or Tabernacles
- 14.19 Or Tabernacles
- 14.20 Heb shall be like
- 14.21 Or Canaanites
Zechariah 1-14
New International Version
Zechariah 1-14
New International Version
A Call to Return to the Lord
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius,(A) the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah(B) son of Berekiah,(C) the son of Iddo:(D)
2 “The Lord was very angry(E) with your ancestors. 3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return(F) to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’(G) says the Lord Almighty. 4 Do not be like your ancestors,(H) to whom the earlier prophets(I) proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways(J) and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me,(K) declares the Lord.(L) 5 Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But did not my words(M) and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?(N)
“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve,(O) just as he determined to do.’”(P)
The Man Among the Myrtle Trees
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.(Q)
8 During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red(R) horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.(S)
9 I asked, “What are these, my lord?”
The angel(T) who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”(U)
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.”(V)
11 And they reported to the angel of the Lord(W) who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”(X)
12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long(Y) will you withhold mercy(Z) from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah,(AA) which you have been angry with these seventy(AB) years?” 13 So the Lord spoke(AC) kind and comforting words(AD) to the angel who talked with me.(AE)
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous(AF) for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure.(AG) I was only a little angry,(AH) but they went too far with the punishment.’(AI)
16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return(AJ) to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line(AK) will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.(AL)
17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort(AM) Zion and choose(AN) Jerusalem.’”(AO)
Four Horns and Four Craftsmen
18 Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. 19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”
He answered me, “These are the horns(AP) that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are these coming to do?”
He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns(AQ) against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”[a](AR)
A Man With a Measuring Line
2 [b]Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.”(AS)
3 While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls(AT) because of the great number(AU) of people and animals in it.(AV) 5 And I myself will be a wall(AW) of fire(AX) around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory(AY) within.’(AZ)
6 “Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered(BA) you to the four winds of heaven,”(BB) declares the Lord.(BC)
7 “Come, Zion! Escape,(BD) you who live in Daughter Babylon!”(BE) 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye(BF)— 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them.[c](BG) Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.(BH)
10 “Shout(BI) and be glad, Daughter Zion.(BJ) For I am coming,(BK) and I will live among you,”(BL) declares the Lord.(BM) 11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people.(BN) I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.(BO) 12 The Lord will inherit(BP) Judah(BQ) as his portion in the holy land and will again choose(BR) Jerusalem. 13 Be still(BS) before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.(BT)”
Clean Garments for the High Priest
3 Then he showed me Joshua(BU) the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan[d](BV) standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you,(BW) Satan! The Lord, who has chosen(BX) Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick(BY) snatched from the fire?”(BZ)
3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”
Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin,(CA) and I will put fine garments(CB) on you.”
5 Then I said, “Put a clean turban(CC) on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.
6 The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements,(CD) then you will govern my house(CE) and have charge(CF) of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.(CG)
8 “‘Listen, High Priest(CH) Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic(CI) of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.(CJ) 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua!(CK) There are seven eyes[e](CL) on that one stone,(CM) and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin(CN) of this land in a single day.
10 “‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit(CO) under your vine and fig tree,(CP)’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees
4 Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke(CQ) me up, like someone awakened from sleep.(CR) 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”(CS)
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand(CT) with a bowl at the top and seven lamps(CU) on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees(CV) by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.(CW)
6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:(CX) ‘Not(CY) by might nor by power,(CZ) but by my Spirit,’(DA) says the Lord Almighty.
7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.(DB) Then he will bring out the capstone(DC) to shouts(DD) of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation(DE) of this temple; his hands will also complete it.(DF) Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me(DG) to you.
10 “Who dares despise the day(DH) of small things,(DI) since the seven eyes(DJ) of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone[f] in the hand of Zerubbabel?”(DK)
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees(DL) on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”
13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I said.
14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed(DM) to[g] serve the Lord of all the earth.”
The Flying Scroll
5 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.(DN)
2 He asked me, “What do you see?”(DO)
I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.[h]”
3 And he said to me, “This is the curse(DP) that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief(DQ) will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely(DR) will be banished. 4 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(DS) by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.(DT)’”
The Woman in a Basket
5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”
6 I asked, “What is it?”
He replied, “It is a basket.(DU)” And he added, “This is the iniquity[i] of the people throughout the land.”
7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! 8 He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.(DV)
9 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,(DW) 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[j](DX) to build a house(DY) for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”(DZ)
Four Chariots
6 I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots(EA) coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black,(EB) 3 the third white,(EC) and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. 4 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[k](ED) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.(EE) 6 The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,[l] and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”
7 When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.(EF) And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.
8 Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit[m] rest(EG) in the land of the north.”(EH)
A Crown for Joshua
9 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.(EI) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown,(EJ) and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua(EK) son of Jozadak.[n](EL) 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,(EM) and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.(EN) 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[o] will be a priest(EO) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai,[p] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen[q] son of Zephaniah as a memorial(EP) in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,(EQ) and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.(ER) This will happen if you diligently obey(ES) the Lord your God.”
Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah(ET) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.(EU) 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(EV) the Lord(EW) 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(EX) and fast in the fifth(EY) month, as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(EZ) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(FA) months for the past seventy years,(FB) was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?(FC) 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets(FD) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest(FE) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills(FF) were settled?’”(FG)
8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;(FH) show mercy and compassion to one another.(FI) 10 Do not oppress the widow(FJ) or the fatherless, the foreigner(FK) or the poor.(FL) Do not plot evil against each other.’(FM)
11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly(FN) they turned their backs(FO) and covered their ears.(FP) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint(FQ) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(FR) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.(FS)
13 “‘When I called, they did not listen;(FT) so when they called, I would not listen,’(FU) says the Lord Almighty.(FV) 14 ‘I scattered(FW) them with a whirlwind(FX) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.(FY) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.(FZ)’”
The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem
8 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous(GA) for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return(GB) to Zion(GC) and dwell in Jerusalem.(GD) Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,(GE) and the mountain(GF) of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.(GG)”
4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem,(GH) each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.(GI)”
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time,(GJ) but will it seem marvelous to me?(GK)” declares the Lord Almighty.
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.(GL) 8 I will bring them back(GM) to live(GN) in Jerusalem; they will be my people,(GO) and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.(GP)”
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong(GQ) so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets(GR) said who were present when the foundation(GS) was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages(GT) for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely(GU) 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,”(GV) declares the Lord Almighty.
12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,(GW) the ground will produce its crops,(GX) and the heavens will drop their dew.(GY) I will give all these things as an inheritance(GZ) to the remnant of this people.(HA) 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse[r](HB) among the nations, so I will save(HC) you, and you will be a blessing.[s](HD) Do not be afraid,(HE) but let your hands be strong.(HF)”
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster(HG) on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good(HH) again to Jerusalem and Judah.(HI) Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth(HJ) to each other, and render true and sound judgment(HK) in your courts;(HL) 17 do not plot evil(HM) against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.(HN) 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,(HO) fifth,(HP) seventh(HQ) and tenth(HR) months will become joyful(HS) and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth(HT) 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(HU) the Lord and seek(HV) 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.”(HW)
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.’”(HX)
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 A prophecy:(HY)
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus(HZ)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord—[t]
2 and on Hamath(IA) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(IB) and Sidon,(IC) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(ID)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(IE) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(IF)
5 Ashkelon(IG) will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end(IH) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(II)
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(IJ)
8 But I will encamp(IK) at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.(IL)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.(IM)
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!(IN)
Shout,(IO) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,(IP)
righteous and victorious,(IQ)
lowly and riding on a donkey,(IR)
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(IS)
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.(IT)
He will proclaim peace(IU) to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River[u] to the ends of the earth.(IV)
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant(IW) with you,
I will free your prisoners(IX) from the waterless pit.(IY)
12 Return to your fortress,(IZ) you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice(JA) as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow(JB)
and fill it with Ephraim.(JC)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,(JD)
and make you like a warrior’s sword.(JE)
The Lord Will Appear
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;(JF)
his arrow will flash like lightning.(JG)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;(JH)
he will march in the storms(JI) of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield(JJ) them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.(JK)
They will drink and roar as with wine;(JL)
they will be full like a bowl(JM)
used for sprinkling[v] the corners(JN) of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day(JO)
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.(JP)
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
The Lord Will Care for Judah
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(JQ) to all people,
and plants of the field(JR) to everyone.
2 The idols(JS) speak deceitfully,
diviners(JT) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(JU) that are false,
they give comfort in vain.(JV)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(JW)
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;(JX)
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.(JY)
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,(JZ)
from him the tent peg,(KA)
from him the battle bow,(KB)
from him every ruler.
5 Together they[w] will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(KC)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(KD)
6 “I will strengthen(KE) Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion(KF) on them.(KG)
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer(KH) them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(KI)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice(KJ) in the Lord.
8 I will signal(KK) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous(KL) as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.(KM)
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.(KN)
I will bring them to Gilead(KO) and Lebanon,
and there will not be room(KP) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(KQ)
Assyria’s pride(KR) will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter(KS) will pass away.(KT)
12 I will strengthen(KU) them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,(KV)”
declares the Lord.
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,(KW)
so that fire(KX) may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(KY) of Bashan;
the dense forest(KZ) has been cut down!(LA)
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;(LB)
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!(LC)
Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(LD) 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.(LE) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors(LF) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(LG)
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(LH) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detested(LI) me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(LJ) Let those who are left eat(LK) one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor(LL) and broke it, revoking(LM) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.(LN)
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver(LO) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(LP)
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,(LQ)
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm(LR) and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!”(LS)
Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed
12 A prophecy:(LT) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,(LU) who lays the foundation of the earth,(LV) and who forms the human spirit within a person,(LW) declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup(LX) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.(LY) Judah(LZ) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations(MA) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock(MB) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure(MC) themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.(MD) 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,(ME) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot(MF) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume(MG) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact(MH) in her place.
7 “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.(MI) 8 On that day the Lord will shield(MJ) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest(MK) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,(ML) like the angel of the Lord going before(MM) them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations(MN) that attack Jerusalem.(MO)
Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[x](MP) of grace and supplication.(MQ) They will look on[y] me, the one they have pierced,(MR) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,(MS) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.(MT) 11 On that day the weeping(MU) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(MV) 12 The land will mourn,(MW) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.(MX)
Cleansing From Sin
13 “On that day a fountain(MY) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse(MZ) them from sin and impurity.
2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols(NA) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”(NB) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets(NC) and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies(ND) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.(NE)
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed(NF) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment(NG) of hair(NH) in order to deceive.(NI) 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[z]’(NJ) 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[aa]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’
The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered
7 “Awake, sword,(NK) against my shepherd,(NL)
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,(NM)
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.(NN)
9 This third I will put into the fire;(NO)
I will refine them like silver(NP)
and test them like gold.(NQ)
They will call(NR) on my name(NS)
and I will answer(NT) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’(NU)
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.(NV)’”
The Lord Comes and Reigns
14 A day of the Lord(NW) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions(NX) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.
2 I will gather all the nations(NY) to Jerusalem to fight against it;(NZ) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.(OA) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.(OB) 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight(OC) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.(OD) 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(OE) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split(OF) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake[ab](OG) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,(OH) and all the holy ones with him.(OI)
6 On that day there will be neither sunlight(OJ) nor cold, frosty darkness. 7 It will be a unique(OK) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.(OL) When evening comes, there will be light.(OM)
8 On that day living water(ON) will flow(OO) out from Jerusalem, half of it east(OP) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.(OQ)
9 The Lord will be king(OR) over the whole earth.(OS) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.(OT)
10 The whole land, from Geba(OU) to Rimmon,(OV) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up(OW) high from the Benjamin Gate(OX) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,(OY) and from the Tower of Hananel(OZ) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.(PA) 11 It will be inhabited;(PB) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.(PC)
12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike(PD) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.(PE) 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.(PF) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.(PG) 14 Judah(PH) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected(PI)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague(PJ) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
16 Then the survivors(PK) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship(PL) the King,(PM) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(PN) 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship(PO) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.(PP) 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[ac] will bring on them the plague(PQ) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(PR) 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(PS)
20 On that day holy to the Lord(PT) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots(PU) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls(PV) in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy(PW) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day(PX) there will no longer be a Canaanite[ad](PY) in the house(PZ) of the Lord Almighty.(QA)
Footnotes
- Zechariah 1:21 In Hebrew texts 1:18-21 is numbered 2:1-4.
- Zechariah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-13 is numbered 2:5-17.
- Zechariah 2:9 Or says after … eye: 9 “I … plunder them.”
- Zechariah 3:1 Hebrew satan means adversary.
- Zechariah 3:9 Or facets
- Zechariah 4:10 Or the plumb line
- Zechariah 4:14 Or two who bring oil and
- Zechariah 5:2 That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide
- Zechariah 5:6 Or appearance
- Zechariah 5:11 Hebrew Shinar
- Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
- Zechariah 6:6 Or horses after them
- Zechariah 6:8 Or spirit
- Zechariah 6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak
- Zechariah 6:13 Or there
- Zechariah 6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem
- Zechariah 6:14 Or and the gracious one, the
- 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.
- Zechariah 8:13 Or and your name will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or and you will be seen as blessed
- Zechariah 9:1 Or Damascus. / For the eye of the Lord is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 9:15 Or bowl, / like
- Zechariah 10:5 Or ruler, all of them together. / 5 They
- Zechariah 12:10 Or the Spirit
- Zechariah 12:10 Or to
- Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
- Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands
- Zechariah 14:5 Or 5 My mountain valley will be blocked and will extend to Azel. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake
- Zechariah 14:18 Or part, then the Lord
- Zechariah 14:21 Or merchant
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