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Zechariah 1
New Catholic Bible
Zechariah 1
New Catholic Bible
Rebuilding a People for God[a]
Chapter 1
Be Converted to Me.[b] 1 In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, this word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo:
2 The Lord was greatly angered at your ancestors. 3 Therefore, say to the people: 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. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the prophets of that time proclaimed. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Forsake your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they refused to listen or to pay attention to me, says the Lord.
5 Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 As for my words and my decrees which I entrusted to my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your ancestors? As a result, they repented and said, “The Lord of hosts has treated us as he had determined to do, according to what our lives and our deeds deserve.”
Renewal of the Holy City[c]
The Four Horsemen.[d] 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, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo.
Zechariah related: 8 During the night I had a vision in which a man was riding a red horse among the myrtle trees in a glen. Behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 “What are these, sir?” I asked, and the angel who was conversing with me said, “I will show you what they are.”
10 The man standing among the myrtle trees said, “They are the ones whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.” 11 Then they in turn spoke to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been patrolling the earth, and the entire earth is tranquil and at peace.”
12 Then the angel of the Lord asked, “O Lord of hosts, how long will you withhold your mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah who have been the object of your wrath for the last seventy years?” 13 Thereupon, the Lord replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who had talked with me.
14 The angel who was talking with me then said to me: Proclaim this message. Thus says the Lord of hosts: I feel very protective toward Jerusalem and Zion, 15 but I am deeply angry with the nations that feel complacent and secure. Previously I was angry only to a certain extent, but they added to the disaster.
16 Therefore, says the Lord, I will return to Jerusalem with compassion, and there is where my house will be rebuilt, says the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Proclaim in addition: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities will once again overflow with prosperity. The Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 1:1 During the Exile in Babylon and even after returning, some Jews undoubtedly cherished the hope of avenging the devastation of their homeland and restoring its past grandeur. But twenty years after the deportation had ended (538–519 B.C.) their enthusiasm had cooled. They had to resign themselves to an impoverished existence in a ravaged land. Judea remained under Persian control and in ruined Jerusalem everything had to be reconstructed and rebuilt, beginning with the temple, the new foundations of which had recently been laid. Along with Haggai, the prophet Zechariah became the guiding spirit of the restoration, which was being directed by the high commissioner, Zerubbabel, of the royal house of David, and by the high priest Joshua, who took precedence, even over Zerubbabel.
- Zechariah 1:1 The messages of the prophets might be occasioned by quite different situations: they also passed quite different judgments on events at hand. Fundamentally, however, they were calls to conversion. When men of God pray, they see this conversion as a gift from heaven, a grace (Ps 51:10-12; Ezek 36:25-27). When they speak, they must remind the people that they themselves must make the effort to change. The dialectic of grace and freedom is always at work.
Zechariah began to preach in 520 B.C., only a few months after the first message of Haggai; he reminds his hearers that past defeat was the result of infidelity. He criticizes a religion still marked by fear and self-interest, and predicts a more radical return to God, a more solid faith in his covenant. - Zechariah 1:7 Twenty years have passed since the authorization was given to return, but not all have made the journey to Jerusalem, nor are they anxious to do so. On the other hand, those who did make the journey are now asking whether it had not been a mistake. The building of the temple seems at last to be progressing, but all do not have the same enthusiasm for it. In order to raise morale, the prophet presents a first series of visions: God is on the point of restoring his people, and he asks the doubtful to return to Judah and take part in the work of reconstruction.
- Zechariah 1:7 The scene takes place in God’s dwelling, as the evergreen myrtle trees symbolically indicate.
Zechariah 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Zechariah 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
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.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 1:18 Zch 2:1 in Hb
Zechariah 1
King James Version
Zechariah 1
King James Version
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.
5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
11 And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
13 And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
20 And the Lord shewed me four carpenters.
21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
Zechariah 1
New International Version
Zechariah 1
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)
Footnotes
- Zechariah 1:21 In Hebrew texts 1:18-21 is numbered 2:1-4.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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