A Plea for Repentance

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius,^(A) the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah^(B) son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: ² “The Lord was extremely angry with your ancestors. ³ So tell the people: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Return to Me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts. ⁴ Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds.^(C) But they did not listen or pay attention to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ⁵ “Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? ⁶ But didn’t My words and My statutes that I commanded My servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? They repented and said: As the Lord of Hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so He has dealt with us.”^(D)

The Night Visions

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is 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:

First Vision: Horsemen

⁸ I looked out in the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley. Behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. ⁹ I asked, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel who was talking to me replied, “I will show you what they are.”

¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.”

¹¹ They reported to the Angel of the Lord standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet.”^(E)

¹² Then the Angel of the Lord responded, “How long, Lord of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that You have been angry with these 70 years?”^{(F) 13} The Lord replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.

¹⁴ So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: The Lord of Hosts says: I am extremely jealous^(G) for Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵ I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was a little angry, but they made it worse. ¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; My house will be rebuilt within it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.

¹⁷ “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”^(H)

Second Vision: Four Horns and Craftsmen

^18 [a]Then I looked up and saw four horns. ¹⁹ So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?”

And he said to me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. ²¹ I asked, “What are they coming to do?”

He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off the horns of the nations that raised their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Obedience and Feasting

8 The word of the Lord of Hosts came: ² “The Lord of Hosts says this: I am extremely jealous^(A) for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” ³ The Lord says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,^(B) the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain.” ⁴ The Lord of Hosts says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. ⁵ The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” ⁶ The Lord of Hosts says this: “Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me?”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. ⁷ The Lord of Hosts says this: “I will save My people from the land of the east and the land of the west. ⁸ I will bring them back^(C) to live in Jerusalem. They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”^(D)

⁹ The Lord of Hosts says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of Hosts. ¹⁰ For prior to those days neither man nor beast had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor. ¹¹ But now, I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. ¹² “For they will sow in peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the skies will yield their dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance.^{(E) 13} As you have been a curse among the nations,^(F) house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing.^(G) Don’t be afraid; let your hands be strong.” ¹⁴ For the Lord of Hosts says this: “As I resolved to treat you badly when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the Lord of Hosts, ¹⁵ “so I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah.^(H) Don’t be afraid. ¹⁶ These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another; make true and sound decisions within your gates. ¹⁷ Do not plot evil^(I) in your hearts against your neighbor,^(J) and do not love perjury,^(K) for I hate all this”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁸ Then the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me: ¹⁹ “The Lord of Hosts says this: The fast of the fourth month,^(L) the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth^(M) will become times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace.” ²⁰ The Lord of Hosts says this: “Peoples will yet come, the residents of many cities; ²¹ the residents of one city will go to another, saying: Let’s go at once to plead for the Lord’s favor and to seek the Lord of Hosts. I am also going. ²² Many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead for the Lord’s favor.”^{(N) 23} The Lord of Hosts says this: “In those days, 10 men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you,^(O) for we have heard that God is with you.”