Zechariah 3-6

New American Standard Bible

Joshua, the High Priest

3 Then he showed me ^(A)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and ^[a](B)Satan standing at his right to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “^(C)The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has ^(D)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a ^(E)log snatched from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was clothed in ^(F)filthy garments and was standing before the angel. ⁴ And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “^(G)Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have ^(H)taken your guilt away from you and ^[b]will ^(I)clothe you with festive robes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Have them put a clean ^(J)headband on his head.” So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘If you ^(K)walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both ^(L)govern My house and be in charge of My ^(M)courtyards, and I will grant you ^[c]free access among these who are standing here.

The Branch

⁸ Now listen, Joshua, you high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a ^(N)sign: for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the ^[d](O)Branch. ⁹ For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are ^(P)seven eyes. Behold, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘and I will ^(Q)remove the guilt of that land in one day. ¹⁰ On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his ^(R)vine and under his fig tree.’”

The Golden Lampstand and the Olive Trees

4 Then ^(S)the angel who had been speaking with me returned and ^(T)woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. ² And he said to me, “^(U)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a ^(V)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its ^(W)seven lamps on it with seven ^[e]spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; ³ also ^(X)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, ^(Y)my lord?” ⁵ So ^(Z)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “^(AA)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to ^[f]me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^(AB)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘^(AC)Not by might nor by power, but by My ^(AD)Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁷ ‘What are you, you great ^(AE)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with ^(AF)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

⁸ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have ^(AG)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will ^(AH)finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to ^[g]you. ¹⁰ For who has shown contempt for the day of ^(AI)small things? ^[h]But these ^(AJ)seven will rejoice when they see the ^[i](AK)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the ^(AL)eyes of the Lord ^(AM)roaming throughout the earth.”

¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these ^(AN)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” ¹² And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive ^[j]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” ¹³ So he answered me, saying, “^(AO)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, ^(AP)my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two ^[k](AQ)anointed ones, who are ^(AR)standing by the ^(AS)Lord of the whole earth.”

The Flying Scroll

5 Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying ^(AT)scroll. ² And he said to me, “^(AU)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying scroll; its length is ^[l]twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” ³ Then he said to me, “This is the ^(AV)curse that is going forth over the face of the entire ^[m]land; everyone who ^(AW)steals certainly will be purged away according to ^[n]the writing on one side, and everyone who ^(AX)swears falsely will be purged away according to ^[o]the writing on the other side. ⁴ I will ^(AY)make it go forth,” declares the Lord of armies, “and it will ^(AZ)enter the house of the ^(BA)thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and ^(BB)destroy it with its timber and stones.”

⁵ Then ^(BC)the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, “Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.” ⁶ And I said, “What is it?” Then he said, “This is the ^[p](BD)ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their ^[q]appearance in all the ^[r]land. ⁷ And behold, a lead cover was lifted up.” He continued, “And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” ⁸ Then he said, “This is ^(BE)Wickedness!” And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its ^[s]opening. ⁹ Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the ^(BF)stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. ¹⁰ So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” ¹¹ Then he said to me, “To build a ^[t]temple for her in the land of ^(BG)Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

The Four Chariots

6 Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, ^(BH)four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. ² With the first chariot were ^(BI)red horses, with the second chariot ^(BJ)black horses, ³ with the third chariot ^(BK)white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong ^(BL)spotted horses. ⁴ So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “^(BM)What are these, my lord?” ⁵ The angel replied to me, “These are the ^(BN)four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth, ⁶ with one of which the black horses are going out to the ^(BO)north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the ^(BP)south country.” ⁷ When the strong ones went out, they ^[u]were eager to go to ^[v](BQ)patrol the earth. And He said, “Go, ^[w]patrol the earth.” So they ^[x]patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then He called out to me and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have ^[y](BR)appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

⁹ The ^(BS)word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ¹⁰ “^(BT)Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you shall go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

The Symbolic Crowns

¹¹ Also take silver and gold, make an ornate ^(BU)crown, and set it on the head of ^(BV)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then say to him, ‘The Lord of armies says this: “Behold, there is a Man whose name is ^[z](BW)Branch, for He will ^[aa](BX)branch out from where He is; and He will ^(BY)build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will ^(BZ)bear the majesty and sit and ^(CA)rule on His throne. So He will be a ^(CB)priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two ^[ab]offices.”’ ¹⁴ Now the ^(CC)crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and ^[ac]Hen the son of Zephaniah. ^15 (CD)Those who are far away will come and ^[ad]build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will ^(CE)know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely ^(CF)obey ^[ae]the Lord your God.