Beginning
Zechariah
1 He exhorteth the people to return to the Lord, and to eschew the wickedness of their fathers. 16 He signifieth the restitution of Jerusalem and the Temple.
1 In the eighth month of the second year of [a]Darius, came the word of the Lord unto [b]Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the Prophet, saying,
2 The Lord hath been [c]sore displeased with your fathers.
3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, [d]Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former (A)Prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Turn you now from your evil ways, and from your wicked works: but they would not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.
5 Your fathers, where [e]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 [f]your fathers? and [g]they returned, and said, As the Lord of hosts hath determined to do unto us according to our own ways, and according to our works, so hath he dealt with us.
7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month [h]Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the Prophet, saying,
8 I [i]saw by night, and behold [j]a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in a bottom, and behind him were there [k]red horses speckled and white.
9 Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? And the Angel that talked with me, said unto me, I will show thee what these be.
10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees, answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath 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 sitteth still and is at rest.
12 Then the [l]Angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou be unmerciful to Jerusalem, and to the cities of Judah, with whom thou hast been displeased now these threescore and ten 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 unto me, Cry thou, and speak, thus saith the Lord of hosts, I am [m]jealous over Jerusalem and Zion with a great zeal,
15 And am greatly angry against the careless heathen: for I was angry but [n]a little, and they helped forward the affliction.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord, I will return unto Jerusalem with tender mercy: mine house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line [o]shall be stretched upon Jerusalem.
17 Cry yet, and speak, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities shall yet [p]be broken with plenty: the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
18 Then lifted I up mine eyes and saw, and behold, [q]four horns.
19 And I said unto the Angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
20 And the Lord showed me four [r]carpenters.
21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he answered, and said, These are the horns, which have scattered Judah, so that a man durst not lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, and to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
2 The restoring of Jerusalem and Judah.
1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold, a [s]man with a measuring line in his hand.
2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, that I may see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
3 And behold, the Angel that talked with me, went forth, and another Angel went out to meet him,
4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this [t]young man, and say, [u]Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, for the multitude of men and cattle therein.
5 For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of [v]fire round about, and will [w]be the glory in the midst of her.
6 Ho, ho, come [x]forth, and flee from the land of the North, saith the Lord: for I have scattered you into the four [y]winds of the heaven, saith the Lord.
7 [z]Save thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babel.
8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, After this [aa]glory hath he sent me unto the nations, which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you, toucheth the [ab]apple of his eye.
9 For behold, I will lift up mine hand [ac]upon them: and [ad]they shall be a spoil to those that served them, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath [ae]sent me.
10 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter Zion: for lo, I come, and will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.
11 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and 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 unto thee.
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 A prophecy of Christ and of his kingdom.
1 And he showed me Joshua the high Priest, [af]standing before the Angel of the Lord, and [ag]Satan stood at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the [ah]Lord said unto Satan, The Lord reprove thee, O Satan: even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, reprove thee. Is not this a [ai][brand] taken out of the fire?
3 Now Joshua was clothed with [aj]filthy garments, and stood before the Angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the [ak]filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have [al]caused thine iniquity to depart from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
5 And I said, Let them [am]set a fair diadem upon his head. So they set a fair diadem upon his head, and clothed him with garments, and the Angel of the Lord stood by.
6 And the Angel of the Lord testified unto Joshua, saying,
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my watch, thou shalt also [an]judge mine house, and shalt also keep my [ao]courts, and I will give thee place among [ap]these that stand by.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high Priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they [aq]are monstrous persons: but behold, I will bring forth the [ar]Branch my servant.
9 For lo, the [as]stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I [at]will cut out the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will take [au]away the iniquity of this land in one day.
10 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the [av]vine, and under the fig tree.
4 The vision of the golden candlestick, and the exposition thereof.
1 And the Angel that talked with me, came again and waked me, as a man that is raised out of his sleep,
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold, a [aw]candlestick all of gold with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps therein, and seven [ax]pipes to the lamps which were upon the top thereof,
3 And two olive trees over it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the Angel that talked with me, saying, What are these my Lord?
5 Then the Angel that talked with me, answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto [ay]Zerubbabel, saying, Neither by [az]an army nor strength, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O [ba]great mountain, before Zerubbabel? thou shall be a plain, and [bb]he shall bring forth the headstone thereof, with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house: his hands shall also finish it, and [bc]thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of the [bd]small things? but they shall rejoice, and shall see the stone of [be]tin in the hand of Zerubbabel: [bf]these seven are the eyes of the Lord, which go through the whole world.
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I spake moreover, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches, which through the two golden pipes empty themselves into the gold?
13 And he answered me, and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two [bg]olive branches, that stand with the ruler of the whole earth.
5 1 The vision of the flying book, signifying the curse of thieves, and such as abuse the Name of God. 6 By the vision of the measure is signified the bringing of Judah’s afflictions into Babylon.
1 Then I turned me, and lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a flying book.
2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying [bh]book: the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the whole earth: for everyone that [bi]stealeth, shall be cut off, as well on this [bj]side, as on that: and everyone that [bk]sweareth, shall be cut off, as well on this side, as on that.
4 I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that falsely sweareth by my Name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, with the timber thereof, and stones thereof.
5 Then the Angel that talked with me, went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an [bl]Ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is the [bm]sight of them through all the earth.
7 And behold, there was lifted up a [bn]talent of lead: and this is a [bo]woman that sitteth in the midst of the Ephah.
8 And he said, This is [bp]wickedness, and he cast it into the midst of the Ephah, and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
9 Then I lifted mine eyes, and looked: and behold, there came out two [bq]women, 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 heaven.
10 Then said I to the Angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the Ephah?
11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar, and it shall be [br]established and set there upon her own place.
6 By the four chariots he describeth the four Monarchies.
1 Again, I turned and lifted up mine eyes, and looked: and behold, there came four [bs]chariots out from between [bt]two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of brass.
2 In the first chariot were [bu]red horses, and in the second chariot [bv]black horses,
3 And in the third chariot [bw]white horses, and in the fourth chariot, horses of [bx]divers colors, and reddish.
4 Then I answered, and said unto the Angel that talked with me, What are these, my Lord?
5 And the Angel answered, and said unto me, These are the four [by]spirits of the heaven, which go forth from standing with the Lord of all the earth.
6 That with the black horse went forth into the land of the North, and the white went out after them, and they of divers colors went forth toward the [bz]South country.
7 And the [ca]reddish went out, and required to go, and pass through the world, and he said, Go, pass through the world. So they went throughout the world.
8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the North country, have pacified my [cb]spirit in the North country.
9 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
10 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, and of Tobijah, and Jedaiah, which are come from Babel, and come thou the same day, and go unto the house of [cc]Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.
11 Take even silver, and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the [cd]head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak the high Priest,
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, and saith, Behold, the man whose name is the [ce]Branch, and he shall grow [cf]up out of his place, and he shall [cg]build the Temple of the Lord.
13 Even he shall build the Temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the [ch]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 [ci]them both.
14 And the crowns shall be to [cj]Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to [ck]Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a [cl]memorial in the Temple of the Lord.
15 And they that are [cm]far off, shall come and build in the Temple of the Lord, and ye shall know, that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will [cn]obey the voice of the Lord your God.
7 5 The true fasting. 11 The rebellion of the people is the cause of their affliction.
1 And in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in [co]Chislev,
2 For [cp]they had sent unto the House of God Sharezer, and Regem-Melech and their men to pray before the Lord,
3 And to speak unto the Priests, which were in the House of the Lord of hosts, and to the Prophets, saying, Should I [cq]weep in the fifth month, and [cr]separate myself as I have done these so many [cs]years?
4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,
5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the [ct]Priests, and say, When ye fasted, and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even the seventy years, did ye fast unto me? [cu]do I approve it?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did ye not eat[cv]for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should ye not hear the words which the Lord [cw]hath cried by the ministry of the former Prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited, and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when the South and the plain was inhabited?
8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, [cx]Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion, every man to his brother,
10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger nor the poor, and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
11 But they refused to hearken, and [cy]pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the Law and the words which the Lord of hosts sent in his [cz]Spirit by the ministry of the former Prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.
13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear, so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.
14 But I scattered them among all the nations, whom they knew not: thus the land was desolate [da]after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land [db]waste.
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