Beginning
A Call to Repent
1 In the eighth month of the second year[a] of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
2 The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.[b] 3 Therefore, now you are to tell this people that this is what the Lord of Armies says to them.
Return to me, declares the Lord of Armies, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Armies. 4 Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed, “This is what the Lord of Armies says. Return, return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”
But our forefathers did not listen, nor did they pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5 Your forefathers—where are they now? And those prophets—did they go on living indefinitely? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded to my servants the prophets, caught up with our forefathers, didn’t they?
Then they[c] returned[d] and said, “Because of our ways and our deeds, the Lord of Armies has done to us just as he planned to do to us.”
Eight Night Visions
The First Vision: The Man Among the Myrtle Trees
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month of Shebat,[e] in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
8 I saw a vision at night. In it I saw a man seated on a red horse, standing among myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel,[f] and white horses.
9 So I asked, “My lord, what are these?”
The angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”
10 Then the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, “These are the ones the Lord sent to range throughout the earth.”
11 They reported to the angel[g] of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have ranged throughout the earth. Look! All the earth is resting and quiet.”
12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord of Armies, how long will you withhold compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with whom you were indignant these seventy years?”
13 The Lord responded with kind and compassionate words to the angel who was speaking with me.
14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim this. This is what the Lord of Armies says.”
I am very zealous[h] for Jerusalem and for Zion, 15 and I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are complacent. When I was angry only a little,[i] they added to the evil.
16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says. I have turned to Jerusalem with compassionate feelings. My house will be built in Jerusalem, declares the Lord of Armies, and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.
17 Proclaim also this: This is what the Lord of Armies says. Once again my towns will overflow with prosperity. Once again the Lord will console Zion. Once again he will choose Jerusalem.
The Second Vision: Four Horns and Four Craftsmen
18 Then I looked up, and I saw that there were four horns.[j] 19 I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?”
He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.[k]
21 I asked, “What are these men coming to do?”
He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah to such an extent that no one could raise his head, but these craftsmen are coming to terrify them and to knock down the horns of those nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter her people.”
The Third Vision: A Man With a Measuring Line
2 Then I looked up, and I saw a man standing there with a measuring line in his hand.[l] 2 I asked him, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to determine its width and its length.”
3 At that moment, when the angel who was speaking with me was about to leave, another angel came to meet him and 4 said, “Run and tell this young man that Jerusalem will be inhabited as a city without walls because of the large number of people and livestock in it. 5 For I myself will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory within it.”
6 Attention! This is urgent! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord, for I have scattered you as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.
7 Attention, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For this is what the Lord of Armies says. For the sake of his glory he sent me to the nations that plundered you, because whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.[m][n] 9 Yes, I myself will swing my hand over them, and they will become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me.
10 Sing loudly and rejoice, daughter of Zion. Yes, look! I am coming, and I will dwell among you, declares the Lord. 11 Many nations will be joined to the Lord on that day, and they will become my people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. 12 Then the Lord will take possession of Judah as his special portion of the holy soil, and he will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Keep silent before the Lord, all flesh, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
The Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan Stand Before the Angel of the Lord
3 Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan was standing at his right hand to accuse him.
2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick plucked from a fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed in filthy clothing and was standing in front of the Angel. 4 Then the Angel of the Lord spoke to those who were standing in front of him: “Remove his filthy clothing.”
Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you, so that I may clothe you in a special robe.”
5 I said,[o] “Let them place a clean turban on his head.” So they placed a clean turban on his head and got him dressed, while the Angel of the Lord was standing by.
6 Then the Angel of the Lord spoke solemnly to Joshua:
7 This is what the Lord of Armies says. If you will walk in my ways and carry out my ministry, then you will also govern my house and watch over my courts, and I will give you access among those who are standing here.
8 Now listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates who sit in front of you—because these men are a sign. Look! I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Look carefully at the stone that I placed in front of Joshua! On one stone with seven facets[p] I will engrave an inscription, declares the Lord of Armies, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day.
10 On that day, declares the Lord of Armies, each one of you will invite his neighbor to join him under his vine and under his fig tree.
The Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees
4 Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and woke me up in the same way that a man is awakened from sleep. 2 He said to me, “What do you see?”
I said, “Look! Right there, I see a lampstand, made entirely of gold, with a basin on top of it, with seven lamps on it, and there are seven channels leading to the lamps that are on top of it.[q] 3 There are two olive trees beside it, one to the right of the bowl, and one to its left.”
4 I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 The angel who was speaking with me answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?”
I answered, “No, my lord.”
6 So he said to me:
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Armies. 7 What are you, you great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a level plain. Then he will bring out the capstone with shouts of “Grace! Grace be with it!”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me:
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you.
10 For who despises the day of small things? They will rejoice to see the plumb line[r] in the hand of Zerubbabel.
These seven are the eyes of the Lord that range throughout the whole earth.
11 Then I asked him, “What are these two olive trees to the right and left of the lampstand?” 12 I asked him a second time, “What are the two olive branches that are beside the two gold conduits that pour out the golden oil?”
13 He said to me, “Don’t you know what these are?”
I said, “No, my lord.”
14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones[s] who stand by the Lord of all the earth.”
The Sixth Vision: A Flying Scroll
5 Again I lifted up my eyes and looked. I saw a flying scroll!
2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a flying scroll! It is thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.”[t]
3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of the whole earth: On the basis of the curse, everyone who steals will be expelled in one direction, and everyone who swears falsely will be expelled in the other direction.[u] 4 I will send it out, declares the Lord of Armies, and it will go to the house of the thief and to the house of the one who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in his house and consume it, both wood and stone.”
The Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket
5 Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and said to me, “Lift up your eyes, now, and see what is going out.”
6 So I asked, “What is it?”
He replied, “This is the basket[v] that is going out.”
He also said, “This is their guilt[w] in all the earth.”
7 As I watched, the lead cover was lifted, and I saw that there was a woman sitting inside the basket.
8 He said, “This is Wickedness.” Then he pushed her down inside the basket, and he pushed the lead weight onto its opening.
9 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked again. There were two women coming toward me! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork. They lifted up the basket between the earth and the heavens.
10 So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”
11 He told me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar.[x] When it is ready, it will be set there on its foundation.”
The Eighth Vision: Four Chariots
6 Then I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked again. There were four chariots coming out from between two mountains. The mountains were made of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses. The second chariot had black horses. 3 The third chariot had white horses. The fourth chariot had dappled horses. All of them were powerful. 4 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[y] of the heavens, going forth from their stations to present themselves to the Lord of all the earth. 6 The driver with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, and the one with the white horses is following after them, and the one with the dappled horses is going toward the land of the south.”
7 Now the powerful horses came out, and they were eager to range throughout the earth. He said, “Go! Range throughout the earth.” So they ranged throughout the earth.
8 Then he called out to me and told me, “Look! Those who are going out toward the land of the north have caused my Spirit to rest in the land of the north.”
The Crowning of Joshua
9 The word of the Lord came to me:
10 Take an offering from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and on that very day go into the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12 Tell him that this is what the Lord of Armies says:
There is a man whose name is the Branch, because he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 He is the one who will build the temple of the Lord. He will be clothed with majesty, and he will sit and rule on his throne. He will be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful relations between the two offices.[z]
14 The crown will be kept in the temple as a memorial[aa] for Helem[ab] and Tobijah and Jedaiah and Hen,[ac] son of Zephaniah.
15 Those who are far away will come and build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God.
The Reason the Land Became Desolate
7 In the fourth year of King Darius,[ad] the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev.[ae]
2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem Melek with their men to plead for the favor of the Lord 3 by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Armies and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me:
5 Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests.
When you fasted and lamented during the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and drink, is it not for yourselves that you eat and drink? 7 Weren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and when the Negev and the Shephelah[af] were inhabited?
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah:
9 This is what the Lord of Armies says. Execute true justice. Each man is to show kindness and compassion to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless child, the foreigner living among you, or the poor. Make sure that none of you plan evil in your heart against your brother.
11 But they refused to pay attention. They turned a stubborn shoulder and covered their ears so that they would not hear. 12 They made their hearts like the hardest rock[ag] so that they would not hear the law and the words that the Lord of Armies sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. As a result, the fierce anger from the Lord of Armies was great.
13 When I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord of Armies. 14 I scattered them with a windstorm, among all the nations which they did not know. So the land was left desolate behind them. No one traveled back and forth through it. They made the pleasant land desolate.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.