Turn to the Lord

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, the Lord told me to say:

Don't be stubborn like your ancestors. They were warned by the earlier prophets to give up their evil and turn back to me, but they paid no attention.

But 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

On the twenty-fourth day of Shebat, which was the eleventh month of that same year, the Lord spoke to me in a vision during the night: In a valley among myrtle trees, I saw someone on a red horse, with riders on red, brown, and white horses behind him.

An angel was there to explain things to me, and I asked, “Sir, who are these riders?” “I'll tell you,” the angel answered.

At 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.”

Then 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.”

At 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?”

So the angel told me to announce: I, the Lord All-Powerful, am very protective of Jerusalem.

And so, I will have pity on Jerusalem. The city will be completely rebuilt, and my temple will stand again.

Second Vision: Animal Horns

Next, I saw four animal horns.

The 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

This time I saw someone holding a measuring line,

The angel who had spoken to me came toward me, when another angel came up to him

and 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.

The 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

The Lord says to his people, “Run! Escape from the land in the north, where I scattered you to the four winds.

Then 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.

And 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.

City of Zion, sing and celebrate! The Lord has promised to come and live with you.

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

Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan

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.

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.”

So 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.”

I 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.