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The Vision of the Four Chariots

And I turned around and lifted my eyes, and I saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains, which were bronze mountains. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. Then I answered the angel speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel responded, “These are the four winds of heaven going out after standing before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the white ones are going after them, while the dappled ones are going toward the south country.”

When the strong horses went out, they were seeking to go to and fro throughout the earth. And he said, “Go out to and fro throughout the earth.” And they went out to walk to and fro throughout the earth.

Then he cried out to me, “Look, the ones going out to the northern land have given rest to my Spirit in the north.”

The Coronation of Joshua

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 10 Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah who have come from Babylon, and go on that day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch; for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord; he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne. He shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14 And the crown shall be for a memorial to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah, in the temple of the Lord. 15 And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord; and you all shall know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. This shall happen if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Zechariah’s Eighth Vision

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. With the first chariot there were red horses, and with the second chariot there were black horses. And with the third chariot there were white horses, and with the fourth chariot there were strong[b] dappled horses. And I answered and said to the angel that was talking to me, “What are these, my lord?” 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. 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.” 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. 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

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

  1. Zechariah 6:1 Literally “I did again, I lifted up my eyes”
  2. Zechariah 6:3 Other ancient versions read “grey” here
  3. Zechariah 6:5 Or “spirits” (The same Hebrew word can be translated “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context)
  4. Zechariah 6:6 Literally “Her with which”
  5. Zechariah 6:6 Some interpret the word “after” to indicate a westward direction
  6. Zechariah 6:7 That is, “Lord of all the earth”
  7. Zechariah 6:10 The imperative “Collect” has no object; many translations supply “silver and gold” or “an offering”
  8. Zechariah 6:12 Hebrew “Sprout” or “Shoot” (“Branch” is a traditional rendering in English)
  9. Zechariah 6:13 That is, between king and priest
  10. Zechariah 6:14 “Helem” is probably another name for Heldai (v. 10)
  11. Zechariah 6:14 “Hen” is frequently understood as a reference to Josiah (v. 10)