A Vision of the High Priest Dressed in Fine Clothes

3 Then the Lord showed me Joshua the high priest. He was standing in front of the angel of the Lord. Satan was standing to the right of Joshua. He was there to bring charges against the high priest. ² The Lord said to Satan, “May the Lord correct you! He has chosen Jerusalem. So may he correct you! Isn’t this man Joshua like a burning stick pulled out of the fire?”

³ Joshua stood in front of the angel. He was wearing clothes that were very dirty. ⁴ The angel spoke to those who were standing near him. He said, “Take his dirty clothes off.”

He said to Joshua, “I have taken your sin away. I will put fine clothes on you.”

⁵ I added, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they did. And they dressed him while the angel of the Lord stood by.

⁶ Then the angel spoke to Joshua. He said, ⁷ “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘You must obey me. You must do what I have commanded. Then you will rule in my temple. You will be in charge of my courtyards. And I will give you a place among these who are standing here.

⁸ “ ‘High Priest Joshua, pay attention! I want you other priests who are sitting with Joshua to listen also. All you men are signs of things to come. I am going to bring to you my servant the Branch. ⁹ Look at the stone I have put in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone. I will carve a message on it,’ says the Lord who rules over all. ‘And I will remove the sin of this land in one day.

¹⁰ “ ‘At that time each of you will invite your neighbors to visit you. They will sit under your vines and fig trees,’ announces the Lord.”

A Vision of the Gold Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

4 Then the angel who was talking with me returned. He woke me up. It was as if I had been asleep. ² “What do you see?” he asked me.

“I see a solid gold lampstand,” I answered. “It has a bowl on top of it. There are seven lamps on it. Seven tubes lead to the lamps. ³ There are two olive trees by the lampstand. One is on its right side. The other is on its left.”

⁴ I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Sir, what are these?”

⁵ He answered, “Don’t you know what they are?”

“No, sir,” I replied.

⁶ So he said to me, “A message from the Lord came to Zerubbabel. The Lord said, ‘Your strength will not get my temple rebuilt. Your power will not do it either. Only the power of my Spirit will do it,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

⁷ “So nothing can stop Zerubbabel from completing the temple. Even a mountain of problems will be smoothed out by him. When the temple is finished, he will put its most important stone in place. Then the people will shout, ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”

⁸ Then a message from the Lord came to me. His angel said, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple. His hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

¹⁰ “Do not look down on the small amount of work done on the temple so far. The seven eyes of the Lord look over the whole earth. They will see Zerubbabel holding the most important stone. They will be filled with joy when they see it.”

¹¹ Then I said to the angel, “I see two olive trees. One is on the right side of the lampstand. The other is on the left. What are these trees?”

¹² I continued, “I also see two olive branches. They are next to the two gold pipes that pour out golden olive oil. What are these branches?”

¹³ He answered, “Don’t you know what they are?”

“No, sir,” I said.

¹⁴ So he told me, “They are Zerubbabel and Joshua. The Lord of the whole earth has anointed them to serve him.”

A Vision of a Flying Scroll

5 I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.

² “What do you see?” the angel asked me.

“A scroll flying in the air,” I replied. “It’s 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”

³ He said to me, “A curse sent by the Lord is written on it. It is going out over the whole land. Every thief will be driven out of the land. That is what it says on one side of the scroll. Everyone who lies when promising to tell the truth will also be driven out. That is what it says on the other side. ⁴ The Lord who rules over all announces, ‘I will send the curse out. It will enter the house of the thief. It will also enter the house of anyone who lies when making a promise in my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely. It will pull down its beams and stones.’ ”

A Vision of a Woman in a Basket

⁵ Then the angel who was talking with me came forward. He said to me, “Look at what is coming.”

⁶ “What is it?” I asked.

“A basket,” he replied. “The sins of the people all through the land are in it.”

⁷ Then the basket’s cover was lifted up. It was made out of lead. A woman was sitting in the basket! ⁸ The angel said, “She stands for everything that is evil.” Then he pushed her down into the basket. He put the lead cover back over it.

⁹ I looked up and saw two other women. They had wings like the wings of a stork. A wind sent by the Lord carried them along. They lifted the basket up between heaven and earth.

¹⁰ “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.

¹¹ He replied, “To the country of Babylon. A temple will be built for it. When the temple is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

A Vision of Four Chariots

6 I looked up again and saw four chariots. They were coming out from between two mountains. The mountains were made out of bronze. ² The first chariot was pulled by red horses. The second one had black horses. ³ The third had white horses. And the fourth had spotted horses. All the horses were powerful. ⁴ I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Sir, what are these?”

⁵ The angel answered, “The four spirits of heaven. They are going out to serve the Lord of the whole world. ⁶ The chariot pulled by the black horses is going toward the north country. The one with the white horses is going toward the west. And the one with the spotted horses is going toward the south.”

⁷ The powerful horses went out. They were in a hurry to go all over the earth. The angel said, “Go all through the earth!” So they did.

⁸ Then the Lord called out to me, “Look! The horses going toward the north have given my Spirit rest in the north country.”

A Crown Is Given to Joshua

⁹ A message from the Lord came to me. His angel said, ¹⁰ “Get some silver and gold from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah. They have just come back from Babylon. On that same day go to Josiah’s house. He is the son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Use the silver and gold to make a crown. Set it on the head of Joshua the high priest. He is the son of Jozadak. ¹² Give Joshua a message from the Lord who rules over all. He says, ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch. He will branch out and build my temple. ¹³ That is what he will do. He will be dressed in majesty as if it were his royal robe. He will sit as king on his throne. He will also be a priest there. So he will combine the positions of king and priest in himself.’ ¹⁴ The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Zephaniah’s son Hen. The crown will be kept in the Lord’s temple. It will remind everyone that the Lord’s promises will come true. ¹⁵ Those who are far away will come to Jerusalem. They will help build the Lord’s temple. Then his people will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to them. It will happen if they are careful to obey the Lord their God.”