Zechariah 1-14
New American Standard Bible
A Call to Repentance
1 In the eighth month of the second year of (A)Darius, the word of the Lord came to (B)Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of (C)Iddo saying, 2 “The Lord was very (D)angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “(E)Return to Me,” declares the Lord of armies, “[a]that I may return to you,” says the Lord of armies. 4 “Do not be (F)like your fathers, to whom the (G)former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “(H)Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did (I)not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord. 5 “Your (J)fathers, where are they? And the (K)prophets, do they live forever? 6 But did My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, not [b](L)overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘(M)Just as the Lord of armies planned to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
Patrol of the Earth
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, [c]as follows: 8 I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a (N)red horse, and he was standing among the (O)myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, [d]sorrel, and (P)white horses behind him. 9 Then I said, “What are these, my (Q)lord?” And the (R)angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees responded and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to [e](S)patrol the earth.” 11 So they responded to the angel of the Lord who was (T)standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have [f]patrolled the earth, and behold, (U)all the earth is [g]still and quiet.”
12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord of armies, (V)how long will You (W)take no pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been (X)indignant for these (Y)seventy years?” 13 And the Lord responded to the (Z)angel who was speaking with me with [h]gracious words, (AA)comforting words. 14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “(AB)Proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “I am (AC)exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 But I am very (AD)angry with the nations who are (AE)carefree; for while I was only a little angry, they [i](AF)furthered the disaster.” 16 Therefore the Lord says this: “I will (AG)return to Jerusalem with compassion; My (AH)house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of armies, “and a measuring (AI)line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ 17 Again, proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “My (AJ)cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again (AK)comfort Zion and again (AL)choose Jerusalem.”’”
18 [j]Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. 19 So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the (AM)horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four (AN)craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the (AO)horns that have scattered Judah so that no one lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to frighten them, to (AP)throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
God’s Favor to Zion
2 [k]Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a (AQ)measuring line in his hand. 2 So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To (AR)measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.” 3 And behold, the (AS)angel who had been speaking with me was going out, and another angel was going out to meet him. 4 And he said to him, “Run, speak to that (AT)young man there, saying, ‘(AU)Jerusalem will be inhabited (AV)as open country because of the (AW)multitude of people and cattle within it. 5 But I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a (AX)wall of fire to her on all sides, and I will be the (AY)glory in her midst.’”
6 “[l]You there! (AZ)Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “because I have (BA)spread you out like the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord. 7 “[m]You, Zion! (BB)Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” 8 For the Lord of armies says this: “After (BC)glory He has sent me against the nations that plunder you, for the one who touches you, touches the [n](BD)apple of His eye. 9 For behold, I am going to (BE)wave My hand over them so that they will be (BF)plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent Me. 10 (BG)Shout for joy and rejoice, daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will (BH)dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord. 11 “And (BI)many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and will become My people. Then I will (BJ)dwell in your midst, and you will (BK)know that the Lord of armies has sent Me to you. 12 And the Lord will [o](BL)possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again (BM)choose Jerusalem.
13 “[p](BN)Be silent, all [q]mankind, before the Lord; for He has (BO)roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
Joshua, the High Priest
3 Then he showed me (BP)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and [r](BQ)Satan standing at his right to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “(BR)The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has (BS)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a (BT)log snatched from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed in (BU)filthy garments and was standing before the angel. 4 And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “(BV)Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have (BW)taken your guilt away from you and [s]will (BX)clothe you with festive robes.” 5 Then I said, “Have them put a clean (BY)headband on his head.” So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.
6 And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “The Lord of armies says this: ‘If you (BZ)walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both (CA)govern My house and be in charge of My (CB)courtyards, and I will grant you [t]free access among these who are standing here.
The Branch
8 Now listen, Joshua, you high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a (CC)sign: for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the [u](CD)Branch. 9 For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are (CE)seven eyes. Behold, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘and I will (CF)remove the guilt of that land in one day. 10 On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his (CG)vine and under his fig tree.’”
The Golden Lampstand and the Olive Trees
4 Then (CH)the angel who had been speaking with me returned and (CI)woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “(CJ)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a (CK)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its (CL)seven lamps on it with seven [v]spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; 3 also (CM)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” 4 Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, (CN)my lord?” 5 So (CO)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “(CP)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to [w]me, “This is the word of the Lord to (CQ)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘(CR)Not by might nor by power, but by My (CS)Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. 7 ‘What are you, you great (CT)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with (CU)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
8 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have (CV)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will (CW)finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to [x]you. 10 For who has shown contempt for the day of (CX)small things? [y]But these (CY)seven will rejoice when they see the [z](CZ)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the (DA)eyes of the Lord (DB)roaming throughout the earth.”
11 Then I said to him, “What are these (DC)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” 12 And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive [aa]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” 13 So he answered me, saying, “(DD)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, (DE)my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two [ab](DF)anointed ones, who are (DG)standing by the (DH)Lord of the whole earth.”
The Flying Scroll
5 Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying (DI)scroll. 2 And he said to me, “(DJ)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying scroll; its length is [ac]twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the (DK)curse that is going forth over the face of the entire [ad]land; everyone who (DL)steals certainly will be purged away according to [ae]the writing on one side, and everyone who (DM)swears falsely will be purged away according to [af]the writing on the other side. 4 I will (DN)make it go forth,” declares the Lord of armies, “and it will (DO)enter the house of the (DP)thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and (DQ)destroy it with its timber and stones.”
5 Then (DR)the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, “Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” Then he said, “This is the [ag](DS)ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their [ah]appearance in all the [ai]land. 7 And behold, a lead cover was lifted up.” He continued, “And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” 8 Then he said, “This is (DT)Wickedness!” And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its [aj]opening. 9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the (DU)stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. 10 So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” 11 Then he said to me, “To build a [ak]temple for her in the land of (DV)Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
The Four Chariots
6 Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, (DW)four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. 2 With the first chariot were (DX)red horses, with the second chariot (DY)black horses, 3 with the third chariot (DZ)white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong (EA)spotted horses. 4 So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “(EB)What are these, my lord?” 5 The angel replied to me, “These are the (EC)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 (ED)north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the (EE)south country.” 7 When the strong ones went out, they [al]were eager to go to [am](EF)patrol the earth. And He said, “Go, [an]patrol the earth.” So they [ao]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 [ap](EG)appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”
9 The (EH)word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 10 “(EI)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 (EJ)crown, and set it on the head of (EK)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 [aq](EL)Branch, for He will [ar](EM)branch out from where He is; and He will (EN)build the temple of the Lord. 13 Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will (EO)bear the majesty and sit and (EP)rule on His throne. So He will be a (EQ)priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two [as]offices.”’ 14 Now the (ER)crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and [at]Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 (ES)Those who are far away will come and [au]build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will (ET)know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely (EU)obey [av]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 (EV)Chislev. 2 Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and [aw]their men to [ax](EW)seek the favor of the Lord, 3 speaking to the (EX)priests who belong to the house of the Lord of armies, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the (EY)fifth month [ay]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 [az]these (EZ)seventy years, was it actually for (FA)Me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and drink, [ba]do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words which the Lord (FB)proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and (FC)carefree along with its cities around it, and the [bb](FD)Negev and the [bc]foothills were inhabited?’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “This is what the Lord of armies has said: ‘(FE)Dispense true justice and practice (FF)kindness and compassion each to his brother; 10 and (FG)do not oppress the widow or the [bd]orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do (FH)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they (FI)refused to pay attention, and [be](FJ)turned a stubborn shoulder and [bf](FK)plugged their ears from hearing. 12 They also made their (FL)hearts as hard as (FM)a diamond [bg]so that they could not hear the Law and the (FN)words which the Lord of armies had sent by His Spirit through the (FO)former prophets; therefore great (FP)wrath came from the Lord of armies. 13 And just as (FQ)He called and they would not listen, so (FR)they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of armies; 14 “but I [bh](FS)scattered them with a (FT)storm wind among all the nations whom they did not know. So the land was (FU)desolated behind them [bi]so that (FV)no one went back and forth, since they (FW)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 (FX)exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ 3 The Lord says this: ‘I will return to Zion and (FY)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of (FZ)Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of armies will be called the Holy Mountain.’ 4 The Lord of armies says this: ‘(GA)Old men and old women will again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each person with his staff in his hand because of [bj]age. 5 And the public squares of the city will be filled with (GB)boys and girls playing in its squares.’ 6 The Lord of armies says this: ‘If it is (GC)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be (GD)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 [bk](GE)east and from the land of the [bl]west; 8 and I will (GF)bring them back and they will (GG)live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be (GH)My people, and I will be their God in [bm]truth and righteousness.’
9 “The Lord of armies says this: ‘Let your hands be (GI)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the (GJ)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 (GK)no wage for man nor any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no [bn](GL)peace because of [bo]his enemies, and I (GM)sent all the people against one another. 11 But now I will (GN)not [bp]treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of armies. 12 ‘For there will be (GO)the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their (GP)dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people (GQ)all these things as an inheritance. 13 And it will come about that just as you were a (GR)curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a (GS)blessing. Do not fear; let your (GT)hands be strong.’
14 “For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Just as I (GU)determined to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and I have not (GV)relented, 15 so I have again determined in these days to (GW)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. (GX)Do not fear! 16 These are the things which you shall do: speak the (GY)truth to one another; (GZ)judge with truth and judgment for peace at your [bq]gates. 17 Also let none of you (HA)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love [br](HB)perjury; for all these things are what I (HC)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 (HD)fourth, the fast of the (HE)fifth, the fast of the (HF)seventh, and the fast of the (HG)tenth months will become (HH)joy, jubilation, and [bs]cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so (HI)love truth and peace.’
20 “The Lord of armies says this: ‘It will yet turn out that (HJ)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 (HK)plead for the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of armies; [bt]I also will go.” 22 So (HL)many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of armies in Jerusalem, and to (HM)plead for the favor of the Lord.’ 23 The Lord of armies says this: ‘In those days ten people from all the [bu]nations will [bv](HN)grasp the [bw]garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
Prophecies against Neighboring Nations
9 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach, with (HO)Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord),
2 And (HP)Hamath also, which borders on it;
(HQ)Tyre and (HR)Sidon, [bx]though [by]they are (HS)very wise.
3 For Tyre built herself a (HT)fortress,
And (HU)piled up silver like dust,
And (HV)gold like the mud of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will (HW)dispossess her
And throw her wealth into the sea;
And she will be (HX)consumed with fire.
5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
Gaza too will writhe in great pain;
Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined.
Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
6 And a people of mixed origins will live in (HY)Ashdod,
And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will remove their blood from their mouth
And their detestable things from between their teeth.
Then they also will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a [bz]clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
8 But I will camp around My house [ca]because of an army,
Because of (HZ)him who passes by and returns;
And (IA)no oppressor will pass over them anymore,
For now I have seen with My eyes.
9 (IB)Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your (IC)king is coming to you;
He is [cb](ID)righteous and (IE)endowed with salvation,
(IF)Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a (IG)colt, the [cc]foal of a donkey.
10 And I will (IH)eliminate the chariot from Ephraim
And the (II)horse from Jerusalem;
And the (IJ)bow of war will be eliminated.
And He will speak (IK)peace to the nations;
And His (IL)dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
Restoration of Judah and Ephraim
11 As for you also, because of the (IM)blood of My covenant with you,
I have set your (IN)prisoners free from the [cd]waterless pit.
12 Return to the [ce](IO)stronghold, you prisoners [cf]who have the (IP)hope;
This very day I am declaring that I will restore (IQ)double to you.
13 For I will (IR)bend Judah [cg]as My bow,
I will fill the bow with Ephraim.
And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, (IS)Greece;
And I will make you like a (IT)warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear (IU)over them,
And His (IV)arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the Lord [ch]God will blow the (IW)trumpet,
And march in the (IX)storm winds of the south.
15 (IY)The Lord of armies will protect them.
And they will (IZ)devour and trample on the (JA)slingstones;
And they will drink and be (JB)boisterous as with wine;
And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin,
Drenched like the (JC)corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God will (JD)save them on that day
As the flock of His people;
For they are like the precious stones of a (JE)crown,
Sparkling on His land.
17 For how great will [ci]their (JF)loveliness and (JG)beauty be!
Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.
God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim
10 Ask for (JH)rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—
The Lord who (JI)makes the [cj]storm winds;
And He will give them (JJ)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person.
2 For the [ck](JK)household idols speak deception,
And the (JL)diviners see [cl]an illusion
And tell (JM)deceitful dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people [cm]wander like (JN)sheep,
They are wretched because there is no shepherd.
3 “My (JO)anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the [cn]male goats;
For the Lord of armies has (JP)visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
4 From [co]them will come the (JQ)cornerstone,
From [cp]them the tent peg,
From [cq]them the bow of (JR)battle,
From [cr]them every tyrant, all of them together.
5 And they will be like warriors,
(JS)Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, because the Lord will be with them;
And the (JT)riders on horses will be put to shame.
6 And I will (JU)strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will (JV)save the house of Joseph,
And I will [cs](JW)bring them back,
Because I have had (JX)compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had (JY)not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will (JZ)answer them.
7 Ephraim will be like a warrior,
And their heart will be joyful as if from wine;
Indeed, their (KA)children will see it and be joyful,
[ct]Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will (KB)whistle for them and gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as (KC)numerous as they [cu](KD)were before.
9 When I [cv]scatter them among the peoples,
They will (KE)remember Me in distant countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
10 I will (KF)bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of (KG)Gilead and Lebanon
[cw]Until (KH)no room can be found for them.
11 And they will pass through the (KI)sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the (KJ)Nile will dry up;
And the pride of (KK)Assyria will be brought down,
And the scepter of (KL)Egypt will depart.
12 And I will (KM)strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name (KN)they will walk,” declares the Lord.
The Doomed Flock
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
So that a (KO)fire may feed on your (KP)cedars.
2 Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen,
For the magnificent trees have been destroyed;
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
Because the [cx]impenetrable forest has come down.
3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ (KQ)wail,
For their splendor is ruined;
There is a (KR)sound of the young lions’ roar,
For the [cy]pride of the Jordan is ruined.
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to (KS)slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and [cz]go (KT)unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for (KU)I have become rich!’ And their (KV)own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 For I will (KW)no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will (KX)let the people fall, each into another’s [da]power and into the [db]power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will (KY)not rescue them from their [dc]power.”
7 So I (KZ)pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, [dd]therefore also the (LA)afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two (LB)staffs: the one I called [de](LC)Favor, and the other I called (LD)Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I did away with the three shepherds in (LE)one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also [df]was tired of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to (LF)die, [dg]let it die, and what is to perish, [dh]let it perish; and [di]let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff [dj](LG)Favor and cut it in pieces, to [dk](LH)break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was [dl]broken on that day, and [dm]so the (LI)afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my (LJ)wages; but if not, [dn]never mind!” So they weighed out (LK)thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (LL)potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff (LM)Union, to (LN)break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 And the Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a (LO)foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will (LP)not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will (LQ)devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
17 (LR)Woe to the worthless shepherd
Who abandons the flock!
A (LS)sword will be on his arm
And on his right eye!
His (LT)arm will be totally withered,
And his right eye will be [do]blind.”
Jerusalem to Be Attacked
12 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:
The Lord who (LU)stretches out the heavens, (LV)lays the foundation of the earth, and (LW)forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a (LX)cup [dp]that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against (LY)Judah. 3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy (LZ)stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will (MA)injure themselves severely. And all the (MB)nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will [dq]watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the [dr]clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a [ds]strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the [dt]clans of Judah like a (MC)firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while [du]the (MD)inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will (ME)save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of (MF)David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will (MG)protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who [dv](MH)is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like (MI)God, like the (MJ)angel of the Lord before them. 9 And on that day I will (MK)seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “And I will (ML)pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem [dw]the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they (MM)pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one (MN)mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 On that day the (MO)mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the [dx]plain of [dy]Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
False Prophets Ashamed
13 “On that day a (MP)fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for (MQ)sin and for (MR)defilement.
2 “And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord of armies, “that I will (MS)eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the (MT)prophets and the (MU)unclean spirit from the land. 3 And if anyone still (MV)prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall (MW)not live, because you have spoken (MX)falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his (MY)father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be (MZ)ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a (NA)hairy robe in order to deceive; 5 but he will say, ‘I am (NB)not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man [dz]sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6 And someone will say to him, ‘What are these wounds (NC)between your [ea]arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded at the house of [eb]my friends.’
7 “Awake, (ND)sword, against My (NE)Shepherd,
And against the Man, My (NF)Associate,”
Declares the Lord of armies.
“(NG)Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered;
And I will (NH)turn My hand [ec]against the little ones.
8 And it will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“That (NI)two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
9 And I will bring the third part through the (NJ)fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will (NK)call on My name,
And I will (NL)answer them;
I will say, ‘They are (NM)My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Enemies
14 Behold, a (NN)day is coming for the Lord when (NO)the spoils taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will (NP)gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the (NQ)houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and (NR)fight against those nations, as [ed]when He fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day His feet will (NS)stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be (NT)split [ee]in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled from the (NU)earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. (NV)Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with [ef]Him!
6 On that day there will be (NW)no light; the [eg]luminaries will die out. 7 For it will be (NX)a unique day which is (NY)known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the (NZ)time of evening there will be light.
8 And on that day (OA)living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
God Will Be King over All
9 And the Lord will be (OB)King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only (OC)one, and His name the only one.
10 All the land will change into a plain from (OD)Geba to (OE)Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but [eh]Jerusalem will (OF)rise and (OG)remain on its site from (OH)Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the (OI)Corner Gate, and from the (OJ)Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 People will live in it, and there will (OK)no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will (OL)live in security.
12 Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will (OM)rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. 13 And it will come about on that day that a great panic from the Lord will [ei]fall on them; and they will (ON)seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will [ej]be raised against the hand of another. 14 (OO)Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the (OP)wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And just like this (OQ)plague, there will be a plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that will be in those camps.
16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will (OR)go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of armies, and to celebrate the (OS)Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the (OT)King, the Lord of armies, there will be (OU)no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the (OV)plague with which the Lord strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the [ek]punishment of Egypt, and the [el]punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
20 On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “(OW)Holy to the Lord.” And the (OX)cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be (OY)holy to the Lord of armies; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a [em](OZ)Canaanite in the house of the Lord of armies on that day.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 1:3 Or and I will
- Zechariah 1:6 Or reach
- Zechariah 1:7 Lit saying
- Zechariah 1:8 I.e., light reddish-brown
- Zechariah 1:10 Lit walk about through
- Zechariah 1:11 Lit walked about through
- Zechariah 1:11 Lit sitting
- Zechariah 1:13 Lit good
- Zechariah 1:15 Lit helped for evil
- Zechariah 1:18 Ch 2:1 in Heb
- Zechariah 2:1 Ch 2:5 in Heb
- Zechariah 2:6 Lit Hoy
- Zechariah 2:7 Lit Hoy
- Zechariah 2:8 Lit pupil
- Zechariah 2:12 Or inherit
- Zechariah 2:13 Lit Hush
- Zechariah 2:13 Lit flesh
- Zechariah 3:1 Satan is Heb for Adversary; or Accuser
- Zechariah 3:4 Lit to clothe
- Zechariah 3:7 Lit goings
- Zechariah 3:8 Lit Sprout
- Zechariah 4:2 Or reeds
- Zechariah 4:6 Lit me, saying
- Zechariah 4:9 Lit you (plural)
- Zechariah 4:10 Or But they will rejoice when they see...Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the Lord
- Zechariah 4:10 Lit plummet stone
- Zechariah 4:12 Or clusters
- Zechariah 4:14 Lit sons of fresh oil
- Zechariah 5:2 About 30 ft. long and 15 ft. wide or 9 m and 4.5 m
- Zechariah 5:3 Or earth
- Zechariah 5:3 Lit it
- Zechariah 5:3 Lit it
- Zechariah 5:6 I.e., a measuring basket, about 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters, and so throughout the ch
- Zechariah 5:6 Lit eye; some ancient versions wrongdoing
- Zechariah 5:6 Or earth
- Zechariah 5:8 Lit mouth
- Zechariah 5:11 Lit house
- Zechariah 6:7 Lit sought to go
- Zechariah 6:7 Lit walk about through
- Zechariah 6:7 Lit walk about through
- Zechariah 6:7 Lit walked about through
- Zechariah 6:8 Lit pacified My spirit in
- Zechariah 6:12 Lit Sprout
- Zechariah 6:12 Lit sprout up
- Zechariah 6:13 Lit of them
- Zechariah 6:14 I.e., Josiah
- Zechariah 6:15 Lit build in
- Zechariah 6:15 Lit the voice of the Lord
- Zechariah 7:2 Lit his
- Zechariah 7:2 Lit soften the face of
- Zechariah 7:3 Lit to fast
- Zechariah 7:5 Lit and this
- Zechariah 7:6 Lit is it not you who eat and you who drink
- Zechariah 7:7 I.e., South country
- Zechariah 7:7 Heb Shephelah
- Zechariah 7:10 Or fatherless
- Zechariah 7:11 Lit gave
- Zechariah 7:11 Lit made their ears heavy
- Zechariah 7:12 Lit from hearing
- Zechariah 7:14 Lit stormed them away upon all
- Zechariah 7:14 Lit from passing and from returning
- Zechariah 8:4 Lit the multitude of days
- Zechariah 8:7 Lit sunrise
- Zechariah 8:7 Lit setting sun
- Zechariah 8:8 Or faithfulness
- Zechariah 8:10 Or security
- Zechariah 8:10 Lit the adversary
- Zechariah 8:11 Lit be to the
- Zechariah 8:16 I.e., the place where court was held
- Zechariah 8:17 Lit a false oath
- Zechariah 8:19 Or goodly
- Zechariah 8:21 Or let me go too
- Zechariah 8:23 Lit languages of the nations
- Zechariah 8:23 Lit grasp, and they will grasp
- Zechariah 8:23 Lit hem of a garment
- Zechariah 9:2 Or because
- Zechariah 9:2 I.e., they think they are
- Zechariah 9:7 Or chief
- Zechariah 9:8 Or as a garrison, so that none will go back and forth
- Zechariah 9:9 Or vindicated and victorious
- Zechariah 9:9 Lit son of a female donkey
- Zechariah 9:11 Lit cistern in which there is no water
- Zechariah 9:12 Or Stronghold
- Zechariah 9:12 Lit of the hope
- Zechariah 9:13 Lit for Me as a bow
- Zechariah 9:14 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Zechariah 9:17 Lit his
- Zechariah 10:1 Or thunderbolts
- Zechariah 10:2 Heb teraphim
- Zechariah 10:2 Lit a lie
- Zechariah 10:2 Lit journey
- Zechariah 10:3 I.e., leaders
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
- Zechariah 10:6 Another reading is have them dwell
- Zechariah 10:7 Or Let their heart rejoice
- Zechariah 10:8 Lit were numerous
- Zechariah 10:9 Lit sow
- Zechariah 10:10 Lit And
- Zechariah 11:2 Another reading is forest of the vintage
- Zechariah 11:3 Or thicket
- Zechariah 11:5 Lit are not held guilty
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
- Zechariah 11:7 Another reading is for the sheep dealers
- Zechariah 11:7 Or Pleasantness
- Zechariah 11:8 Or detested
- Zechariah 11:9 Or will die
- Zechariah 11:9 Or will perish
- Zechariah 11:9 Or those...will eat
- Zechariah 11:10 Or Pleasantness
- Zechariah 11:10 Or annul
- Zechariah 11:11 Or annulled
- Zechariah 11:11 Another reading is the sheep dealers who
- Zechariah 11:12 Lit cease
- Zechariah 11:17 Lit completely dimmed
- Zechariah 12:2 Lit of reeling
- Zechariah 12:4 Lit open My eyes
- Zechariah 12:5 Or chiefs
- Zechariah 12:5 Lit strength for me
- Zechariah 12:6 Or chiefs
- Zechariah 12:6 Lit Jerusalem...is again inhabited on its
- Zechariah 12:8 Lit stumbles
- Zechariah 12:10 Or a spirit
- Zechariah 12:11 I.e., broad valley
- Zechariah 12:11 Heb Megiddon
- Zechariah 13:5 Lit caused another to buy me
- Zechariah 13:6 Lit hands
- Zechariah 13:6 Lit those who love me
- Zechariah 13:7 Or upon
- Zechariah 14:3 Lit a day of His fighting
- Zechariah 14:4 Lit from
- Zechariah 14:5 As in many mss and ancient versions; MT You
- Zechariah 14:6 Lit glorious ones will congeal
- Zechariah 14:10 Lit it
- Zechariah 14:13 Lit be among
- Zechariah 14:13 Lit rise
- Zechariah 14:19 Lit sin
- Zechariah 14:19 Lit sin
- Zechariah 14:21 Or merchant
Zechariah 1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel Urged to Repent
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, saying:(A) 2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.(B) 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or heed me, says the Lord.(C) 5 Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your ancestors? So they repented and said, ‘The Lord of hosts has dealt with us according to our ways and deeds, just as he planned to do.’ ”(D)
First Vision: The Horsemen
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo: 8 In the night I saw a man mounted on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the shadows,[a] and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.(E) 9 Then I said, “What are these, my lord?” The angel who spoke with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”(F) 10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, “They are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.”(G) 11 Then they spoke to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and the whole earth remains at peace.”(H) 12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry these seventy years?”(I) 13 Then the Lord replied with gracious and comforting words to the angel who spoke with me.(J) 14 So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim this message: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am very zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion,(K) 15 and I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease, for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse.(L) 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and a measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.(M) 17 Proclaim further: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”(N)
Second Vision: The Horns and the Smiths
18 [b]And I looked up and saw four horns. 19 I asked the angel who spoke with me, “What are those?” And he answered me, “Those are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 21 And I asked, “What are they coming to do?” He answered, “Those are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no head could be raised, but these have come to terrify them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”[c](O)
Third Vision: The Man with a Measuring Line
2 [d]I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.(P) 2 Then I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is.”(Q) 3 Then the angel who spoke with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4 and said to him, “Run, say to that young man: Jerusalem shall be inhabited like unwalled villages because of the multitude of people and animals in it.(R) 5 For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within it.”(S)
Interlude: An Appeal to the Exiles
6 Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord.(T) 7 Up! Escape to Zion, you who live with daughter Babylon. 8 For thus said the Lord of hosts after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you: Truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye.[e](U) 9 For I am going to raise[f] my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me.(V) 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord.(W) 11 Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day and shall be my people, and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.(X)
13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.(Y)
Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan
3 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord and the accuser[g] standing at his right hand to accuse him.(Z) 2 And the Lord said to the accuser,[h] “The Lord rebuke you, O accuser![i] The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?”(AA) 3 Now Joshua was wearing filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel[j] said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And to him he said, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel.”(AB) 5 And he said,[k] “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with apparel, and the angel of the Lord was standing by.(AC)
6 Then the angel of the Lord warned Joshua, saying 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.(AD) 8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch.(AE) 9 For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day.(AF) 10 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.”(AG)
Fifth Vision: The Lampstand and Olive Trees
4 The angel who spoke with me came again and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep.(AH) 2 He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.(AI) 3 And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”(AJ) 4 I said to the angel who spoke with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who spoke with me answered me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 He said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.(AK) 7 What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ ”(AL)
8 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.(AM) 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.
“These seven are the eyes of the Lord that range through the whole earth.”(AN) 11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees that pour out the oil[l] through the two golden pipes?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”(AO)
Sixth Vision: The Flying Scroll
5 Again I looked up and saw a flying scroll.(AP) 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land, for everyone who has stolen, as is forbidden on one side, has gone unpunished, and everyone who has sworn falsely,[m] as is forbidden on the other side, has gone unpunished.(AQ) 4 I have sent it out, says the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name, and it shall abide in that house and consume it, both timber and stones.”(AR)
Seventh Vision: The Woman in a Basket
5 Then the angel who spoke with me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is coming out.” 6 I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is a basket[n] coming out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity[o] in the whole land.” 7 Then a leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket![p] 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” So he thrust her back into the basket[q] and pressed the leaden weight down on its mouth.(AS) 9 Then I looked up and saw two women coming forward. The wind was in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket[r] between earth and sky. 10 Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”[s] 11 He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it, and when this is prepared, they will set it down there on its base.”(AT)
Eighth Vision: Four Chariots
6 And again I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses,(AU) 3 the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray[t] horses.(AV) 4 Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 The angel answered me, “These are the four winds[u] of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of the whole earth.(AW) 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country,[v] and the dappled ones go toward the south country.”(AX) 7 When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried out to me, “See, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”(AY)
The Coronation of the Branch
9 The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Collect silver and gold[w] from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah—who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.(AZ) 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown[x] and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak;(BA) 12 say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch, for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.(BB) 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord; he shall bear royal honor and shall sit upon his throne and rule. There shall be a priest by his throne, with peaceful understanding between the two of them.(BC) 14 And the crown[y] shall be in the care of Heldai,[z] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah[aa] son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.
15 “Those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”(BD)
Hypocritical Fasting Condemned
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 Chislev.(BE) 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord(BF) 3 and to ask the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I mourn and practice abstinence in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”(BG) 4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth month and in the seventh for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?(BH) 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink only for yourselves? 7 Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, along with the towns around it, and when the Negeb and the Shephelah were inhabited?”
Punishment for Rejecting God’s Demands
8 The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another;(BI) 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.(BJ) 11 But they refused to listen and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears in order not to hear.(BK) 12 They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.(BL) 13 Just as, when I[ab] called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the Lord of hosts,(BM) 14 and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate.”(BN)
God’s Promises to Zion
8 The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Zion with great zeal, and I am zealous for her with great wrath.(BO) 3 Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain.(BP) 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age.(BQ) 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.(BR) 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the Lord of hosts?(BS) 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,(BT) 8 and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”(BU)
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong—you who have recently been hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets who were present when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of hosts.(BV) 10 For before those days there were no wages for people or for animals, nor was there any safety from the foe for those who went out or came in, and I set them all against one another.(BW) 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.(BX) 13 Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”(BY)
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I purposed to bring disaster upon you when your ancestors provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts,(BZ) 15 so again I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid. 16 These are the things that you shall do: speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace,(CA) 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord.”(CB)
Joyful Fasting
18 The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; therefore love truth and peace.”(CC)
Many Peoples Drawn to Jerusalem
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; 21 the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’(CD) 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.(CE) 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”(CF)
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 An Oracle.
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
and will rest upon Damascus.
For to the Lord belongs the capital[ac] of Aram,[ad]
as do all the tribes of Israel;
2 Hamath also, which borders on it,
Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.(CG)
3 Tyre has built itself a rampart
and heaped up silver like dust
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(CH)
4 But now, the Lord will strip it of its possessions
and hurl its wealth into the sea,
and it shall be devoured by fire.(CI)
5 Ashkelon shall see it and be afraid;
Gaza, too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are withered.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;(CJ)
6 a mongrel people shall settle in Ashdod,
and I will make an end of the pride of Philistia.(CK)
7 I will take away its blood from its mouth
and its abominations from between its teeth;
it, too, shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like a clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.(CL)
8 Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
so that no one shall march to and fro;
no oppressor shall again overrun them,
for now I have seen with my own eyes.(CM)
The Coming Ruler of God’s People
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(CN)
10 He[ae] will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.(CO)
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.(CP)
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.(CQ)
13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.[af]
I will arouse your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior’s sword.(CR)
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and his arrow go forth like lightning;
the Lord God will sound the trumpet
and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.(CS)
15 The Lord of hosts will protect them,
and they shall consume and conquer the slingers;[ag]
they shall drink their blood[ah] like wine
and be full like a bowl,
drenched like the corners of the altar.(CT)
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
for they are the flock of his people,
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.(CU)
17 For what goodness and beauty are his!
Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.(CV)
Restoration of Judah and Israel
10 Ask rain from the Lord
in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
who gives showers of rain to you,[ai]
the vegetation in the field to everyone.(CW)
2 For the teraphim[aj] utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
the dreamers tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people[ak] wander like sheep;
they suffer for lack of a shepherd.(CX)
3 My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders,[al]
for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his proud war horse.(CY)
4 Out of them shall come the cornerstone,
out of them the tent peg,
out of them the battle bow,
out of them every commander.(CZ)
5 Together they shall be like warriors in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight, for the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.(DA)
6 I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.(DB)
7 Then the people of Ephraim shall become like warriors,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and rejoice;
their hearts shall exult in the Lord.(DC)
8 I will signal for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as numerous as they were before.(DD)
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and they shall rear their children and return.(DE)
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria;
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
until there is no room for them.(DF)
11 They[am] shall pass through the sea of distress,
and the waves of the sea shall be struck down,
and all the depths of the Nile dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.(DG)
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they shall walk in his name,
says the Lord.(DH)
11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!(DI)
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!(DJ)
3 Listen, the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is despoiled!
Listen, the roar of the lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed!(DK)
Two Kinds of Shepherds
4 “Thus says the Lord my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.(DL) 5 Those who buy them kill them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them.(DM) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. I will cause them, every one, to fall each into the hand of a neighbor and each into the hand of the king, and they shall devastate the earth, and I will deliver no one from their hand.”(DN)
7 So on behalf of the sheep merchants,[an] I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. I took two staffs; one I named Favor, the other I named Unity, and I tended the sheep.(DO) 8 In one month I disposed of the three shepherds, for I had become impatient with them, and they also detested me.(DP) 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another!” 10 I took my staff Favor and broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.(DQ) 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep merchants[ao] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord.(DR) 12 I then said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages, but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver.(DS) 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it into the treasury”[ap]—this lordly price at which I was valued by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury[aq] in the house of the Lord.(DT) 14 Then I broke my second staff Unity, annulling the family ties between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd.(DU) 16 For I am now raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering,[ar] or heal the maimed, or nourish the healthy,[as] but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
17 Oh, my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be completely withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”(DV)
Jerusalem’s Victory
12 An Oracle.
The word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within:(DW) 2 See, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples; it will be against Judah also in the siege against Jerusalem.(DX) 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it shall grievously hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth shall come together against it.(DY) 4 On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. But on the house of Judah I will keep a watchful eye, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.(DZ) 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.”(EA)
6 On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot on a pile of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves, and they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.(EB)
7 And the Lord will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah.(EC) 8 On that day the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, at their head.(ED) 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.(EE)
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that, when they look on the one[at] whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn.(EF) 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(EG) 12 The land shall mourn, each family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself and their wives by themselves.
13 On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.(EH)
Idolatry Cut Off
2 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more, and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit.(EI) 3 And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord,” and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy.(EJ) 4 On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive,(EK) 5 but each of them will say, “I am no prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for the land has been my possession[au] since my youth.” 6 And if anyone asks them, “What are these wounds on your chest?”[av] the answer will be “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”
The Shepherd Struck, the Flock Scattered
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate,”
says the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.(EL)
8 In the whole land, says the Lord,
two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one-third shall be left alive.(EM)
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ”(EN)
Future Warfare and Final Victory
14 See, a day is coming for the Lord, when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst.(EO) 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped; half the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.(EP) 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.(EQ) 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the mount shall withdraw northward and the other half southward.(ER) 5 And you shall flee by the valley of the Lord’s mountain,[aw] for the valley between the mountains shall reach to Azal,[ax] and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him.(ES)
6 On that day there shall not be[ay] either cold or frost.[az] 7 And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light.(ET)
8 On that day living water shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the eastern sea and half of it to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter.(EU)
9 And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one.(EV)
10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem[ba] shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.(EW) 11 And it shall be inhabited, for never again shall it be doomed to destruction; Jerusalem shall abide in security.(EX)
12 This shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they are still on their feet, their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths.(EY) 13 On that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other;(EZ) 14 even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected: gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.(FA) 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever animals may be in those camps.(FB)
16 Then all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Festival of Booths.[bb](FC) 17 If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain upon them.(FD) 18 And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, there will be no rain for them; there will be the plague that the Lord inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Booths.[bc](FE) 19 Such shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Booths.[bd](FF)
20 On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the cooking pots in the house of the Lord shall be as holy as[be] the bowls in front of the altar,(FG) 21 and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. And there shall no longer be traders[bf] in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.(FH)
Footnotes
- 1.8 Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 1.18 2.1 in Heb
- 1.21 Heb it
- 2.1 2.5 in Heb
- 2.8 Heb his eye
- 2.9 Or wave
- 3.1 Heb the satan
- 3.2 Heb the satan
- 3.2 Heb the satan
- 3.4 Heb He
- 3.5 Syr Vg Tg: MT I said
- 4.12 Cn: Heb gold
- 5.3 The word falsely added from verse 4
- 5.6 Heb ephah
- 5.6 Gk Compare Syr: Heb their eye
- 5.7 Heb ephah
- 5.8 Heb ephah
- 5.9 Heb ephah
- 5.10 Heb ephah
- 6.3 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 6.5 Or spirits
- 6.6 Cn: Heb go after them
- 6.10 Heb lacks silver and gold
- 6.11 Gk mss Syr Tg: Heb crowns
- 6.14 Gk Syr: Heb crowns
- 6.14 Syr: Heb Helem
- 6.14 Syr: Heb Hen
- 7.13 Heb he
- 9.1 Heb eye
- 9.1 Cn: Heb of Adam (or of humankind)
- 9.10 Gk: Heb I
- 9.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 9.15 Cn: Heb the slingstones
- 9.15 Gk: Heb they roared
- 10.1 Heb them
- 10.2 Or household gods
- 10.2 Heb they
- 10.3 Or male goats
- 10.11 Gk: Heb He
- 11.7 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.11 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.13 Syr: Heb it to the potter
- 11.13 Syr: Heb it to the potter
- 11.16 Syr Compare Gk Vg: Heb the youth
- 11.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 12.10 Heb on me
- 13.5 Cn: Heb for humankind has caused me to possess
- 13.6 Heb wounds between your hands
- 14.5 Heb my mountains
- 14.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 14.6 Cn: Heb there shall not be light
- 14.6 Compare Gk Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 14.10 Heb it
- 14.16 Or Tabernacles
- 14.18 Or Tabernacles
- 14.19 Or Tabernacles
- 14.20 Heb shall be like
- 14.21 Or Canaanites
Zechariah 1-14
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of king Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying:
2 The Lord hath been exceeding angry with your fathers.
3 And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn ye to me, saith the Lord of hosts: and I will turn to you, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 Be not as your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried, saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn ye from your evil ways, and from your wicked thoughts: but they did not give ear, neither did they hearken to me, saith the Lord.
5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, shall they live always?
6 But yet my words, and my ordinances, which I gave in charge to my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers, and they returned, and said: As the Lord of hosts thought to do to us according to our ways, and according to our devices, so he hath done to us.
7 In the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month which is called Sabath, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying:
8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, that were in the bottom: and behind him were horses, red, speckled, and white.
9 And I said: What are these, my Lord? and the angel that spoke in me, said to me: I will shew thee what these are:
10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered, and said: These are they, whom the Lord hath sent to walk through the earth.
11 And they answered the angel of the Lord, that stood among the myrtle trees, and said: We have walked through the earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest.
12 And the angel of the Lord answered, and said: O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Juda, with which thou hast been angry? this is now the seventieth year.
13 And the Lord answered the angel, that spoke in me, good words, comfortable words.
14 And the angel that spoke in me, said to me: Cry thou, saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Jerusalem, and Sion with a great zeal.
15 And I am angry with a great anger with the wealthy nations: for I was angry a little, but they helped forward the evil.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem in mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts: and the building line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
17 Cry yet, saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: My cities shall yet flow with good things: and the Lord will yet comfort Sion, and he will yet choose Jerusalem.
18 And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: and behold four horns.
19 And I said to the angel that spoke to me: What are these? And he said to me: These are the horns that have scattered Juda, and Israel, and Jerusalem.
20 And the Lord shewed me four smiths.
21 And I said: What come these to do? and he spoke, saying: These are the horns which have scattered Juda every man apart, and none of them lifted up his head: and these are come to fray them, to cast down the horns of the nations, that have lifted up the horn upon the land of Juda to scatter it.
2 And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold a man, with a measuring line in his hand.
2 And I said: Whither goest thou? and he said to me: To measure Jerusalem, and to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great the length thereof.
3 And behold the angel that spoke in me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him.
4 And he said to him: Run, speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, by reason of the multitude of men, and of the beasts in the midst thereof.
5 And I will be to it, saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about: and I will be in glory in the midst thereof.
6 O, O flee ye out of the land of the north, saith the Lord, for I have scattered you into the four winds of heaven, saith the Lord.
7 O Sion, flee, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon:
8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts: After the glory he hath sent me to the nations that have robbed you: for he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of my eye:
9 For behold I lift up my hand upon them, and they shall be a prey to those that served them: and you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me.
10 Sing praise, and rejoice, O daughter of Sion: for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee: saith the Lord.
11 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee: and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me to thee.
12 And the Lord shall possess Juda his portion in the sanctified land: and he shall yet choose Jerusalem.
13 Let all flesh be silent at the presence of the Lord: for he is risen up out of his. holy habitation.
3 And the Lord shewed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord: and Satan stood on his right hand to be his adversary.
2 And the Lord said to Satan: The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan: and the Lord that chose Jerusalem rebuke thee: Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3 And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments: and he stood before the face of the angel.
4 Who answered, and said to them that stood before him, saying: Take away the filthy garments from him. And he said to him: Behold I have taken away thy iniquity, and have clothed thee with change of garments.
5 And he said: Put a clean mitre upon his head: and they put a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments, and the angel of the Lord stood.
6 And the angel of the Lord protested to Jesus, saying:
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my charge, thou also shalt judge my house, and shalt keep my courts, and I will give thee some of them that are now present here to walk with thee.
8 Hear, O Jesus thou high priest, thou and thy friends that dwell before thee, for they are portending men: for behold I WILL BRING MY SERVANT THE ORIENT.
9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Jesus: upon one stone there are seven eyes: behold I will grave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts: and I will take away the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, every man shall call his friend under the vine and under the fig tree.
4 And the angel that spoke in me came again: and he waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said to me: What seest thou? And I said: I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, and its lamp upon the top of it: and the seven lights thereof upon it: and seven funnels for the lights that were upon the top thereof.
3 And two olive trees over it: one upon the right side of the lamp, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 And I answered, and said to the angel that spoke in me, saying: What are these things, my lord?
5 And the angel that spoke in me answered, and said to me: Knowest thou not what these things are? And I said: No, my lord.
6 And he answered, and spoke to me, saying: This is the word of the Lord to Zorobabel, saying: Not with an army, nor by might, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain, before Zorobabel? thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring out the chief stone, and shall give equal grace to the grace thereof.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 The hands of Zorobabel have laid the foundations of this house, and his hands shall finish it: and you shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me to you.
10 For who hath despised little days? and they shall rejoice, and shall see the tin plummet in the hand of Zorobabel. These are the seven eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth.
11 And I answered, and said to him: What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick, and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said to him: What are the two olive branches, that are by the two golden beaks, in which are the funnels of gold?
13 And he spoke to me, saying: Knowest thou not what these are? And I said: No, my lord.
14 And he said: These are two sons of oil who stand before the Lord of the whole earth.
5 And I turned and lifted up my eyes: and I saw, and behold a volume flying.
2 And he said to me: What seest thou? And I said: I see a volume flying: the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
3 And he said to me: This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the earth: for every thief shall be judged as is there written: and every one that sweareth in like manner shall be judged by it.
4 I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts: and it shall come to the house of the thief, and to the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, with the timber thereof, and the stones thereof.
5 And the angel went forth that spoke in me, and he said to me: Lift up thy eyes, and see what this is, that goeth forth.
6 And I said: What is it? And he said: This is a vessel going forth. And he said: This is their eye in all the earth.
7 And behold a talent of lead was carried, and behold a woman sitting in the midst of the vessel.
8 And he said: This is wickedness. And he cast her into the midst of the vessel, and cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
9 And I lifted up my eyes and looked: and behold there came out two women, and wind was in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a kite: and they lifted up the vessel between the earth and the heaven.
10 And I said to the angel that spoke in me: Whither do these carry the vessel?
11 And he said to me: That a house may be built for it in the land of Sennaar, and that it may be established, and set there upon its own basis.
6 And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and saw: and behold four chariots came out from the midst of two mountains: and the mountains were mountains of brass.
2 In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot black horses.
3 And in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot grisled horses, and strong ones.
4 And I answered, and said to the angel that spoke in me: What are these, my lord?
5 And the angel answered, and said to me: These are the four winds of the heaven, which go forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth.
6 That in which were the black horses went forth into the land of the north, and the white went forth after them: and the grisled went forth to the land of the south.
7 And they that were most strong, went out, and sought to go, and to run to and fro through all the earth. And he said: Go, walk throughout the earth: and they walked throughout the earth.
8 And he called me, and spoke to me, saying: Behold they that go forth into the land of the north, have quieted my spirit in the land of the north.
9 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
10 Take of them of the captivity, of Holdai, and of Tobias, and of Idaias; thou shalt come in that day, and shalt go into the house of Josias, the son of Sophonias, who came out of Babylon.
11 And thou shalt take gold and silver: and shalt make crowns, and thou shalt set them on the head of Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest.
12 And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: BEHOLD A MAN, THE ORIENT IS HIS NAME: and under him shall he spring up, and shall build a temple to the Lord.
13 Yea, he shall build a temple to the Lord: and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit, and rule upon his throne: and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and Tobias, and Idaias, and to Hem, the son of Sophonias, a memorial in the temple of the Lord.
15 And they that are far off, shall come and shall build in the temple of the Lord: and you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me to you. But this shall come to pass, if hearing you will hear the voice of the Lord your God.
7 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, in the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Casleu.
2 When Sarasar, and Rogommelech, and the men that were with him, sent to the house of God, to entreat the face of the Lord:
3 To speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying: Must I weep in the fifth month, or must I sanctify myself as I have now done for many years?
4 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:
5 Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: When you fasted, and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years: did you keep a fast unto me?
6 And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem as yet was inhabited, and was wealthy, both itself and the cities round about it, and there were inhabitants towards the south, and in the plain?
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying:
9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge ye true judgment, and shew ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother.
10 And oppress not the widow, and the fatherless, and the stranger, and the poor: and let not a man devise evil in his heart against his brother.
11 But they would not hearken, and they turned away the shoulder to depart: and they stopped their ears, not to hear.
12 And they made their heart as the adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts sent in his spirit by the hand of the former prophets: so a great indignation came from the Lord of hosts.
13 And it came to pass that as he spoke, and they heard not: so shall they cry, and I will not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.
14 And I dispersed them throughout all kingdoms, which they know not: and the land was left desolate behind them, so that no man passed through or returned: and they changed the delightful land into a wilderness.
8 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:
2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have been jealous for Sion with a great jealousy, and with a great indignation have I been jealous for her.
3 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am returned to Sion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called The city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, The sanctified mountain.
4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem: and every man with his staff in his hand through multitude of days.
5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls, playing in the streets thereof.
6 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If it seem hard in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days: shall it be hard in my eyes, saith the Lord of hosts?
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold I will save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the going down of the sun.
8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in truth and in justice.
9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strengthened, you that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, in the day that the house of the Lord of hosts was founded, that the temple might be built.
10 For before those days there was no hire for men, neither was there hire for beasts, neither was there peace to him that came in, nor to him that went out, because of the tribulation: and I let all men go every one against his neighbour.
11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people according to the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 But there shall be the seed of peace: the vine shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew: and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
13 And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among the Gentiles, O house of Juda, and house of Israel: so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing: fear not, let your hands be strengthened.
14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts: As I purposed to afflict you, when your fathers had provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord,
15 And I had no mercy: so turning again I have thought in these days to do good to the house of Juda, and Jerusalem: fear not.
16 These then are the things, which you shall do: Speak ye truth every one to his neighbour: judge ye truth and judgment of peace in your gates.
17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his friend: and love not a false oath: for all these are the things that I hate, saith the Lord.
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:
19 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Juda, joy, and gladness, and great solemnities: only love ye truth and peace.
20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, until people come, and dwell in many cities,
21 And the inhabitants go one to another, saying: Let us go, and entreat the face of the Lord, and let us seek the Lord of hosts: I also will go.
22 And many peoples, and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the face of the Lord.
23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: In those days, wherein ten men of all languages of the Gentiles shall take hold, and shall hold fast the shirt of one that is a Jew, saying: We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
9 The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and of Damascus the rest thereof: for the eye of man, and of all the tribes of Israel is the Lord's.
2 Emath also in the borders thereof, and Tyre, and Sidon: for they have taken to themselves to be exceeding wise.
3 And Tyre hath built herself a strong hold, and heaped together silver as earth, and gold as the mire of the streets.
4 Behold the Lord shall possess her, and shall strike her strength in the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire.
5 Ascalon shall see, and shall fear, and Gaza, and shall be very sorrowful: and Accaron, because her hope is confounded: and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited.
6 And the divider shall sit in Azotus, and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: and even he shall be left to our God, and he shall be as a governor in Juda, and Accaron as a Jebusite.
8 And I will encompass my house with them that serve me in war, going and returning, and the oppressor shall no more pass through them: for now I have seen with my eyes.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: BEHOLD THY KING will come to thee, the just and saviour: he is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10 And I will destroy the chariot out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow for war shall be broken: and he shall speak peace to the Gentiles, and his power shall be from sea to sea, and from the rivers even to the end of the earth.
11 Thou also by the blood of thy testament hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water.
12 Return to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope, I will render thee double as I declare to day.
13 Because I have bent Juda for me as a bow, I have filled Ephraim: and I will raise up thy sons, O Sion, above thy sons, O Greece, and I will make thee as the sword of the mighty.
14 And the Lord God shall be seen over them, and his dart shall go forth as lightning: and the Lord God will sound the trumpet, and go in the whirlwind of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts will protect them: and they shall devour, and subdue with the stones of the sling: and drinking they shall be inebriated as it were with wine, and they shall be filled as bowls, and as the horns of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God will save them in that day, as the flock of his people: for holy stones shall be lifted up over his land.
17 For what is the good thing of him, and what is his beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect, and wine springing forth virgins?
10 Ask ye of the Lord rain in the latter season, and the Lord will make snows, and will give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
2 For the idols have spoken what was unprofitable, and the diviners have seen a lie, and the dreamers have spoken vanity: they comforted in vain: therefore they were led away as a flock: they shall be afflicted, because they have no shepherd.
3 My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit upon the buck goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Juda, and hath made them as the horse of his glory in the battle.
4 Out of him shall come forth the corner, out of him the pin, out of him the bow of battle, out of him every exacter together.
5 And they shall be as mighty men, treading under foot the mire of the ways in battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders of horses shall be confounded.
6 And I will strengthen the house of Juda, and save the house of Joseph: and I will bring them back again, because I will have mercy on them: and they shall be as they were when I had cast them off, for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.
7 And they shall be as the valiant men of Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: and their children shall see, and shall rejoice, and their heart shall be joyful in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them, and I will gather them together, because I have redeemed them: and I will multiply them as they were multiplied before.
9 And I will sow them among peoples: and from afar they shall remember me: and they shall live with their children, and shall return.
10 And I will bring them back out of the land of Egypt, and will gather them from among the Assyrians: and will bring them to the land of Galaad, and Libanus, and place shall not be found for them.
11 And he shall pass over the strait of the sea, and shall strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be confounded, and the pride of Assyria shall be humbled, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart.
12 I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name, saith the Lord.
11 Open thy gates, O Libanus, and let fire devour thy cedars.
2 Howl, thou fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, for the mighty are laid waste: howl, ye oaks of Basan, because the fenced forest is cut down.
3 The voice of the howling of the shepherds, because their glory is laid waste: the voice of the roaring of the lions, because the pride of the Jordan is spoiled.
4 Thus saith the Lord my God: Feed the flock of the slaughter,
5 Which they that possessed, slew, and repented not, and they sold them, saying: Blessed be the Lord, we are become rich: and their shepherds spared them not.
6 And I will no more spare the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: behold I will deliver the men, every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall destroy the land, and I will not deliver it out of their hand.
7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter for this, O ye poor of the flock. And I took unto me two rods, one I called Beauty, and the other I called a Cord, and I fed the flock.
8 And I cut off three shepherds in one month, and my soul was straitened in their regard: for their soul also varied in my regard.
9 And I said: I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die: and that which is cut off, let it be cut off: and let the rest devour every one the flesh of his neighbour.
10 And I took my rod that was called Beauty, and I cut it asunder to make void my covenant, which I had made with all people.
11 And it was made void in that day: and so the poor of the flock that keep for me, understood that it is the word of the Lord.
12 And I said to them: If it be good in your eyes, bring hither my wages: and if not, be quiet. And they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me: Cast it to the statuary, a handsome price, that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I cast them into the house of the Lord to the statuary.
14 And I cut off my second rod that was called a Cord, that I might break the brotherhood between Juda and Israel.
15 And the Lord said to me: Take to thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16 For behold I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish that which standeth, and he shall eat the flesh of the fat ones, and break their hoofs.
17 O shepherd, and idol, that forsaketh the flock: the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye: his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
12 The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel. Thus saith the Lord, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in him:
2 Behold I will make Jerusalem a lintel of surfeiting to all the people round about: and Juda also shall be in the siege against Jerusalem.
3 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all people: all that shall lift it up shall be rent and torn, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall be gathered together against her.
4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open my eyes upon the house of Juda, and will strike every horse of the nations with blindness.
5 And the governors of Juda shall say in their heart: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened for me in the Lord of hosts, their God.
6 In that day I will make the governors of Juda like a furnace of fire amongst wood, and as a firebrand amongst hay: and they shall devour all the people round about, to the right hand, and to the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem.
7 And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Juda, as in the beginning: that the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, may not boast and magnify themselves against Juda.
8 In that day shall the Lord protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he that hath offended among them in that day shall be as David: and the house of David, as that of God, as an angel of the Lord in their sight.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers: and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.
11 In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem like the lamentation of Adadremmon in the plain of Mageddon.
12 And the land shall mourn: families and families apart: the families of the house of David apart, and their women apart:
13 The families of the house of Nathan apart, and their women apart: the families of the house of Levi apart, and their women apart: the families of Semei apart, and their women apart.
14 All the rest of the families, families and families apart, and their women apart.
13 In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: for the washing of the sinner, and of the unclean woman.
2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will destroy the names of idols out of the earth, and they shall be remembered no more: and I will take away the false prophets, and the unclean spirit out of the earth.
3 And it shall come to pass, that when any man shall prophesy any more, his father and his mother that brought him into the world, shall say to him: Thou shalt not live: because thou hast spoken a lie in the name of the Lord. And his father, and his mother, his parents, shall thrust him through, when he shall prophesy.
4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be confounded, every one by his own vision, when he shall prophesy, neither shall they be clad with a garment of sackcloth, to deceive:
5 But he shall say: I am no prophet, I am a husbandman: for Adam is my example from my youth.
6 And they shall say to him: What are these wounds in the midst of thy hands? And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me.
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that cleaveth to me, saith the Lord of hosts: strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand to the little ones.
8 And there shall be in all the earth, saith the Lord, two parts in it shall be scattered, and shall perish: but the third part shall be left therein.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined: and I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say: Thou art my people: and they shall say: The Lord is my God.
14 Behold the days of the Lord shall come, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses shall be rifled, and the women shall be defiled: and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the rest of the people shall not be taken away out of the city.
3 Then the Lord shall go forth, and shall fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is over against Jerusalem toward the east: and the mount of Olives shall be divided in the midst thereof to the east, and to the west with a very great opening, and half of the mountain shall be separated to the north, and half thereof to the south.
5 And you shall flee to the valley of those mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall be joined even to the next, and you shall flee as you fled from the face of the earthquake in the days of Ozias king of Juda: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall be no light, but cold and frost.
7 And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, not day nor night: and in the time of the evening there shall be light.
8 And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them to the east sea, and half of them to the last sea: they shall be in summer and in winter.
9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name shall be one.
10 And all the land shall return even to the desert, from the hill to Remmon to the south of Jerusalem: and she shall be exalted, and shall dwell in her own place, from the gate of Benjamin even to the place of the former gate, and even to the gate of the corners: and from the tower of Hananeel even to the king's winepresses.
11 And people shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more an anathema: but Jerusalem shall sit secure.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall strike all nations that have fought against Jerusalem: the flesh of every one shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 In that day there shall be a great tumult from the Lord among them: and a man shall take the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall be clasped upon his neighbour's hand.
14 And even Juda shall fight against Jerusalem: and the riches of all nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and garments in great abundance.
15 And the destruction of the horse, and of the mule, and of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts, that shall be in those tents, shall be like this destruction.
16 And all they that shall be left of all nations that came against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall come to pass, that he that shall not go up of the families of the land to Jerusalem, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, there shall be no rain upon them.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up nor come: neither shall it be upon them, but there shall be destruction wherewith the Lord will strike all nations that will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the sin of Egypt, and this the sin of all nations, that will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20 In that day that which is upon the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord: and the caldrons in the house of the Lord shall be as the phials before the altar.
21 And every caldron in Jerusalem and Juda shall be sanctified to the Lord of hosts: and all that sacrifice shall come, and take of them, and shall seethe in them: and the merchant shall be no more in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.
Zechariah 1-14
The Message
1 1-4 In the eighth month of the second year in the reign of Darius, God’s Message came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: “God was very angry with your ancestors. So give to the people this Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘Come back to me and I’ll come back to you. Don’t be like your parents. The old-time prophets called out to them, “A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: Leave your evil life. Quit your evil practices.” But they ignored everything I said to them, stubbornly refused to listen.’
5-6 “And where are your ancestors now? Dead and buried. And the prophets who preached to them? Also dead and buried. But the Message that my servants the prophets spoke, that isn’t dead and buried. That Message did its work on your ancestors, did it not? It woke them up and they came back, saying, ‘He did what he said he would do, sure enough. We didn’t get by with a thing.’”
First Vision: Four Riders
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month in the second year of the reign of Darius, the Message of God was given to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
8 One night I looked out and saw a man astride a red horse. He was in the shadows in a grove of birches. Behind him were more horses—a red, a chestnut, and a white.
9 I said, “Sir, what are these horses doing here? What’s the meaning of this?”
The Angel-Messenger said, “Let me show you.”
10 Then the rider in the birch grove spoke up, “These are the riders that God sent to check things out on earth.”
11 They reported their findings to the Angel of God in the birch grove: “We have looked over the whole earth and all is well. Everything’s under control.”
12 The Angel of God reported back, “O God-of-the-Angel-Armies, how long are you going to stay angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? When are you going to let up? Isn’t seventy years long enough?”
13-15 God reassured the Angel-Messenger—good words, comforting words—who then addressed me: “Tell them this. Tell them that God-of-the-Angel-Armies has spoken. This is God’s Message: ‘I care deeply for Jerusalem and Zion. I feel very possessive of them. But I’m thoroughly angry with the godless nations that act as if they own the whole world. I was only moderately angry earlier, but now they’ve gone too far. I’m going into action.
16-17 “‘I’ve come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion this time.’
This is God speaking.
‘I’ll see to it that my Temple is rebuilt.’
A Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
‘The rebuilding operation is already staked out.’
Say it again—a Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
‘My cities will prosper again,
God will comfort Zion again,
Jerusalem will be back in my favor again.’”
Second Vision: Four Horns and Four Blacksmiths
18 I looked up, and was surprised by another vision: four horns!
19 I asked the Messenger-Angel, “And what’s the meaning of this?”
He said, “These are the powers that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem abroad.”
20 Then God expanded the vision to include four blacksmiths.
21 I asked, “And what are these all about?”
He said, “Since the ‘horns’ scattered Judah so badly that no one had any hope left, these blacksmiths have arrived to combat the horns. They’ll dehorn the godless nations who used their horns to scatter Judah to the four winds.”
Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure
2 1-5 I looked up and was surprised to see
a man holding a tape measure in his hand.
I said, “What are you up to?”
“I’m on my way,” he said, “to survey Jerusalem,
to measure its width and length.”
Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out
met another angel coming in and said,
“Run! Tell the Surveyor, ‘Jerusalem will burst its walls—
bursting with people, bursting with animals.
And I’ll be right there with her’—God’s Decree—‘a wall of fire
around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.’”
* * *
6-7 “Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!” God says so.
“Return from your far exile.
I scattered you to the four winds.” God’s Decree.
“Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!”
* * *
8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, “Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I’ll give the signal and they’ll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants.” Then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.
* * *
10 “Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!
I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighborhood!”
God’s Decree.
* * *
11-12 Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. (“They will become my family! I’ll live in their homes!”) And then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He’ll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice.
* * *
13 Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something’s afoot in his holy house. He’s on the move!
Fourth Vision: Joshua’s New Clothes
3 1-2 Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God’s Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, “I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!”
3-4 Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, “Get him out of those filthy clothes,” and then said to Joshua, “Look, I’ve stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes.”
5 I spoke up and said, “How about a clean new turban for his head also?” And they did it—put a clean new turban on his head. Then they finished dressing him, with God’s Angel looking on.
6-7 God’s Angel then charged Joshua, “Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you’ll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service.
8-9 “‘Careful, High Priest Joshua—both you and your friends sitting here with you, for your friends are in on this, too! Here’s what I’m doing next: I’m introducing my servant Branch. And note this: This stone that I’m placing before Joshua, a single stone with seven eyes’—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—‘I’ll engrave with these words: “I’ll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day.”
10 “‘At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another’s porches.’”
Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees
4 The Messenger-Angel again called me to attention. It was like being wakened out of deep sleep.
2-3 He said, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top. Seven lamps, each with seven spouts, are set on the bowl. And there are two olive trees, one on either side of the bowl.”
4 Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, “What does this mean, sir?”
5-7 The Messenger-Angel said, “Can’t you tell?”
“No, sir,” I said.
Then he said, “This is God’s Message to Zerubbabel: ‘You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,’ says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. ‘So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you’re nothing but a molehill. He’ll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!’”
8-10 After that, the Word of God came to me: “Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!”
Going back to the vision, the Messenger-Angel said, “The seven lamps are the eyes of God probing the dark corners of the world like searchlights.”
11-12 “And the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand?” I asked. “What’s the meaning of them? And while you’re at it, the two branches of the olive trees that feed oil to the lamps—what do they mean?”
13 He said, “You haven’t figured that out?”
I said, “No, sir.”
14 He said, “These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide.”
Sixth Vision: The Flying Book
5 I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!
2 The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”
I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”
3-4 He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”
Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket
5 The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”
6 I said, “What in the world is that?”
He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”
7 Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!
8 He said, “This is Miss Wickedness.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.
9 Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.
10 I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”
11 He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”
Eighth Vision: Four Chariots
6 Once again I looked up—another strange sight! Four chariots charging out from between two mountains. The mountains were bronze.
2-3 The first chariot was drawn by red horses, the second chariot by black horses, the third chariot by white horses, and the fourth chariot by dappled horses. All the horses were powerful.
4 I asked the Messenger-Angel, “Sir, what’s the meaning here?”
5-7 The angel answered, “These are the four winds of heaven, which originate with the Master of the whole earth. The black horses are headed north with the white ones right after them. The dappled horses are headed south.” The powerful horses galloped out, bursting with energy, eager to patrol through the earth. The Messenger-Angel commanded: “On your way! Survey the earth!” and they were off in every direction.
8 Then he called to me and said, “Look at them go! The ones going north are conveying a sense of my Spirit, serene and secure. No more trouble from that direction.”
A Man Named Branch
9-12 Then this Message from God came to me: “Take up a collection from the exiles. Target Heldai, Tobiah, and Jedaiah. They’ve just arrived from Babylon. You’ll find them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Collect silver and gold from them and fashion crowns. Place one on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and give him this message:
12-13 “‘A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Be alert. We have a man here whose name is Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of God. Yes, he’s the one. He’ll build the Temple of God. Then he’ll assume the role of royalty, take his place on the throne and rule—a priest sitting on the throne!—showing that king and priest can coexist in harmony.’
14 “The other crown will be in the Temple of God as a symbol of royalty, under the custodial care of Helem, Tobiah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah.
15 “People will come from faraway places to pitch in and rebuild the Temple of God. This will confirm that God-of-the-Angel-Armies did, in fact, send me to you. All this follows as you put your minds to a life of responsive obedience to the voice of your God.”
“You’re Interested in Religion, I’m Interested in People”
7 On the fourth day of the ninth month, in the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, God’s Message again came to Zechariah.
2-3 The town of Bethel had sent a delegation headed by Sarezer and Regem-Melech to pray for God’s blessing and to confer with the priests of the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and also with the prophets. They posed this question: “Should we plan for a day of mourning and abstinence next August, the seventieth anniversary of Jerusalem’s fall, as we have been doing all these years?”
4-6 God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave me this Message for them, for all the people and for the priests: “When you held days of fasting every fifth and seventh month all these seventy years, were you doing it for me? And when you held feasts, was that for me? Hardly. You’re interested in religion, I’m interested in people.
7-10 “There’s nothing new to say on the subject. Don’t you still have the message of the earlier prophets from the time when Jerusalem was still a thriving, bustling city and the outlying countryside, the Negev and Shephelah, was populated? [This is the message that God gave Zechariah.] Well, the message hasn’t changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now:
“‘Treat one another justly.
Love your neighbors.
Be compassionate with each other.
Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor.
Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.’
11-13 “But did your ancestors listen? No, they set their jaws in defiance. They shut their ears. They steeled themselves against God’s revelation and the Spirit-filled sermons preached by the earlier prophets by order of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. And God became angry, really angry, because he told them everything plainly and they wouldn’t listen to a word he said.
13-14 “So [this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said] if they won’t listen to me, I won’t listen to them. I scattered them to the four winds. They ended up strangers wherever they were. Their ‘promised land’ became a vacant lot—weeds and tin cans and thistles. Not a sign of life. They turned a dreamland into a wasteland.”
Rebuilding the Temple
8 1-2 And then these Messages from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“I am zealous for Zion—I care!
I’m angry about Zion—I’m involved!”
* * *
God’s Message:
3 “I’ve come back to Zion,
I’ve moved back to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s new names will be Truth City,
and Mountain of God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
and Mount Holiness.”
* * *
4-5 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Old men and old women will come back to Jerusalem, sit on benches on the streets and spin tales, move around safely with their canes—a good city to grow old in. And boys and girls will fill the public parks, laughing and playing—a good city to grow up in.”
* * *
6 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Do the problems of returning and rebuilding by just a few survivors seem too much? But is anything too much for me? Not if I have my say.”
* * *
7-8 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“I’ll collect my people from countries to the east and countries to the west. I’ll bring them back and move them into Jerusalem. They’ll be my people and I’ll be their God. I’ll stick with them and do right by them.”
* * *
9-10 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Get a grip on things. Hold tight, you who are listening to what I say through the preaching of the prophets. The Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies has been reestablished. The Temple is being rebuilt. We’ve come through a hard time: You worked for a pittance and were lucky to get that; the streets were dangerous; you could never let down your guard; I had turned the world into an armed camp.
11-12 “But things have changed. I’m taking the side of my core of surviving people:
Sowing and harvesting will resume,
Vines will grow grapes,
Gardens will flourish,
Dew and rain will make everything green.
12-13 “My core survivors will get everything they need—and more. You’ve gotten a reputation as a bad-news people, you people of Judah and Israel, but I’m coming to save you. From now on, you’re the good-news people. Don’t be afraid. Keep a firm grip on what I’m doing.”
Keep Your Lives Simple and Honest
14-17 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“In the same way that I decided to punish you when your ancestors made me angry, and didn’t pull my punches, at this time I’ve decided to bless Jerusalem and the country of Judah. Don’t be afraid. And now here’s what I want you to do: Tell the truth, the whole truth, when you speak. Do the right thing by one another, both personally and in your courts. Don’t cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don’t do or say what isn’t so. I hate all that stuff. Keep your lives simple and honest.” Decree of God.
* * *
18-19 Again I received a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“The days of mourning set for the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be turned into days of feasting for Judah—celebration and holiday. Embrace truth! Love peace!”
* * *
20-21 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“People and their leaders will come from all over to see what’s going on. The leaders will confer with one another: ‘Shouldn’t we try to get in on this? Get in on God’s blessings? Pray to God-of-the-Angel-Armies? What’s keeping us? Let’s go!’
22 “Lots of people, powerful nations—they’ll come to Jerusalem looking for what they can get from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, looking to get a blessing from God.”
* * *
23 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“At that time, ten men speaking a variety of languages will grab the sleeve of one Jew, hold tight, and say, ‘Let us go with you. We’ve heard that God is with you.’”
The Whole World Has Its Eyes on God
9 1-6 War Bulletin:
God’s Message challenges the country of Hadrach.
It will settle on Damascus.
The whole world has its eyes on God.
Israel isn’t the only one.
That includes Hamath at the border,
and Tyre and Sidon, clever as they think they are.
Tyre has put together quite a kingdom for herself;
she has stacked up silver like cordwood,
piled gold high as haystacks.
But God will certainly bankrupt her;
he will dump all that wealth into the ocean
and burn up what’s left in a big fire.
Ashkelon will see it and panic,
Gaza will wring its hands,
Ekron will face a dead end.
Gaza’s king will die.
Ashkelon will be emptied out,
And a villain will take over in Ashdod.
6-8 “I’ll take proud Philistia down a peg:
I’ll make him spit out his bloody spoils
and abandon his vile ways.”
What’s left will be all God’s—a core of survivors,
a family brought together in Judah—
But enemies like Ekron will go the way of the Jebusites,
into the dustbin of history.
“I will set up camp in my home country
and defend it against invaders.
Nobody is going to hurt my people ever again.
I’m keeping my eye on them.
A Humble King Riding a Donkey
9-10 “Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!
Raise your voice, Daughter Jerusalem!
Your king is coming!
a good king who makes all things right,
a humble king riding a donkey,
a mere colt of a donkey.
I’ve had it with war—no more chariots in Ephraim,
no more war horses in Jerusalem,
no more swords and spears, bows and arrows.
He will offer peace to the nations,
a peaceful rule worldwide,
from the four winds to the seven seas.
11-13 “And you, because of my blood covenant with you,
I’ll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells.
Come home, hope-filled prisoners!
This very day I’m declaring a double bonus—
everything you lost returned twice-over!
Judah is now my weapon, the bow I’ll pull,
setting Ephraim as an arrow to the string.
I’ll wake up your sons, O Zion,
to counter your sons, O Greece.
From now on
people are my swords.”
14-17 Then God will come into view,
his arrows flashing like lightning!
Master God will blast his trumpet
and set out in a whirlwind.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies will protect them—
all-out war,
The war to end all wars,
no holds barred.
Their God will save the day. He’ll rescue them.
They’ll become like sheep, gentle and soft,
Or like gemstones in a crown,
catching all the colors of the sun.
Then how they’ll shine! shimmer! glow!
the young men robust, the young women lovely!
God’s Work of Rebuilding
10 Pray to God for rain—it’s time for the spring rain—
to God, the rainmaker,
Spring thunderstorm maker,
maker of grain and barley.
2-3 “Store-bought gods babble gibberish.
Religious experts spout rubbish.
They pontificate hot air.
Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke.
And so the people wander like lost sheep,
poor lost sheep without a shepherd.
I’m furious with the so-called shepherds.
They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.”
* * *
3-5 God-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in
and take care of his flock, the people of Judah.
He’ll revive their spirits,
make them proud to be on God’s side.
God will use them in his work of rebuilding,
use them as foundations and pillars,
Use them as tools and instruments,
use them to oversee his work.
They’ll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one,
their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud,
Courageous and vigorous because God is with them,
undeterred by the world’s thugs.
* * *
6-12 “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah;
I’ll save the people of Joseph.
I know their pain and will make them good as new.
They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened.
And why? Because I am their very own God,
I’ll do what needs to be done for them.
The people of Ephraim will be famous,
their lives brimming with joy.
Their children will get in on it, too—
oh, let them feel blessed by God!
I’ll whistle and they’ll all come running.
I’ve set them free—oh, how they’ll flourish!
Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth,
they’ll remember me in the faraway places.
They’ll keep the story alive in their children,
and they will come back.
I’ll bring them back from the Egyptian west
and round them up from the Assyrian east.
I’ll bring them back to sweet Gilead,
back to leafy Lebanon.
Every square foot of land
will be marked by homecoming.
They’ll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves.
Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle.
Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare,
bully Egypt exposed as a fraud.
But my people—oh, I’ll make them strong, God-strong!
and they’ll live my way.” God says so!
* * *
11 1-4 Open your borders to the immigrants, proud Lebanon!
Your sentinel trees will burn.
Weep, great pine trees! Mourn, you sister cedars!
Your towering trees are cordwood.
Weep Bashan oak trees!
Your thick forest is now a field of stumps.
Do you hear the wailing of shepherds?
They’ve lost everything they once owned.
Do you hear the outrage of the lions?
The mighty jungle of the Jordan is wasted.
Make room for the returning exiles!
Breaking the Beautiful Covenant
4-5 God commanded me, “Shepherd the sheep that are soon to be slaughtered. The people who buy them will butcher them for quick and easy money. What’s worse, they’ll get away with it. The people who sell them will say, ‘Lucky me! God’s on my side; I’ve got it made!’ They have shepherds who couldn’t care less about them.”
6 God’s Decree: “I’m washing my hands of the people of this land. From now on they’re all on their own. It’s dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest, and every person for themselves. Don’t look for help from me.”
7-8 So I took over from the crass, money-grubbing owners, and shepherded the sheep marked for slaughter. I got myself two shepherd staffs. I named one Lovely and the other Harmony. Then I went to work shepherding the sheep. Within a month I got rid of the corrupt shepherds. I got tired of putting up with them—and they couldn’t stand me.
9 And then I got tired of the sheep and said, “I’ve had it with you—no more shepherding from me. If you die, you die; if you’re attacked, you’re attacked. Whoever survives can eat what’s left.”
10-11 Then I took the staff named Lovely and broke it across my knee, breaking the beautiful covenant I had made with all the peoples. In one stroke, both staff and covenant were broken. The money-hungry owners saw me do it and knew God was behind it.
12 Then I addressed them: “Pay me what you think I’m worth.” They paid me an insulting sum, counting out thirty silver coins.
13 God told me, “Throw it in the poor box.” This stingy wage was all they thought of me and my work! So I took the thirty silver coins and threw them into the poor box in God’s Temple.
14 Then I broke the other staff, Harmony, across my knee, breaking the family ties between Judah and Israel.
15-16 God then said, “Dress up like a stupid shepherd. I’m going to install just such a shepherd in this land—a shepherd indifferent to victims, who ignores the lost, abandons the injured, and disdains decent citizens. He’ll only be in it for what he can get out of it, using and abusing any and all.
17 “Doom to you, useless shepherd,
walking off and leaving the sheep!
A curse on your arm!
A curse on your right eye!
Your arm will hang limp and useless.
Your right eye will go stone blind.”
Home Again in Jerusalem
12 1-2 War Bulletin:
God’s Message concerning Israel, God’s Decree—the very God who threw the skies into space, set earth on a firm foundation, and breathed his own life into men and women: “Watch for this: I’m about to turn Jerusalem into a cup of strong drink that will have the people who have set siege to Judah and Jerusalem staggering in a drunken stupor.
3 “On the Big Day, I’ll turn Jerusalem into a huge stone blocking the way for everyone. All who try to lift it will rupture themselves. All the pagan nations will come together and try to get rid of it.
4-5 “On the Big Day”—this is God speaking—“I’ll throw all the war horses into a crazed panic, and their riders along with them. But I’ll keep my eye on Judah, watching out for her at the same time that I make the enemy horses go blind. The families of Judah will then realize, ‘Why, our leaders are strong and able through God-of-the-Angel-Armies, their personal God.’
6 “On the Big Day, I’ll turn the families of Judah into something like a burning match in a tinder-dry forest, like a fiercely flaming torch in a barn full of hay. They’ll burn up everything and everyone in sight—people to the right, people to the left—while Jerusalem fills up with people moving in and making themselves at home—home again in Jerusalem.
7-8 “I, God, will begin by restoring the common households of Judah so that the glory of David’s family and the leaders in Jerusalem won’t overshadow the ordinary people in Judah. On the Big Day, I’ll look after everyone who lives in Jerusalem so that the lowliest, weakest person will be as glorious as David and the family of David itself will be godlike, like the Angel of God leading the people.
9 “On the Big Day, I’ll make a clean sweep of all the godless nations that fought against Jerusalem.
10-14 “Next I’ll deal with the family of David and those who live in Jerusalem. I’ll pour a spirit of grace and prayer over them. They’ll then be able to recognize me as the One they so grievously wounded—that piercing spear-thrust! And they’ll weep—oh, how they’ll weep! Deep mourning as of a parent grieving the loss of the firstborn child. The lamentation in Jerusalem that day will be massive, as famous as the lamentation over Hadad-Rimmon on the fields of Megiddo:
Everyone will weep and grieve,
the land and everyone in it:
The family of David off by itself
and their women off by themselves;
The family of Nathan off by itself
and their women off by themselves;
The family of Levi off by itself
and their women off by themselves;
The family of Shimei off by itself
and their women off by themselves;
And all the rest of the families off by themselves
and their women off by themselves.”
Washing Away Sins
13 “On the Big Day, a fountain will be opened for the family of David and all the leaders of Jerusalem for washing away their sins, for scrubbing their stained and soiled lives clean.
2-3 “On the Big Day”—this is God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaking—“I will wipe out the store-bought gods, erase their names from memory. People will forget they ever heard of them. And I’ll get rid of the prophets who polluted the air with their diseased words. If anyone dares persist in spreading diseased, polluting words, his very own parents will step in and say, ‘That’s it! You’re finished! Your lies about God put everyone in danger,’ and then they’ll stab him to death in the very act of prophesying lies about God—his own parents, mind you!
4-6 “On the Big Day, the lying prophets will be publicly exposed and humiliated. Then they’ll wish they’d never swindled people with their ‘visions.’ No more masquerading in prophet clothes. But they’ll deny they’ve even heard of such things: ‘Me, a prophet? Not me. I’m a farmer—grew up on the farm.’ And if someone says, ‘And so where did you get that black eye?’ they’ll say, ‘I ran into a door at a friend’s house.’
* * *
7-9 “Sword, get moving against my shepherd,
against my close associate!”
Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“Kill the shepherd! Scatter the sheep!
The back of my hand against even the lambs!
All across the country”—God’s Decree—
“two-thirds will be devastated
and one-third survive.
I’ll deliver the surviving third to the refinery fires.
I’ll refine them as silver is refined,
test them for purity as gold is tested.
Then they’ll pray to me by name
and I’ll answer them personally.
I’ll say, ‘That’s my people.’
They’ll say, ‘God—my God!’”
The Day Is Coming
14 1-2 Note well: God’s Judgment Day is on the way:
“Plunder will be piled high and handed out.
I’m bringing all the godless nations
to war against Jerusalem—
Houses plundered,
women raped,
Half the city taken into exile,
the other half left behind.”
3-5 But then God will march out against the godless nations and fight—a great war! That’s the Day he’ll take his stand on the Mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem from the east. The Mount of Olives will be split right down the middle, from east to west, leaving a wide valley. Half the mountain will shift north, the other half south. Then you will run for your lives down the valley, your escape route that will take you all the way to Azal. You’ll run for your lives, just as you ran on the day of the great earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. Then my God will arrive and all the holy angels with him.
6-7 What a Day that will be! No more cold nights—in fact, no more nights! The Day is coming—the timing is God’s—when it will be continuous day. Every evening will be a fresh morning.
8 What a Day that will be! Fresh flowing rivers out of Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea, half to the western sea, flowing year-round, summer and winter!
9 God will be king over all the earth, one God and only one. What a Day that will be!
* * *
10-11 The land will stretch out spaciously around Jerusalem—to Geba in the north and Rimmon in the south, with Jerusalem towering at the center, and the commanding city gates—Gate of Benjamin to First Gate to Corner Gate to Hananel Tower to the Royal Winery—ringing the city full of people. Never again will Jerusalem be totally destroyed. From now on it will be a safe city.
12-14 But this is what will happen to all who fought against Jerusalem: God will visit them with a terrible plague. People’s flesh will rot off their bones while they are walking around; their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues in their mouths; people will be dying on their feet! Mass hysteria when that happens—total panic! Fellow soldiers fighting and killing each other—holy terror! And then Judah will jump into the fray!
14-15 Treasures from all the nations will be piled high—gold, silver, the latest fashions. The plague will also hit the animals—horses, mules, camels, donkeys. Everything alive in the military camps will be hit by the plague.
* * *
16-19 All the survivors from the godless nations that fought against Jerusalem will travel to Jerusalem every year to worship the King, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and celebrate the Feast of Booths. If any of these survivors fail to make the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the King, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, there will be no rain. If the Egyptians don’t make the pilgrimage and worship, there will be no rain for them. Every nation that does not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths will be hit with the plague. Egypt and any other nation that does not make pilgrimage to celebrate the Feast of Booths gets punished.
20-21 On that Day, the Big Day, all the horses’ harness bells will be inscribed “Holy to God.” The cooking pots in the Temple of God will be as sacred as chalices and plates on the altar. In fact, all the pots and pans in all the kitchens of Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to God-of-the-Angel-Armies. People who come to worship, preparing meals and sacrifices, will use them. On that Big Day there will be no buying or selling in the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson