Zechariah 6
Common English Bible
Eighth night vision
6 I looked up again
and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains;
the mountains were made of bronze.
2 The first chariot had red horses,
and the second chariot had black horses.
3 The third chariot had white horses,
and the fourth chariot had horses that were heavily spotted.
4 I responded and said to the messenger speaking with me,
“What are these, sir?”
5 The messenger answered and said to me,
“These are the four winds of heaven that are going out
after presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth.
6 The one with the black horses is going to the north country;
the white ones are going to the west;[a]
and the spotted ones are going south.”
7 Then the powerful ones approached, intent on going to patrol the earth.
He said, “Go! Patrol the earth!”
So they patrolled the earth.
8 Then he called out and said to me,
“Look, the ones going north have provided rest for my spirit in the north.”
9 The Lord’s word came to me:
10 Take silver and gold[b] from the exiles who came from Babylon,
from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah.
As for you, go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
11 Take silver and gold and make a crown.[c]
Place it on the head of the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son.
12 Say to him,
“The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Here is a man.
His name is Branch, and he will branch out from his place;
he will build the Lord’s temple.
13 He will build the Lord’s temple.
He will be majestic;
he will sit and rule on his throne.
There will be a priest on his throne,
and the two of them will share a peaceable plan.
14 The crown will be a memorial in the Lord’s temple
for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and for Hen, Zephaniah’s son.
15 People from far away will come and build the Lord’s temple
so you might know that the Lord of heavenly forces has sent me to you.
It will happen if you truly obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:6 Or after them
- Zechariah 6:10 Heb lacks silver and gold; cf 6:11.
- Zechariah 6:11 LXX; Heb crowns, so also 6:14
Zechariah 6
New King James Version
Vision of the Four Chariots
6 Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were (A)red horses, with the second chariot (B)black horses, 3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds. 4 Then I answered (C)and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 And the angel answered and said to me, (D)“These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their (E)station before the Lord of all the earth. 6 [a]The one with the black horses is going to (F)the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” 7 Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might (G)walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. 8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My (H)Spirit in the north country.”
The Command to Crown Joshua
9 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 10 “Receive the gift from the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold, make (I)an[b] elaborate crown, and set it on the head of (J)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:
“Behold, (K)the Man whose name is the (L)BRANCH!
From His place He shall [c]branch out,
(M)And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He (N)shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So (O)He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between [d]them both.” ’
14 “Now the [e]elaborate crown shall be (P)for a memorial in the temple of the Lord [f]for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 Even (Q)those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:6 The chariot
- Zechariah 6:11 Lit. crowns
- Zechariah 6:12 Lit. sprout up
- Zechariah 6:13 Both offices
- Zechariah 6:14 Lit. crowns
- Zechariah 6:14 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. for Heldai (cf. v. 10); LXX for the patient ones
Zechariah 6
New International Version
Four Chariots
6 I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots(A) coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black,(B) 3 the third white,(C) 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[a](D) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.(E) 6 The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,[b] 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.(F) 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[c] rest(G) in the land of the north.”(H)
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.(I) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown,(J) and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua(K) son of Jozadak.[d](L) 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,(M) and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.(N) 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[e] will be a priest(O) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai,[f] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen[g] son of Zephaniah as a memorial(P) in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,(Q) and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.(R) This will happen if you diligently obey(S) the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
- Zechariah 6:6 Or horses after them
- Zechariah 6:8 Or spirit
- Zechariah 6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak
- Zechariah 6:13 Or there
- Zechariah 6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem
- Zechariah 6:14 Or and the gracious one, the
Zechariah 6
English Standard Version
A Vision of Four Chariots
6 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of (A)bronze. 2 The first chariot had (B)red horses, the second (C)black horses, 3 the third (D)white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.[a] 4 Then I answered and said to (E)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, (F)“These are going out to the four winds of heaven,[b] after (G)presenting themselves before (H)the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward (I)the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward (J)the south country.” 7 When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and (K)patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, (L)patrol the earth.” (M)So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward (N)the north country have set my Spirit at rest in (O)the north country.”
The Crown and the Temple
9 And the word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take from the exiles (P)Heldai, Tobijah, and (Q)Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of (R)Zephaniah. 11 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, (S)and set it on the head of (T)Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is (U)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and (V)he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 (W)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord (X)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there[c] shall be a (Y)priest on his throne, (Z)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as (AA)a reminder to (AB)Helem,[d] (AC)Tobijah, (AD)Jedaiah, and Hen (AE)the son of Zephaniah.
15 (AF)“And those who are far off shall come and (AG)help to build the temple of the Lord. (AH)And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. (AI)And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:3 Or and the fourth chariot strong dappled horses
- Zechariah 6:5 Or These are the four winds of heaven going out
- Zechariah 6:13 Or he
- Zechariah 6:14 An alternate spelling of Heldai (verse 10)
Zechariah 6
Lexham English Bible
Zechariah’s Eighth Vision
6 I looked up again,[a] and I saw, and look!—four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot there were red horses, and with the second chariot there were black horses. 3 And with the third chariot there were white horses, and with the fourth chariot there were strong[b] dappled horses. 4 And I answered and said to the angel that was talking to me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are the four winds[c] of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The one with[d] the black horses is going out to the north country, and the white horses go after them,[e] while the dappled ones go to the south country.” 7 When the strong horses went out, they were anxious to go to patrol the earth. And he[f] said, “Go, patrol the earth.” And they patrolled the earth. 8 And he cried out to me and said to me, “See those going out to the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”
The Branch is Crowned
9 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 10 “Collect[g] from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, all of whom came from Babylon—and go on that day, go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Look, here is a man whose name is Branch,[h] and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh. 13 And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.”’[i] 14 And the crown will be for Helem,[j] for Tobijah, for Jedaiah, and for Hen[k] son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Yahweh. 15 And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 6:1 Literally “I did again, I lifted up my eyes”
- Zechariah 6:3 Other ancient versions read “grey” here
- Zechariah 6:5 Or “spirits” (The same Hebrew word can be translated “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context)
- Zechariah 6:6 Literally “Her with which”
- Zechariah 6:6 Some interpret the word “after” to indicate a westward direction
- Zechariah 6:7 That is, “Lord of all the earth”
- Zechariah 6:10 The imperative “Collect” has no object; many translations supply “silver and gold” or “an offering”
- Zechariah 6:12 Hebrew “Sprout” or “Shoot” (“Branch” is a traditional rendering in English)
- Zechariah 6:13 That is, between king and priest
- Zechariah 6:14 “Helem” is probably another name for Heldai (v. 10)
- Zechariah 6:14 “Hen” is frequently understood as a reference to Josiah (v. 10)
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