The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees

4 Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke^(A) me up, like someone awakened from sleep.^{(B) 2} He asked me, “What do you see?”^(C)

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand^(D) with a bowl at the top and seven lamps^(E) on it, with seven channels to the lamps. ³ Also there are two olive trees^(F) by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

⁴ I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.^(G)

⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:^(H) ‘Not^(I) by might nor by power,^(J) but by my Spirit,’^(K) says the Lord Almighty.

⁷ “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.^(L) Then he will bring out the capstone^(M) to shouts^(N) of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation^(O) of this temple; his hands will also complete it.^(P) Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me^(Q) to you.

¹⁰ “Who dares despise the day^(R) of small things,^(S) since the seven eyes^(T) of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone^[a] in the hand of Zerubbabel?”^(U)

¹¹ Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees^(V) on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

¹² Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

¹³ He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I said.

¹⁴ So he said, “These are the two who are anointed^(W) to^[b] serve the Lord of all the earth.”

The Flying Scroll

5 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.^(X)

² He asked me, “What do you see?”^(Y)

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.^[c]”

³ And he said to me, “This is the curse^(Z) that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief^(AA) will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely^(AB) will be banished. ⁴ The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely^(AC) by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.^(AD)’”

The Woman in a Basket

⁵ Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

⁶ I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.^(AE)” And he added, “This is the iniquity^[d] of the people throughout the land.”

⁷ Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! ⁸ He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.^(AF)

⁹ Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork,^(AG) and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

¹⁰ “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

¹¹ He replied, “To the country of Babylonia^[e](AH) to build a house^(AI) for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”^(AJ)

Four Chariots

6 I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots^(AK) coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. ² The first chariot had red horses, the second black,^{(AL) 3} the third white,^(AM) and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. ⁴ I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits^[f](AN) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.^{(AO) 6} The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,^[g] and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

⁷ When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.^(AP) And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

⁸ Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit^[h] rest^(AQ) in the land of the north.”^(AR)

A Crown for Joshua

⁹ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon.^(AS) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take the silver and gold and make a crown,^(AT) and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua^(AU) son of Jozadak.^{[i](AV) 12} Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,^(AW) and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.^{(AX) 13} It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he^[j] will be a priest^(AY) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ ¹⁴ The crown will be given to Heldai,^[k] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen^[l] son of Zephaniah as a memorial^(AZ) in the temple of the Lord. ¹⁵ Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,^(BA) and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.^(BB) This will happen if you diligently obey^(BC) the Lord your God.”

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah^(BD) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.^{(BE) 2} The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat^(BF) the Lord^{(BG) 3} by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn^(BH) and fast in the fifth^(BI) month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: ⁵ “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted^(BJ) and mourned in the fifth and seventh^(BK) months for the past seventy years,^(BL) was it really for me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?^{(BM) 7} Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets^(BN) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest^(BO) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills^(BP) were settled?’”^(BQ)

⁸ And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: ⁹ “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;^(BR) show mercy and compassion to one another.^{(BS) 10} Do not oppress the widow^(BT) or the fatherless, the foreigner^(BU) or the poor.^(BV) Do not plot evil against each other.’^(BW)

¹¹ “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly^(BX) they turned their backs^(BY) and covered their ears.^{(BZ) 12} They made their hearts as hard as flint^(CA) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.^(CB) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.^(CC)

¹³ “‘When I called, they did not listen;^(CD) so when they called, I would not listen,’^(CE) says the Lord Almighty.^{(CF) 14} ‘I scattered^(CG) them with a whirlwind^(CH) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.^(CI) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.^(CJ)’”

Psalm 136

Prologue

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave^(A) him to show his servants what must soon take place.^(B) He made it known by sending his angel^(C) to his servant John,^{(D) 2} who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God^(E) and the testimony of Jesus Christ.^{(F) 3} Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,^(G) because the time is near.^(H)

Greetings and Doxology

⁴ John,

To the seven churches^(I) in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you^(J) from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,^(K) and from the seven spirits^[a](L) before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,^(M) the firstborn from the dead,^(N) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.^(O)

To him who loves us^(P) and has freed us from our sins by his blood,^{(Q) 6} and has made us to be a kingdom and priests^(R) to serve his God and Father^(S)—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.^(T)

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”^(X) says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come,^(Y) the Almighty.”^(Z)

John’s Vision of Christ

⁹ I, John,^(AA) your brother and companion in the suffering^(AB) and kingdom^(AC) and patient endurance^(AD) that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God^(AE) and the testimony of Jesus.^{(AF) 10} On the Lord’s Day^(AG) I was in the Spirit,^(AH) and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,^{(AI) 11} which said: “Write on a scroll what you see^(AJ) and send it to the seven churches:^(AK) to Ephesus,^(AL) Smyrna,^(AM) Pergamum,^(AN) Thyatira,^(AO) Sardis,^(AP) Philadelphia^(AQ) and Laodicea.”^(AR)

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,^{(AS) 13} and among the lampstands^(AT) was someone like a son of man,^[d](AU) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet^(AV) and with a golden sash around his chest.^{(AW) 14} The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.^{(AX) 15} His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,^(AY) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.^{(AZ) 16} In his right hand he held seven stars,^(BA) and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.^(BB) His face was like the sun^(BC) shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet^(BD) as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me^(BE) and said: “Do not be afraid.^(BF) I am the First and the Last.^{(BG) 18} I am the Living One; I was dead,^(BH) and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!^(BI) And I hold the keys of death and Hades.^(BJ)

¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen,^(BK) what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand^(BL) and of the seven golden lampstands^(BM) is this: The seven stars are the angels^[e] of the seven churches,^(BN) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.^(BO)