The Four Chariots

6 Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, ^(A)four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. ² With the first chariot were ^(B)red horses, with the second chariot ^(C)black horses, ³ with the third chariot ^(D)white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong ^(E)spotted horses. ⁴ So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “^(F)What are these, my lord?” ⁵ The angel replied to me, “These are the ^(G)four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth, ⁶ with one of which the black horses are going out to the ^(H)north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the ^(I)south country.” ⁷ When the strong ones went out, they ^[a]were eager to go to ^[b](J)patrol the earth. And He said, “Go, ^[c]patrol the earth.” So they ^[d]patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then He called out to me and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have ^[e](K)appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

⁹ The ^(L)word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ¹⁰ “^(M)Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you shall go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

The Symbolic Crowns

¹¹ Also take silver and gold, make an ornate ^(N)crown, and set it on the head of ^(O)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then say to him, ‘The Lord of armies says this: “Behold, there is a Man whose name is ^[f](P)Branch, for He will ^[g](Q)branch out from where He is; and He will ^(R)build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will ^(S)bear the majesty and sit and ^(T)rule on His throne. So He will be a ^(U)priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two ^[h]offices.”’ ¹⁴ Now the ^(V)crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and ^[i]Hen the son of Zephaniah. ^15 (W)Those who are far away will come and ^[j]build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will ^(X)know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely ^(Y)obey ^[k]the Lord your God.

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is ^(Z)Chislev. ² Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and ^[l]their men to ^[m](AA)seek the favor of the Lord, ³ speaking to the ^(AB)priests who belong to the house of the Lord of armies, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the ^(AC)fifth month ^[n]and fast, as I have done these many years?” ⁴ Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying, ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months ^[o]these ^(AD)seventy years, was it actually for ^(AE)Me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you eat and drink, ^[p]do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ⁷ Are these not the words which the Lord ^(AF)proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and ^(AG)carefree along with its cities around it, and the ^[q](AH)Negev and the ^[r]foothills were inhabited?’”

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹ “This is what the Lord of armies has said: ‘^(AI)Dispense true justice and practice ^(AJ)kindness and compassion each to his brother; ¹⁰ and ^(AK)do not oppress the widow or the ^[s]orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do ^(AL)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ ¹¹ But they ^(AM)refused to pay attention, and ^[t](AN)turned a stubborn shoulder and ^[u](AO)plugged their ears from hearing. ¹² They also made their ^(AP)hearts as hard as ^(AQ)a diamond ^[v]so that they could not hear the Law and the ^(AR)words which the Lord of armies had sent by His Spirit through the ^(AS)former prophets; therefore great ^(AT)wrath came from the Lord of armies. ¹³ And just as ^(AU)He called and they would not listen, so ^(AV)they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of armies; ¹⁴ “but I ^[w](AW)scattered them with a ^(AX)storm wind among all the nations whom they did not know. So the land was ^(AY)desolated behind them ^[x]so that ^(AZ)no one went back and forth, since they ^(BA)made the pleasant land desolate.”

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

8 Then the word of the Lord of armies came, saying, ² “The Lord of armies says this: ‘I am ^(BB)exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ ³ The Lord says this: ‘I will return to Zion and ^(BC)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of ^(BD)Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of armies will be called the Holy Mountain.’ ⁴ The Lord of armies says this: ‘^(BE)Old men and old women will again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each person with his staff in his hand because of ^[y]age. ⁵ And the public squares of the city will be filled with ^(BF)boys and girls playing in its squares.’ ⁶ The Lord of armies says this: ‘If it is ^(BG)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be ^(BH)too difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁷ The Lord of armies says this: ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the ^[z](BI)east and from the land of the ^[aa]west; ⁸ and I will ^(BJ)bring them back and they will ^(BK)live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be ^(BL)My people, and I will be their God in ^[ab]truth and righteousness.’

⁹ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘Let your hands be ^(BM)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the ^(BN)prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of armies was laid, so that the temple might be built. ¹⁰ For before those days there was ^(BO)no wage for man nor any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no ^[ac](BP)peace because of ^[ad]his enemies, and I ^(BQ)sent all the people against one another. ¹¹ But now I will ^(BR)not ^[ae]treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of armies. ¹² ‘For there will be ^(BS)the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their ^(BT)dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people ^(BU)all these things as an inheritance. ¹³ And it will come about that just as you were a ^(BV)curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a ^(BW)blessing. Do not fear; let your ^(BX)hands be strong.’

¹⁴ “For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Just as I ^(BY)determined to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and I have not ^(BZ)relented, ¹⁵ so I have again determined in these days to ^(CA)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ^(CB)Do not fear! ¹⁶ These are the things which you shall do: speak the ^(CC)truth to one another; ^(CD)judge with truth and judgment for peace at your ^[af]gates. ¹⁷ Also let none of you ^(CE)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love ^[ag](CF)perjury; for all these things are what I ^(CG)hate,’ declares the Lord.”

¹⁸ Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘The fast of the ^(CH)fourth, the fast of the ^(CI)fifth, the fast of the ^(CJ)seventh, and the fast of the ^(CK)tenth months will become ^(CL)joy, jubilation, and ^[ah]cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so ^(CM)love truth and peace.’

²⁰ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘It will yet turn out that ^(CN)peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities. ²¹ The inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, “Let’s go at once to ^(CO)plead for the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of armies; ^[ai]I also will go.” ²² So ^(CP)many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of armies in Jerusalem, and to ^(CQ)plead for the favor of the Lord.’ ²³ The Lord of armies says this: ‘In those days ten people from all the ^[aj]nations will ^[ak](CR)grasp the ^[al]garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(A)Beloved, do not believe every ^(B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(D)every spirit that ^(E)confesses that ^(F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that ^(G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(H)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and ^(I)now it is already in the world. ⁴ You are from God, ^(J)little children, and ^(K)have overcome them; because ^(L)greater is He who is in you than ^(M)he who is in the world. ^5 (N)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ^6 (O)We are from God. ^(P)The one who knows God listens to us; ^(Q)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(R)the spirit of truth and ^(S)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

^7 (T)Beloved, let’s ^(U)love one another; for love is from God, and ^(V)everyone who loves has been ^(W)born of God and ^(X)knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because ^(Y)God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was revealed ^[a](Z)in us, that ^(AA)God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(AB)not that we loved God, but that ^(AC)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(AD)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins. ^11 (AE)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(AF)we also ought to love one another. ^12 (AG)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His ^(AH)love is perfected in us. ^13 (AI)By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and ^(AJ)testify that the Father has ^(AK)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (AL)Whoever confesses that ^(AM)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(AN)remains in him, and he in God. ^16 (AO)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[c](AP)for us. ^(AQ)God is love, and the one who ^(AR)remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷ By this, ^(AS)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(AT)confidence in ^(AU)the day of judgment; because ^(AV)as He is, we also are in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(AW)perfect love drives out fear, because fear ^[d]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(AX)perfected in love. ^19 (AY)We love, because He first loved us. ^20 (AZ)If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he ^(BA)hates his brother or sister, he is a ^(BB)liar; for ^(BC)the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, ^(BD)cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(BE)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(BF)must also love his brother and sister.