Beginning
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the Prophet, saying,
2 “The LORD has been very displeased with your fathers.
3 “Therefore, say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “Turn to Me,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will turn to you,” says the LORD of Hosts.
4 “Do not be as your fathers, to whom the former Prophets have cried, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and from your wicked works!”’ But they would not hear or listen to Me,” says the LORD.
5 “Your fathers. Where are they? And do the Prophets live forever?
6 “But did not My Words and My Statutes which I Commanded by My servants the Prophets take hold of your fathers? And they returned, and said, ‘As the LORD of Hosts has determined to do to us according to our own ways, and according to our works, so has He dealt with us.’”’”
7 Upon the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the Prophet, saying,
8 I saw by night and beheld a man riding upon a red horse. And he stood among the myrtle trees that were in a hollow. And there were red horses behind him, speckled and white.
9 Then I said, “O my lord, what are these?” And the Angel that talked with me, said to me, “I will show you what these are.”
10 And the man who stood among the myrtle trees, answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to go through the world.”
11 And they answered the Angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have gone through the world. And behold, all the world sits still and is at rest.”
12 Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, “O LORD of Hosts! How long will You be unmerciful to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah with whom You have been displeased now these seventy years?”
13 And the LORD answered the Angel that talked with me with good Words and comfortable Words.
14 So, the Angel that communed with me said to me, “Cry out and speak, ‘Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “I am jealous over Jerusalem and Zion with a great zeal!
15 “And I am greatly angry against the careless heathen. For I was only angry a little, and they helped increase the affliction.”
16 ‘Therefore thus says the LORD: “I will return to Jerusalem with tender mercy. My House shall be built in it,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and a line shall be stretched upon Jerusalem.”’
17 “Cry, still, and speak, ‘Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “My cities shall still be comforted with plenty. The LORD shall still comfort Zion and shall still choose Jerusalem!”’”
18 Then I lifted up my eyes and saw. And behold, four horns.
19 And I said to the Angel that talked with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 And the LORD showed me four carpenters.
21 Then I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he answered, and said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that a man dares not lift up his head. But these have come to terrify them, and to cast out the horns of the Gentiles which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.”
2 I lifted up my eyes again, and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
2 Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, so that I may see what its width is, and its length.”
3 And behold, the Angel that talked with me went forth. And another angel went out to meet him,
4 and said to him, “Run! Speak to this young man, and say, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle in it!
5 ‘For I,’ says the LORD, ‘will be to her a wall of fire all around and will be the Glory in the midst of her.
6 ‘Ho, ho! Come forth and flee from the land of the North!’ says the LORD, ‘for I have scattered you to the four winds of the heaven,’ says the LORD.
7 ‘Save yourself, O Zion, who dwells with the daughter of Babel!’
8 “For thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘After this glory he has sent Me to the nations which plundered you. For he who touches you, touches the apple of His Eye.
9 ‘For behold, I will lift up My Hand upon them. And they shall be a spoil to those who served them. And you shall know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me.
10 ‘Rejoice and be glad, O daughter Zion! For lo, I come, and will dwell in the midst of you,’ says the LORD.
11 “And many nations shall be joined to the LORD on that day and shall be My people. And I will dwell in the midst of you. And you shall know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.
12 “And the LORD shall inherit Judah, His portion, in the Holy Land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
13 “Let all flesh be still before the LORD! For He is raised up out of His Holy Place!”
3 And he showed me Joshua the High Priest, standing before the Angel of the LORD. And Satan stood at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD reproves you, O Satan! The LORD, Who has chosen Jerusalem, reproves you! Is not this a brand taken out of the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the Angel.
4 And He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “Behold, I have caused your iniquity to depart from you. And I will clothe you with a change of raiment.”
5 And I said, “Let them set a clean turban upon his head.” So, they set a clean turban upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
6 And the Angel of the LORD testified to Joshua, saying,
7 “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, and keep My watch, you shall also judge My House, and shall also keep My courts. And I will give you a place to walk among those who stand by.
8 ‘Hear now, O Joshua the High Priest, you and your friends who sit before you! For they are monstrous people. But behold, I will bring forth the Branch, My Servant.
9 ‘For lo, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will carve out its engraving,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘and I will take away the iniquity of this land in one day.
10 ‘On that day,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘each man shall call his neighbor under his vine, and under his fig tree.’”
4 And the Angel that talked with me came back and awakened me, as a man who is raised out of his sleep,
2 and said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I have looked, and behold, a candlestick, all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps within, and seven pipes to the lamps which were on top,
3 “and two olive trees over it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon its left side.”
4 And I answered and spoke to the Angel that talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?
5 Then the Angel that talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the Word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Neither by an army nor by strength, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of Hosts.
7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel? A plain! And he shall bring forth its headstone, with shoutings, “Grace! Grace to it!”’”
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 finish it. And you shall know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.
10 “For who has despised the day of the small things? But they shall rejoice and shall see the stone of tin in the hand of Zerubbabel! These seven are the Eyes of the LORD, which go through the whole world.”
11 Then I answered, and said to him, “What are these two olive trees upon its right and upon its left sides?”
12 And I spoke moreover, and said to him, “What are these two olive branches which empty themselves into the gold through the two golden pipes?”
13 And he answered me, and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
14 Then he said, “These are the two olive branches that stand with the Ruler of the whole Earth.
5 Then I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked and beheld a flying book!
2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying book! Its length is twenty cubits! And its width is ten cubits!”
3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes forth over the whole Earth. ‘For everyone who steals shall be cut off, according to this side of the scroll. And everyone who swears shall be cut off, according to that side of the scroll.
4 ‘I will bring it forth,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who falsely swears by My Name. And it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, with its timber and its stones.’”
5 Then the Angel that talked with me went forth and said to me, “Now, lift up your eyes and see what this is that goes forth.”
6 And I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is an ephah that goes forth.” He said moreover, “This is their appearance throughout all the Earth.”
7 And behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead. And this is a woman who sits in the midst of the ephah.
8 And he said, “This is wickedness.” And he cast it into the midst of the ephah. And he cast the weight of lead upon its mouth.
9 Then I lifted my eyes and looked. And behold, two women came out. And the wind was in their wings (for they had wings like the wings of a stork). And they lifted up the ephah between the Earth and the sky.
10 Then I said to the Angel that talked with me, “Where are these carrying the ephah?”
11 And he said to me, “To build it a house in the land of Shinar. And it shall be established and set there, upon its own place.”
6 Again, I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked. And behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze.
2 In the first chariot were red horses. And in the second chariot were black horses.
3 And in the third chariot were white horses. And in the fourth chariot were horses of diverse colors, and reddish.
4 Then I answered, and said to the Angel that talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 And the Angel answered, and said to me, “These are the four spirits of Heaven, which go forth from standing with the LORD of all the Earth.
6 The one with the black horse went forth into the land of the North. And the white went out after them. And those of diverse colors went forth toward the South country.
7 And the reddish went out and were eager to go and pass through the world. And he said, “Go! Pass through the world!” So, they went throughout the world.
8 Then he cried to me, and spoke to me, saying, “Behold! These that go toward the North country have pacified My spirit in the North country!”
9 And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
10 “Take from those of the captivity, of Heldai and of Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have come from Babel. And you come the same day, and go to the House of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.
11 “Take silver and gold and make crowns. And set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak the High Priest,
12 “And speak to him, saying, ‘Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, and says: “Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch. And He shall grow up out of his place. And He shall build the Temple of the LORD.
13 “He shall build the Temple of 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 for Helem and for Tobijah and for Jedaiah and for Hen, the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the Temple of the LORD.
15 “And those who are far off shall come and build in the Temple of the LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you. And this shall happen at that time if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God.”’”
7 And in the fourth year of King Darius, the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, during Chislev.
2 For they had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their men to the House of God, to pray before the LORD,
3 and to speak to the priests who were in the House of the LORD of Hosts, and to the Prophets, saying, “Should I weep during the fifth month and separate myself, as I have done these so many years?”
4 Then came the Word of the LORD of Hosts to me, saying:
5 “Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, and say, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months, for seventy years, did you fast for Me? For Me?
6 “And when you ate, and when you drank, did you not eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 “Should you not hear the Words which the LORD has cried by the ministry of the former Prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited, and in prosperity, and its cities all around her, when the South and the plain were inhabited?”
8 And the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying:
9 “Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, saying: ‘Execute true judgment. And show mercy and compassion, every man to his brother.
10 ‘And do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the stranger or the poor. And let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
11 ‘But they refused to listen. And pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears, so that they would not hear.
12 ‘Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they hear the Law and the Words which the LORD of Hosts sent in His Spirit, by the ministry of the former Prophets. Therefore, a great wrath came from the LORD of Hosts.
13 ‘Therefore, it happens at this time that as he cried and they would not hear, so they cried and I would not hear,’ says the LORD of Hosts.
14 ‘But I scattered them among all the nations whom they did not know. Thus, the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through or returned. For they laid the pleasant land waste.’”
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