Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

6 Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. The mountains were made of bronze. ² The first chariot had chestnut^[a] horses,^(A) the second chariot black horses,^{(B) 3} the third chariot white horses,^(C) and the fourth chariot dappled^(D) horses—all strong horses. ⁴ So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ The angel told me, “These are the four spirits^[b](E) of heaven going out after presenting themselves to the Lord of the whole earth. ⁶ The one with the black horses is going to the land of the north, the white horses are going after them, but the dappled horses are going to the land of the south.” ⁷ As the strong horses went out, they wanted to go patrol the earth, and the Lord said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then he summoned me saying, “See, those going to the land of the north have pacified my Spirit in the northern land.”

Crowning of the Branch

⁹ The word of the Lord came to me:^{(F) 10} “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take silver and gold, make a crown,^[c] and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Armies says: Here is a man whose name is Branch;^(G) he will branch out from his place and build the Lord’s temple. ¹³ Yes, he will build the Lord’s temple; he will bear royal splendor^(H) and will sit on his throne and rule. There will be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them.^{(I) 14} The crown will reside in the Lord’s temple as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen^[d] son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ People who are far off will come and build the Lord’s temple, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the Lord your God.”^(J)

Disobedience and Fasting

7 In the fourth year of King Darius,^(K) the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer, Regem-melech, and their men to plead for the Lord’s favor^{(L) 3} by asking the priests who were at 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 these many years?”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me: ⁵ “Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?^{(M) 6} When you eat and drink, don’t you eat and drink simply for yourselves?^{(N) 7} Aren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure,^[e] along with its surrounding cities, and when the southern region and the Judean foothills were inhabited?”

⁸ The word of the Lord came to Zechariah: ⁹ “The Lord of Armies says this: ‘Make fair decisions.^(O) Show faithful love and compassion^(P) to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the resident alien or the poor,^(Q) and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’^{(R) 11} But they refused to pay attention^(S) and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear.^{(T) 12} They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.^(U) Therefore intense anger came from the Lord of Armies. ¹³ Just as he had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord of Armies. ¹⁴ I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation.”

Obedience and Feasting

8 The word of the Lord of Armies came: ² The Lord of Armies says this: “I am extremely jealous^(V) for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” ³ The Lord says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City;^(W) the mountain of the Lord of Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.” ⁴ The Lord of Armies says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. ⁵ The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” ⁶ The Lord of Armies says this: “Though it may seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me?”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. ⁷ The Lord of Armies says this: “I will save my people from the land of the east and the land of the west.^{[f] 8} I will bring them back^(X) to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”^(Y)

⁹ The Lord of Armies says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of Armies. ¹⁰ For prior to those days neither people nor animals had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor. ¹¹ But now, I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. ¹² “For they will sow in peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the skies will yield their dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance.^{(Z) 13} As you have been a curse among the nations,^(AA) house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing.^(AB) Don’t be afraid; let your hands be strong.” ¹⁴ For the Lord of Armies says this: “As I resolved to treat you badly when your ancestors provoked me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the Lord of Armies, ¹⁵ “so I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah.^(AC) Don’t be afraid. ¹⁶ These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another; make true and sound decisions within your city gates. ¹⁷ Do not plot evil^(AD) in your hearts against your neighbor,^(AE) and do not love perjury,^(AF) for I hate all this”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁸ Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me: ¹⁹ The Lord of Armies says this: “The fast of the fourth month,^(AG) the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth^(AH) will become times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace.” ²⁰ The Lord of Armies says this: “Peoples will yet come, the residents of many cities; ²¹ the residents of one city will go to another, saying: Let’s go at once to plead for the Lord’s favor and to seek the Lord of Armies. I am also going. ²² Many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of Armies in Jerusalem and to plead for the Lord’s favor.”^{(AI) 23} The Lord of Armies says this: “In those days, ten men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you,^(AJ) for we have heard that God is with you.”

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits^(A) to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

² This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh^(B) is from God,^{(C) 3} but every spirit that does not confess Jesus^[a] is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,^(D) which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

⁴ You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you^(E) is greater than the one who is in the world.^{(F) 5} They are from the world.^(G) Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us;^(H) anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.^(I)

Knowing God through Love

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God^(J) and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us^[b] in this way: God sent^(K) his one and only Son^(L) into the world so that we might live^(M) through him. ¹⁰ Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us^(N) and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice^[c](O) for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.^{(P) 12} No one has ever seen God.^(Q) If we love one another, God remains in^[d] us and his love is made complete in us. ¹³ This is how we know that we remain in him^(R) and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.^{(S) 14} And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son^(T) as the world’s Savior. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses^(U) that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷ In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment,^(V) because as he is, so also are we in this world.^{(W) 18} There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear,^(X) because fear involves punishment.^[e] So the one who fears is not complete in love.^{(Y) 19} We love^[f] because he first loved us.^{(Z) 20} If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister,^(AA) he is a liar.^(AB) For the person who does not love his brother or sister^(AC) whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.^{[g] 21} And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.