Zechariah 6
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Eighth Vision: Four Chariots
6 Then I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked again. There were four chariots coming out from between two mountains. The mountains were made of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses. The second chariot had black horses. 3 The third chariot had white horses. The fourth chariot had dappled horses. All of them were powerful. 4 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[a] of the heavens, going forth from their stations to present themselves to the Lord of all the earth. 6 The driver with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, and the one with the white horses is following after them, and the one with the dappled horses is going toward the land of the south.”
7 Now the powerful horses came out, and they were eager to range throughout the earth. He said, “Go! Range throughout the earth.” So they ranged throughout the earth.
8 Then he called out to me and told me, “Look! Those who are going out toward the land of the north have caused my Spirit to rest in the land of the north.”
The Crowning of Joshua
9 The word of the Lord came to me:
10 Take an offering from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and on that very day go into the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12 Tell him that this is what the Lord of Armies says:
There is a man whose name is the Branch, because he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 He is the one who will build the temple of the Lord. He will be clothed with majesty, and he will sit and rule on his throne. He will be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful relations between the two offices.[b]
14 The crown will be kept in the temple as a memorial[c] for Helem[d] and Tobijah and Jedaiah and Hen,[e] son of Zephaniah.
15 Those who are far away will come and build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
- Zechariah 6:13 Joshua, who receives the crown, did not himself hold the two offices of priest and king, but as a type, he points to Christ, who did hold both offices.
- Zechariah 6:14 Or reminder
- Zechariah 6:14 Probably another name for Heldai (verse 10)
- Zechariah 6:14 Or the gracious one, probably another name for Josiah (verse 10)
Zechariah 6
Lexham English Bible
Zechariah’s Eighth Vision
6 I looked up again,[a] and I saw, and look!—four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot there were red horses, and with the second chariot there were black horses. 3 And with the third chariot there were white horses, and with the fourth chariot there were strong[b] dappled horses. 4 And I answered and said to the angel that was talking to me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are the four winds[c] of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The one with[d] the black horses is going out to the north country, and the white horses go after them,[e] while the dappled ones go to the south country.” 7 When the strong horses went out, they were anxious to go to patrol the earth. And he[f] said, “Go, patrol the earth.” And they patrolled the earth. 8 And he cried out to me and said to me, “See those going out to the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”
The Branch is Crowned
9 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 10 “Collect[g] from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, all of whom came from Babylon—and go on that day, go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Look, here is a man whose name is Branch,[h] and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh. 13 And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.”’[i] 14 And the crown will be for Helem,[j] for Tobijah, for Jedaiah, and for Hen[k] son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Yahweh. 15 And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:1 Literally “I did again, I lifted up my eyes”
- Zechariah 6:3 Other ancient versions read “grey” here
- Zechariah 6:5 Or “spirits” (The same Hebrew word can be translated “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context)
- Zechariah 6:6 Literally “Her with which”
- Zechariah 6:6 Some interpret the word “after” to indicate a westward direction
- Zechariah 6:7 That is, “Lord of all the earth”
- Zechariah 6:10 The imperative “Collect” has no object; many translations supply “silver and gold” or “an offering”
- Zechariah 6:12 Hebrew “Sprout” or “Shoot” (“Branch” is a traditional rendering in English)
- Zechariah 6:13 That is, between king and priest
- Zechariah 6:14 “Helem” is probably another name for Heldai (v. 10)
- Zechariah 6:14 “Hen” is frequently understood as a reference to Josiah (v. 10)
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