Zechariah 5-8
GOD’S WORD Translation
Sinners Will Be Separated from the Lord’s People
5 I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.
2 The angel asked me, “What do you see?”
“I see a flying scroll,” I answered. “It’s 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”
3 Then he said to me, “This is a curse that will go out all over the earth. The one side of the scroll says that every thief will be forced away. The other side of the scroll says that everyone who takes an oath will be forced away. 4 I will send out a curse, declares the Lord of Armies, and it will enter the houses of thieves and the houses of those who take oaths in my name. It will stay in their houses and destroy the timber and stone.”
Wickedness Will Be Removed from the Land
5 The angel who was speaking with me came forward. He said, “Look up, and see what’s coming.”
6 “What is it?” I asked.
“A basket is coming,” he said. Then he added, “This is what the people’s sins look like all over the earth.” [a] 7 A lead cover ⌞on the basket⌟ was raised, and a woman was sitting in the basket. 8 The angel said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and forced the lead cover down on top of it.
9 I looked up and saw two women coming forward with wind in their wings. They had wings like those of a stork. They carried the basket into the sky.
10 I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”
11 He answered me, “They are going to build a house for it in Shinar [Babylonia]. When the house is ready, they will set the basket there on a stand.”
The Lord’s Victory Throughout the Earth
6 I looked up again and saw four chariots going out from between the two mountains. They were mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses. The second had black horses. 3 The third had white horses. And the fourth had strong, spotted horses. 4 I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What do these horses mean, sir?”
5 The angel answered, “They are the four spirits of heaven. They are going out after standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The chariot with the black horses is going toward the north, and the white horses are following them. The spotted ones are going toward the south.”
7 When these strong horses went out, they were eager to patrol the earth.
He said, “Go, patrol the earth!” And they patrolled the earth.
8 Then he called out to me, “Look! Those who went to the north have made my Spirit rest in the north.”
Priest and King
9 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 10 “Take an offering from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. This same day go to the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold, make a crown, and put it on the head of Chief Priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak. 12 Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: Here is the man whose name is Branch. He will branch out from where he is, and he will rebuild the Lord’s temple. 13 He will rebuild the Lord’s temple and receive royal honor. He will sit and rule from his throne. He will be a priest on his throne. There will be a peaceful understanding between them. 14 The crown will be a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen (son of Zephaniah) in the Lord’s temple. 15 Those who are far away will come and rebuild the Lord’s temple. Then you will know the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen if you obey the Lord your God completely.’ ”
You Should Have Obeyed the Lord’s Prophets
7 On the fourth day of the ninth month (the month of Chislev) in Darius’ fourth year as king, the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah. 2 Now, ⌞the people from⌟ Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech with their men [b] to ask the Lord for a blessing. 3 They asked the priests from the house of the Lord of Armies as well as the prophets, “Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done for so many years?”
4 Then the Lord of Armies spoke his word to me. He said, 5 “Tell all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these past 70 years, did you really do it for me? 6 When you ate and drank, didn’t you do it to benefit yourselves? 7 Aren’t these the same words that the Lord announced through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding cities were inhabited and undisturbed and the Negev and the foothills were still inhabited?’ ”
8 Then the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah. He said, 9 “This is what the Lord of Armies says: Administer real justice, and be compassionate and kind to each other. 10 Don’t oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and poor people. And don’t even think of doing evil to each other.
11 “But people refused to pay attention. They shrugged their shoulders at me and shut their ears so that they couldn’t hear. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint so that they couldn’t hear the Lord’s teachings, the words that the Lord of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord of Armies became very angry.
13 “When I called, they wouldn’t listen. So now when they call, I won’t listen, says the Lord of Armies. 14 I used a windstorm to scatter them among all the nations, nations they hadn’t even heard of. They left behind a land so ruined that no one is able to travel through it. They have turned a pleasant land into a wasteland.”
What the Lord Will Do for Zion
8 The Lord of Armies spoke his word.
2 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
I am very jealous about Zion.
I am fiercely possessive of it.
3 This is what the Lord says:
I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth.
The mountain of the Lord of Armies will be called the holy mountain.
4 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.
Each will have a cane in hand because of old age.
5 The city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.
6 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
It may seem impossible to the few remaining people in those days,
but will it seem impossible to me? declares the Lord of Armies.
7 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
I am going to save my people
from the land where the sun rises
and from the land where the sun sets.
8 I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem.
They will be my people, and I will be their God, who is faithful and just.
9 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Be strong so that the temple might be rebuilt,
you people who are presently listening
to the words from the mouths of the prophets
who spoke when the foundation
for the house of the Lord of Armies was laid.
10 Before that time there was no money to hire any person or animal.
No one who traveled was safe from the enemy.
I turned every person against his neighbor.
11 But now I won’t deal with the few remaining people
as I did in earlier times, declares the Lord of Armies.
12 Seeds will thrive in peacetime.
Vines will produce their grapes.
The land will yield its crops.
The sky will produce its dew.
I will give the few remaining people
all these things as an inheritance.
13 Just as you, people of Judah and people of Israel,
have been a curse among the nations,
so I will now save you,
and you will become a blessing.
Don’t be afraid. Let your hands work hard.
14 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
When your ancestors made me angry,
I made plans to destroy you, declares the Lord of Armies,
and I didn’t change my plans.
15 So now I have again made plans, but this time to do good
to Jerusalem and the people of Judah.
Don’t be afraid.
16 You must do these things:
Speak the truth to each other.
Give correct and fair verdicts for peace in your courts.
17 Don’t even think of doing evil to each other.
Don’t enjoy false testimony.
I hate all these things, declares the Lord.
Many Nations Will Come to the Lord’s People
18 The Lord of Armies spoke his word to me again.
19 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
The fast in the fourth month, the fast in the fifth month,
the fast in the seventh month, and the fast in the tenth month
will become joyful and glad occasions
as well as happy festivals for the nation of Judah.
So love truth and peace.
20 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
People and citizens from many cities are going to come.
21 The citizens of one city will come to another city, saying,
“Let’s make a habit of going to ask the Lord for a blessing
and to seek the Lord of Armies.
I’m also going.”
22 Many people and powerful nations will come
to seek the Lord of Armies in Jerusalem
and to ask the Lord for a blessing.
23 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
In those days ten people from every language found among the nations
will take hold of the clothes of a Jew. They will say,
“Let us go with you
because we have heard that God is with you.”
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