Zechariah Sees a Lamp-Stand

4 Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and woke me up like a man would be made to wake up from his sleep. ² He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a gold lamp-stand with a cup at the top and seven lamps on it. And there are seven places to hold oil, one on the top of each of the lamps. ³ There are two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the cup and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

God’s Promise to Zechariah

⁶ Then he said to me, “This is the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by strength nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of All. ⁷ ‘What are you, O great mountain? In front of Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring out the top stone and call out, “May God give it loving-favor!”’” ⁸ Also the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁹ “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the first stones of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of All has sent me to you. ¹⁰ Who has hated the day of small things? Men will be glad when they see Zerubbabel building the walls of the Lord’s house. These seven are the eyes of the Lord which travel over all the earth.”

¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and left sides of the lamp-stand?” ¹² A second time I said to him, “What are the two olive branches beside the two gold places that hold the oil to be poured out?” ¹³ He answered me saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two who are set apart to serve the Lord of All the earth.”

Zechariah Sees a Flying Book

5 I looked up again and saw a flying book. ² And the angel said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see a flying book, as long as ten long steps and as wide as five long steps.” ³ Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over all the land. Everyone who steals will be cut off by what is written on one side. And everyone who swears will be cut off by what is written on the other side. ⁴ I will send it out,” says the Lord of All, “and it will go into the house of the robber and the house of the one who makes false promises using My name. It will spend the night in that house and destroy it, both its wood and stones.”

Zechariah Sees a Woman in a Basket

⁵ Then the angel who was speaking with me came out and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is going out.” ⁶ And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the large basket going out.” And he said, “This is the sin of all the people in all the land.” ⁷ Then the lead cover was lifted up, and there was a woman sitting in the large basket. ⁸ The angel said, “This is Sin!” And he threw her back into the basket and threw the lead weight on its opening. ⁹ Then I looked up and saw two women coming out with the wind in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the large basket between earth and heaven. ¹⁰ I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” ¹¹ He said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar. When it is ready, it will be put in its place.”

Zechariah Sees Four War-Wagons

6 I looked up again and saw four war-wagons coming out from between the two mountains. The mountains were made of brass. ² The first war-wagon had red horses. The second war-wagon had black horses. ³ The third war-wagon had white horses, and the fourth war-wagon had strong horses with spots. ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ The angel said to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going away from standing before the Lord of All the earth. ⁶ The war-wagon with the black horses is going toward the north country. The white ones follow them. And the horses with spots go toward the south country. ⁷ When the strong horses went out, they were in a hurry to look over all the earth.” And he said, “Go, look over all the earth.” So they went over the whole earth. ⁸ Then he called to me, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have given My Spirit rest in the north country.”

The Crown on Joshua

⁹ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁰ “Take the gifts from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have returned from Babylon. And go the same 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 head religious leader. ¹² Then tell him, ‘The Lord of All says, “See, the man whose name is the Branch, for He will branch out from where He is. And He will build the house of the Lord. ¹³ Yes, He is the One Who will build the house of the Lord. He will be honored as King, and sit and rule on His throne. And He will be a religious leader on His throne, and there will be peace between the two.”’ ¹⁴ The crown will be in the Lord’s house, that people may remember Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ Those who are far away will come to build the house of the Lord. Then you will know that the Lord of All has sent me to you. This will happen if you are careful to obey the Lord your God.”

Babylon Is Destroyed

18 Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had much power. The earth was made bright with his shining-greatness. ² He cried out with a loud voice, “The big and powerful city of Babylon is destroyed. Demons and every kind of unclean spirit live there. Unclean birds that are hated are there. ³ For she gave her wine to the nations of the world. It was the wine of her desire for sex sins. The kings of the earth have done these sex sins with her. The men of the earth who buy and sell have become rich from the riches she received while living in sin.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out from her, my people. Do not be a part of her sins so you will not share her troubles. ⁵ For her sins are as high as heaven. God is ready to punish her for her sins. ⁶ Pay her back for what she has paid you. Give back to her twice as much for what she has done. In her own cup give her twice as much as she gave. ⁷ Give her as much trouble and suffering as the fun and the rich living she chose for herself. In her heart she says, ‘I sit here like a queen. I am not a woman whose husband has died. I will never have sorrow.’ ⁸ Because of this, troubles of death and sorrow and no food will come to her in one day. She will be burned with fire. For the Lord God is powerful. He is the One Who says she is guilty.

Kings Cry Because of Babylon

⁹ “Then the kings of the earth will cry for her and be sorry when they see the smoke of her burning. They are the ones who did sex sins with her and lived as rich people. ¹⁰ They stand a long way from her because they are afraid of her sufferings. They say, ‘It is bad! It is bad for the big and powerful city of Babylon. For in one hour she is destroyed.’ ¹¹ The men of the earth who buy and sell are sorry for her and cry. They cry because there is no one to buy their things anymore. ¹² They sold gold and silver and stones worth much money and pearls. They sold fine linen and purple and red silk cloth. They sold all kinds of perfumed wood. They sold things made from the teeth of animals and things made from wood that cost much money. They sold brass and iron and stone. ¹³ They sold spices and perfumes of all kinds. They sold wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat. They sold cows and sheep and horses and wagons. They sold men who are not free and they sold the lives of men. ¹⁴ They say to her, ‘All the good things you wanted so much are gone from you. Your riches are gone. The things you liked so much are gone. You will never have them again.’ ¹⁵ The men of the earth who became rich by buying and selling in that city will stand a long way back because they are afraid of her sufferings. They will cry and have sorrow. ¹⁶ They will say, ‘It is bad! It is bad for that powerful city. She dressed in fine linen of purple and red. She covered herself with gold and pearls and stones worth much money. ¹⁷ For in one hour her riches are destroyed.’ The captain of every ship and all who traveled on ships and all who worked on ships stood a long way back. ¹⁸ They cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘Has there ever been such a city as powerful as this one?’ ¹⁹ They threw dirt on their heads. They cried out with much sorrow and said, ‘It is bad! It is bad for the powerful city! She is the place where all those who owned ships on the sea became rich from all her riches. For in one hour everything is gone!’

²⁰ “Be full of joy because of her, O heaven! Be full of joy, you who belong to God and missionaries and early preachers! For God has punished her for what she did to you.”

²¹ Then a strong angel picked up a large stone like those used for grinding wheat. He threw it into the sea, saying, “The big and strong city of Babylon will be thrown down like this. It will never be found again. ²² The sound of those playing on harps and on flutes and on horns will not be heard in you again. No workman doing any kind of work will be found in you again. The sound of the grinding-stone will not be heard in you again. ²³ No light will ever shine in you again. There will be no more happy voices from a wedding heard in you. Your men who bought and sold were the most powerful on earth. You fooled people over all the world by your witchcraft. ²⁴ And in this city was found the blood of the early preachers and of those who belonged to God and of all those who had been killed on the earth.”