Zechariah 1-4

Contemporary English Version

Turn to the Lord

1 ^(A) I am the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo.

In the eighth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia,^[a] the Lord told me to say:

^2-3Israel, I, the Lord All-Powerful, was very angry with your ancestors. But if you people will return to me, I will turn and help you. ⁴Don't be stubborn like your ancestors. They were warned by the earlier prophets^[b] to give up their evil and turn back to me, but they paid no attention.

⁵Where are your ancestors now? Not even prophets live forever. ⁶But my warnings and my words spoken by the prophets caught up with your ancestors. So they turned back to me and said, “Lord All-Powerful, you have punished us for our sins, just as you had planned.”

First Vision: Horses and Riders

^7-8^(B) On the twenty-fourth day of Shebat,^[c] which was the eleventh month of that same year,^[d] the Lord spoke to me in a vision during the night: In a valley among myrtle trees,^[e] I saw someone on a red horse, with riders on red, brown, and white horses behind him. ⁹An angel was there to explain things to me, and I asked, “Sir, who are these riders?”

“I'll tell you,” the angel answered.

¹⁰At once, the man standing among the myrtle trees said, “These are the ones the Lord has sent to find out what's happening on earth.”

¹¹Then the riders spoke to the Lord's angel, who was standing among the myrtle trees, and they said, “We have gone everywhere and have discovered that the whole world is at peace.”

¹²At this, the angel said, “Lord All-Powerful, for 70 years you have been angry with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. When are you ever going to have mercy on them?”

¹³The Lord's answer was kind and comforting. ¹⁴So the angel told me to announce:

I, the Lord All-Powerful, am very protective of Jerusalem. ¹⁵For a while I was angry at the nations, but now I am furious, because they have made things worse for Jerusalem and are not the least bit concerned. ¹⁶And so, I will have pity on Jerusalem. The city will be completely rebuilt, and my temple will stand again. ¹⁷I also promise that my towns will prosper—Jerusalem will once again be my chosen city, and I will comfort the people of Zion.

Second Vision: Animal Horns

¹⁸Next, I saw four animal horns.^[f] ^19-21The angel who was sent to explain was there, and so I asked, “What do these mean?”

His answer was, “These horns are the nations that scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, and took away their freedom.”

Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths, and I asked, “What are they going to do?”

He replied, “They are going to terrify and crush those horns.”

Third Vision: A Measuring Line

2 This time I saw someone holding a measuring line, ²and I asked, “Where are you going?”

“To measure Jerusalem,” was the answer. “To find out how wide and long it is.”

³The angel who had spoken to me came toward me, when another angel came up to him ⁴and said, “Hurry! Tell that man with the measuring line that Jerusalem won't have any boundaries. It will be too full of people and animals even to have a wall. ⁵The Lord himself has promised to be a protective wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem, and he will be its shining glory in the heart of the city.”

A Call to Action

⁶The Lord says to his people, “Run! Escape from the land in the north, where I scattered you to the four winds. ⁷Leave Babylonia and hurry back to Zion.”

⁸Then the glorious Lord All-Powerful ordered me to say to the nations that had raided and robbed Zion:

Zion is as precious to the Lord as are his eyes. Whatever you do to Zion, you do to him. ⁹And so, he will put you in the power of your slaves, and they will raid and rob you. Then you will know that I am a prophet of the Lord All-Powerful.

¹⁰City of Zion, sing and celebrate! The Lord has promised to come and live with you. ¹¹When he does, many nations will turn to him and become his people. At that time you will know that I am a prophet of the Lord All-Powerful. ¹²Then Judah will be his part of the holy land, and Jerusalem will again be his chosen city.

¹³Everyone, be silent!
The Lord is present
and moving about
in his holy place.

Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan

3 ^(C) I was given another vision. This time Joshua the high priest was standing in front of the Lord's angel. And there was Satan, standing at Joshua's right side, ready to accuse him. ²^(D) But the Lord said, “Satan, you are wrong. Jerusalem is my chosen city, and this man was rescued like a stick from a flaming fire.”

³Joshua's clothes were filthy. ⁴So the angel told some of the people to remove Joshua's filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, “This means you are forgiven. Now I will dress you in priestly clothes.”

⁵I spoke up and said, “Also put a clean priestly turban on his head.” Then they dressed him in priestly clothes and put the turban on him, while the Lord's angel stood there watching.

⁶After this, the angel encouraged Joshua by telling him that the Lord All-Powerful had promised:

⁷If you truly obey me, I will put you in charge of my temple, including the courtyard around it, and you will be allowed to speak at any time with the angels standing beside me.^[g] ⁸^(E) Listen carefully, High Priest Joshua and all of you other priests. You are a sign of things to come, because I am going to bring my servant, the Chosen King.^[h]

⁹Joshua, I have placed in front of you a stone with seven sides.^[i] I will engrave something on that stone, and in a single day I will forgive this guilty country. ¹⁰^(F) Then each of you will live at peace and entertain your friends in your own vineyard and under your own fig trees.

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Olive Trees

4 The angel who explained the visions woke me from what seemed like sleep. ²Then he asked, “What do you see?”

“A solid gold lampstand with an oil container above it,” I answered. “On the stand are seven lamps, each with seven flames. ³^(G) One olive tree is on the right side and another on the left of the oil container. ⁴But, sir, what do these mean?”

⁵Then he asked, “Don't you know?”

“No sir,” I replied.

⁶^(H) So the angel explained that it was the following message of the Lord to Zerubbabel:^[j]

I am the Lord All-Powerful. So don't depend on your own power or strength, but on my Spirit. ⁷Zerubbabel, that mountain in front of you will be leveled to the ground. Then you will bring out the temple's most important stone and shout, “God has been very kind.”^[k]

⁸The Lord spoke to me again and said:

⁹Zerubbabel laid the foundation for the temple, and he will complete it. Then everyone will know that you were sent by me, the Lord All-Powerful. ¹⁰^(I) Those who have made fun of this day of small beginnings will celebrate when they see Zerubbabel holding this important stone.^[l]

Those seven lamps represent my eyes—the eyes of the Lord—and they see everything on this earth.

¹¹^(J) Then I asked the angel, “What about the olive trees on each side of the lampstand? What do they represent? ¹²And what is the meaning of the two branches from which golden olive oil^[m] flows through the two gold pipes?”

¹³“Don't you know?” he asked.

“No sir, I don't,” was my answer.

¹⁴Then he told me, “These branches are the two chosen leaders^[n] who stand beside the Lord of all the earth.”

Footnotes

1.1 eighth month … second year … king of Persia: Bul, the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-October to mid-November; the second year of the rule of Darius was 520 b.c.
1.4 the earlier prophets: Those who preached before the fall of Jerusalem in either 587 or 586 b.c.
1.7,8 Shebat: The eleventh month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-January to mid-February.
1.7,8 that same year: See verse 1 and the note there.
1.7,8 myrtle trees: Evergreen shrubs, which in ancient times were symbols of fertility and renewal.
1.18 animal horns: Horns, especially those of a bull, were symbols of power in ancient times. The number “four” would signal completeness, one representing each of the four directions.
3.7 with the angels … me: Or “with me.” The angels are members of God's Council, who stand beside the throne of God in heaven and are allowed to speak with him and for him.
3.8 Chosen King: The Hebrew text has “Sprout” or “Branch,” a term used of royalty (see Isaiah 11.1).
3.9 seven sides: Or “seven eyes.”
4.6 Zerubbabel: Governor of Judah (see Haggai 1.1).
4.7 God … kind: Or “What a beautiful stone.”
4.10 important stone: Or “measuring line (with a stone attached to the end).”
4.12 golden olive oil: The Hebrew text has “gold,” which possibly refers to the color of the olive oil as it flows through the gold pipe.
4.14 chosen leaders: The Hebrew text has “people of oil.” In ancient times prophets, priests, and kings had olive oil poured over their heads to show that they had been chosen (see 1 Samuel 10.1; 16.13).

Revelation 18

Contemporary English Version

The Fall of Babylon

18 I saw another angel come from heaven. This one had great power, and the earth was bright because of his glory. ²^(A) The angel shouted,

“Fallen! Powerful Babylon
    has fallen
and is now the home
    of demons.
It is the den
    of every filthy spirit
and of all unclean birds,
and every dirty
    and hated animal.
³^(B) Babylon's evil and immoral wine
    has made all nations drunk.
Every king on earth
    has slept with her,
and every merchant on earth
is rich because of
    her evil desires.”

⁴^(C) Then I heard another voice
    from heaven shout,
“My people, you must escape
    from Babylon.
Don't take part in her sins
    and share her punishment.
⁵^(D) Her sins are piled
    as high as heaven.
God has remembered the evil
    she has done.
⁶^(E) Treat her as she
    has treated others.
Make her pay double
    for what she has done.
Make her drink twice as much
of what she mixed
    for others.
⁷^(F) That woman honored herself
    with a life of luxury.
Reward her now
    with suffering and pain.

“Deep in her heart
Babylon said,
    ‘I am the queen!
Never will I be a widow
or know what it means
    to be sad.’
⁸And so, in a single day
she will suffer the pain
    of sorrow, hunger, and death.
Fire will destroy
    her dead body,
because her judge
    is the powerful Lord God.”

⁹^(G) Every king on earth who slept with her and shared in her luxury will mourn. They will weep, when they see the smoke from that fire. ¹⁰Her sufferings will frighten them, and they will stand at a distance and say,

“Pity that great
and powerful city!
Pity Babylon!
In a single hour
her judgment has come.”

¹¹^(H) Every merchant on earth will mourn, because there is no one to buy their goods. ¹²^(I) There won't be anyone to buy their gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, sweet-smelling wood, fancy carvings of ivory and wood, as well as things made of bronze, iron, or marble. ¹³No one will buy their cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, frankincense,^[a] wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and other humans.

¹⁴Babylon, the things
    your heart desired
have all escaped
    from you.
Every luxury
and all your glory
    will be lost forever.
You will never
    get them back.

¹⁵^(J) The merchants had become rich because of her. But when they saw her sufferings, they were terrified. They stood at a distance, crying and mourning. ¹⁶Then they shouted,

“Pity the great city
    of Babylon!
She dressed in fine linen
and wore purple
    and scarlet cloth.
She had jewelry
    made of gold
and precious stones
    and pearls.
¹⁷^(K) Yet in a single hour
    her riches disappeared.”

Every ship captain and passenger and sailor stood at a distance, together with everyone who does business by traveling on the sea. ¹⁸^(L) When they saw the smoke from her fire, they shouted, “This was the greatest city ever!”

¹⁹^(M) They cried loudly, and in their sorrow they threw dust on their heads, as they said,

“Pity the great city
    of Babylon!
Everyone who sailed the seas
became rich
    from her treasures.
But in a single hour
    the city was destroyed.
²⁰^(N) The heavens should be happy
with God's people
    and apostles and prophets.
God has punished her
    for them.”

²¹^(O) A powerful angel then picked up a huge stone and threw it into the sea. The angel said,

“This is how the great city
    of Babylon
will be thrown down,
    never to rise again.
²²^(P)^(Q) The music of harps and singers
and of flutes and trumpets
    will no longer be heard.
No workers will ever
    set up shop in that city,
and the sound
of grinding grain
    will be silenced forever.
²³Lamps will no longer shine
    anywhere in Babylon,
and couples will never again
    say wedding vows there.
Her merchants ruled
    the earth,
and by her witchcraft
    she fooled all nations.
²⁴^(R) On the streets of Babylon
is found the blood
    of God's people
    and of his prophets,
    and everyone else.”

Footnotes

18.13 myrrh, frankincense: Myrrh was a valuable sweet-smelling powder often used in perfume. Frankincense was a valuable powder that was burned to make a sweet smell.