Bible in 90 Days
1 (A)The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk's Complaint
2 O Lord, (B)how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you (C)“Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 (D)Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction (E)and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 (F)So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
(G)For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
The Lord's Answer
5 (H)“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
(I)For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, (J)I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
(K)who march through the breadth of the earth,
(L)to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
(M)their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 (N)Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than (O)the evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
(P)they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come (Q)for violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives (R)like sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
(S)They laugh at every fortress,
for (T)they pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
(U)guilty men, (V)whose own might is their god!”
Habakkuk's Second Complaint
12 Are you not (W)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
(X)We shall not die.
O Lord, (Y)you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O (Z)Rock, have established them for reproof.
13 You who are (AA)of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
(AB)why do you idly look at traitors
and (AC)remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
14 You make mankind like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15 (AD)He[a] brings all of them up (AE)with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 (AF)Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his dragnet;
for by them he lives in luxury,[b]
and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net
(AG)and mercilessly killing nations forever?
2 I will (AH)take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and (AI)look out to see (AJ)what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
(AK)“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still (AL)the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, (AM)wait for it;
(AN)it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but (AO)the righteous shall live by his faith.[c]
5 “Moreover, wine[d] is (AP)a traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.[e]
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death (AQ)he has never enough.
(AR)He gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”
Woe to the Chaldeans
6 Shall not all these (AS)take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
(AT)“Woe to him (AU)who heaps up what is not his own—
for (AV)how long?—
and (AW)loads himself with pledges!”
7 (AX)Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 (AY)Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
(AZ)for the blood of man and (BA)violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 (BB)“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
(BC)to (BD)set his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
(BE)by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For (BF)the stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 (BG)“Woe to him (BH)who builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that (BI)peoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 (BJ)For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of (BK)the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 (BL)“Woe to him (BM)who makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze (BN)at their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill (BO)of shame instead of glory.
(BP)Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
(BQ)The cup in the Lord's right hand
will come around to you,
and (BR)utter shame will come upon your glory!
17 (BS)The violence (BT)done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
(BU)for the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 (BV)“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, (BW)a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes (BX)speechless idols!
19 (BY)Woe to him (BZ)who says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and (CA)there is no breath at all in it.
20 But (CB)the Lord is in his holy temple;
(CC)let all the earth keep silence before him.”
Habakkuk's Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, (CD)I have heard the report of you,
and (CE)your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years (CF)revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
(CG)in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from (CH)Teman,
(CI)and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
4 (CJ)His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
5 (CK)Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed (CL)at his heels.[f]
6 He stood (CM)and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the (CN)eternal mountains (CO)were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were (CP)the everlasting ways.
7 I saw the tents of (CQ)Cushan in affliction;
(CR)the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 (CS)Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
(CT)or your indignation against the sea,
(CU)when you rode on your horses,
(CV)on your chariot of salvation?
9 You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows.[g] Selah
(CW)You split the earth with rivers.
10 (CX)The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
(CY)the deep gave forth its voice;
(CZ)it lifted its hands on high.
11 (DA)The sun and moon stood still in their place
(DB)at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
12 (DC)You marched through the earth in fury;
(DD)you threshed the nations in anger.
13 (DE)You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of (DF)your anointed.
(DG)You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.[h] Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
15 (DH)You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
16 (DI)I hear, and (DJ)my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
(DK)rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet (DL)I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 (DM)yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
(DN)I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
(DO)he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me (DP)tread on my (DQ)high places.
1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, (DT)in the days of (DU)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Coming Judgment on Judah
2 (DV)“I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away (DW)man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and (DX)the fish of the sea,
and (DY)the rubble[j] with the wicked.
I will (DZ)cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
(EA)and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 (EB)those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
(EC)those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by (ED)Milcom,[k]
6 (EE)those who have turned back from following the Lord,
(EF)who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”
The Day of the Lord Is Near
7 (EG)Be silent before the Lord God!
For (EH)the day of the Lord is near;
(EI)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and (EJ)consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
(EK)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and (EL)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
everyone (EM)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's[l] house
with violence and fraud.
10 “On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from (EN)the Fish Gate,
(EO)a wail from (EP)the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11 (EQ)Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders[m] are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time (ER)I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
(ES)who are complacent,[n]
(ET)those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13 Their goods shall be (EU)plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
(EV)Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
(EW)though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14 (EX)The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
(EY)the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 (EZ)A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of (FA)ruin and devastation,
(FB)a day of darkness and gloom,
(FC)a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 (FD)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
(FE)against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17 (FF)I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk (FG)like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
(FH)their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh (FI)like dung.
18 (FJ)Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
(FK)In the fire of his jealousy,
(FL)all the earth shall be consumed;
(FM)for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Judgment on Judah's Enemies
2 Gather together, yes, gather,
O (FN)shameless nation,
2 (FO)before the decree takes effect[o]
—before the day passes away (FP)like chaff—
(FQ)before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 (FR)Seek the Lord, (FS)all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;[p]
(FT)seek righteousness; seek humility;
(FU)perhaps (FV)you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 (FW)For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to (FX)you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of (FY)the Cherethites!
(FZ)The word of the Lord is against you,
(GA)O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you (GB)until no inhabitant is left.
6 (GC)And you, O seacoast, (GD)shall be pastures,
with meadows[q] for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 (GE)The seacoast shall become the possession
of (GF)the remnant of the house of Judah,
(GG)on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God (GH)will be mindful of them
and (GI)restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard (GJ)the taunts of Moab
and (GK)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts (GL)against their territory.
9 Therefore, (GM)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become (GN)like Sodom,
and the Ammonites (GO)like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return (GP)for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
(GQ)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and (GR)to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all (GS)the lands of the nations.
12 (GT)You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
(GU)and destroy Assyria,
and he (GV)will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 (GW)Herds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts;[r]
(GX)even the owl and the hedgehog[s]
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for (GY)her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
(GZ)that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
(HA)a lair for wild beasts!
(HB)Everyone who passes by her
hisses and (HC)shakes his fist.
Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
(HD)the oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
(HE)she accepts no correction.
(HF)She does not trust in the Lord;
she does not draw near to her God.
3 (HG)Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are (HH)evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
4 (HI)Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
(HJ)her priests (HK)profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5 The Lord within her (HL)is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but (HM)the unjust knows no shame.
6 (HN)“I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
(HO)so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 (HP)I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
(HQ)you will accept correction.
Then your[t] dwelling would not be cut off
according to all that I have appointed against you.’[u]
But (HR)all the more they were eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.
8 “Therefore (HS)wait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is (HT)to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
(HU)all the earth shall be consumed.
The Conversion of the Nations
9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to (HV)a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.
10 (HW)From beyond the rivers (HX)of Cush
my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering.
11 (HY)“On that day (HZ)you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then (IA)I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and (IB)you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
12 But I will leave in your midst
a people (IC)humble and lowly.
(ID)They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
13 (IE)those who are left in Israel;
they (IF)shall do no injustice
and speak no lies,
(IG)nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
(IH)For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.”
Israel's Joy and Restoration
14 (II)Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
(IJ)The King of Israel, (IK)the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
16 (IL)On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
(IM)let not your hands grow weak.
17 (IN)The Lord your God is in your midst,
(IO)a mighty one who will save;
(IP)he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
18 I will gather those of you who mourn (IQ)for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.[v]
19 Behold, at that time (IR)I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And (IS)I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change (IT)their shame into (IU)praise
and renown in all the earth.
20 (IV)At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
(IW)when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the Lord.
The Command to Rebuild the Temple
1 (IX)In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to (IY)Zerubbabel the son of (IZ)Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (JA)Joshua the son of (JB)Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came (JC)by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 (JD)“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while (JE)this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: (JF)Consider your ways. 6 (JG)You have sown much, and harvested little. (JH)You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who (JI)earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (JJ)Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that (JK)I may take pleasure in it and that (JL)I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 (JM)You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, (JN)I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house (JO)that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore (JP)the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And (JQ)I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on (JR)the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and (JS)on all their labors.”
The People Obey the Lord
12 (JT)Then (JU)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (JV)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all (JW)the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, (JX)“I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And (JY)the Lord stirred up the spirit of (JZ)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of (KA)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all (KB)the remnant of the people. And they came and (KC)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 (KD)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
The Coming Glory of the Temple
2 (KE)In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to (KF)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (KG)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 (KH)‘Who is left among you who saw this house (KI)in its former glory? How do you see it now? (KJ)Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now (KK)be strong, O (KL)Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. (KM)Be strong, O (KN)Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. (KO)Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. (KP)Work, for (KQ)I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5 (KR)according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. (KS)My Spirit remains in your midst. (KT)Fear not. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: (KU)Yet once more, in a little while, (KV)I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and (KW)I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 8 (KX)The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 9 (KY)The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And (KZ)in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”
Blessings for a Defiled People
10 (LA)On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, (LB)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (LC)Ask the priests about the law: 12 ‘If someone carries (LD)holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, (LE)“No.” 13 Then Haggai said, (LF)“If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body (LG)touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, (LH)“So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. 15 Now then, (LI)consider from this day onward.[w] Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16 how did you fare? (LJ)When[x] one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17 (LK)I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, (LL)yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 18 (LM)Consider from this day onward, (LN)from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since (LO)the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, (LP)consider: 19 (LQ)Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on (LR)I will bless you.”
Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet
20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai (LS)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21 “Speak to (LT)Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, (LU)I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and (LV)to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and (LW)overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, (LX)every one by the sword of his brother. 23 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O (LY)Zerubbabel (LZ)my servant, the son of (MA)Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you (MB)like a[y] signet ring, (MC)for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
A Call to Return to the Lord
1 In the eighth month, (MD)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet (ME)Zechariah, the son of (MF)Berechiah, son of (MG)Iddo, saying, 2 (MH)“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: (MI)Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and (MJ)I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 4 (MK)Do not be like your fathers, (ML)to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, (MM)Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But (MN)they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5 Your fathers, where are they? And (MO)the prophets, do they live forever? 6 (MP)But my words and my statutes, which I commanded (MQ)my servants the prophets, did they not (MR)overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, (MS)‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for (MT)our ways and (MU)deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”
A Vision of a Horseman
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet (MV)Zechariah, the son of (MW)Berechiah, son of (MX)Iddo, saying, 8 “I saw in the night, and behold, (MY)a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were (MZ)red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ (NA)The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ 10 So (NB)the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, (NC)‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to (ND)patrol the earth.’ 11 And they answered (NE)the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, (NF)‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth (NG)remains at rest.’ 12 Then (NH)the angel of the Lord said, (NI)‘O Lord of hosts, (NJ)how long will you (NK)have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these (NL)seventy years?’ 13 And the Lord answered (NM)gracious and comforting words to (NN)the angel who talked with me. 14 So (NO)the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: (NP)I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 (NQ)And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are (NR)at ease; (NS)for while I was angry but a little, (NT)they furthered the disaster. 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord, (NU)I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; (NV)my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and (NW)the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: (NX)My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, (NY)and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again (NZ)choose Jerusalem.’”
A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen
18 [z] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, (OA)four horns! 19 And I said to (OB)the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, (OC)“These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, (OD)“These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come (OE)to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations (OF)who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line
2 [aa] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, (OG)a man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, (OH)“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” 3 And behold, (OI)the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4 and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, (OJ)‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited (OK)as villages without walls, because of (OL)the multitude of people and livestock in it. 5 And I will be to her (OM)a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
6 Up! Up! (ON)Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have (OO)spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. 7 (OP)Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me[ab] to the nations who plundered you, (OQ)for he who touches you touches (OR)the apple of his eye: 9 “Behold, (OS)I will shake my hand over them, (OT)and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then (OU)you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. 10 (OV)Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for (OW)behold, I come (OX)and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. 11 (OY)And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. (OZ)And I will dwell in your midst, and (PA)you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12 (PB)And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again (PC)choose Jerusalem.”
13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
A Vision of Joshua the High Priest
3 Then he showed me (PD)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and (PE)Satan[ac] standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, (PF)“The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has (PG)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this (PH)a brand[ad] plucked from the fire?” 3 Now (PI)Joshua was standing before the angel, (PJ)clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to (PK)those who were standing before him, (PL)“Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, (PM)I have taken your iniquity away from you, and (PN)I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, (PO)“Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.
6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured (PP)Joshua, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and (PQ)keep my charge, then you shall (PR)rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among (PS)those who are standing here. 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for (PT)they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring (PU)my servant (PV)the Branch. 9 For behold, on (PW)the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with (PX)seven eyes,[ae] I will (PY)engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and (PZ)I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come (QA)under his vine and under his fig tree.”
A Vision of a Golden Lampstand
4 And (QB)the angel who talked with me came again (QC)and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, (QD)a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and (QE)seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are (QF)two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to (QG)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, (QH)“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to (QI)Zerubbabel: (QJ)Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, (QK)O great mountain? Before (QL)Zerubbabel (QM)you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward (QN)the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 (QO)“The hands of (QP)Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also (QQ)complete it. (QR)Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 (QS)For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see (QT)the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
(QU)“These seven (QV)are the eyes of the Lord, (QW)which range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these (QX)two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these (QY)two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil[af] is poured out?” 13 He said to me, (QZ)“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, (RA)“These are the two anointed ones[ag] who stand by (RB)the Lord of the whole earth.”
A Vision of a Flying Scroll
5 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying (RC)scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying (RD)scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”[ah] 3 Then he said to me, “This is (RE)the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who (RF)steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who (RG)swears falsely[ai] shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of (RH)him who swears falsely by my name. And (RI)it shall remain in his house and (RJ)consume it, both timber and stones.”
A Vision of a Woman in a Basket
5 (RK)Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, (RL)“Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is (RM)the basket[aj] that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity[ak] in all the land.” 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down (RN)the leaden weight on its opening.
9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! (RO)The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the (RP)land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”
A Vision of Four Chariots
6 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of (RQ)bronze. 2 The first chariot had (RR)red horses, the second (RS)black horses, 3 the third (RT)white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.[al] 4 Then I answered and said to (RU)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, (RV)“These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after (RW)presenting themselves before (RX)the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward (RY)the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward (RZ)the south country.” 7 When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and (SA)patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, (SB)patrol the earth.” (SC)So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward (SD)the north country have set my Spirit at rest in (SE)the north country.”
The Crown and the Temple
9 And the word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take from the exiles (SF)Heldai, Tobijah, and (SG)Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of (SH)Zephaniah. 11 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, (SI)and set it on the head of (SJ)Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is (SK)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and (SL)he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 (SM)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord (SN)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there[am] shall be a (SO)priest on his throne, (SP)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as (SQ)a reminder to (SR)Helem,[an] (SS)Tobijah, (ST)Jedaiah, and Hen (SU)the son of Zephaniah.
15 (SV)“And those who are far off shall come and (SW)help to build the temple of the Lord. (SX)And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. (SY)And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
A Call for Justice and Mercy
7 (SZ)In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is (TA)Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men (TB)to entreat the favor of the Lord, 3 (TC)saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and (TD)the prophets, “Should I weep and (TE)abstain in (TF)the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in (TG)the fifth month and in (TH)the seventh, for these (TI)seventy years, (TJ)was it (TK)for me that you fasted? 6 (TL)And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 (TM)Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed (TN)by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, (TO)with her cities around her, and the (TP)South and the (TQ)lowland were inhabited?’”
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, (TR)Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 (TS)do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, (TT)or the poor, and (TU)let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But (TV)they refused to pay attention (TW)and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.[ao] 12 (TX)They made their hearts diamond-hard (TY)lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent (TZ)by his Spirit through (UA)the former prophets. (UB)Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 (UC)“As I[ap] called, and they would not hear, (UD)so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 (UE)“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all (UF)the nations that they had not known. (UG)Thus the land they left was desolate, (UH)so that no one went to and fro, (UI)and the pleasant land was made desolate.”
The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion
8 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (UJ)I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: (UK)I have returned to Zion and (UL)will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, (UM)and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, (UN)and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: (UO)Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: (UP)If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, (UQ)should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, (UR)I will save my people (US)from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. (UT)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, (UU)in faithfulness and in righteousness.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: (UV)“Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of (UW)the prophets who were present on (UX)the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days (UY)there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 (UZ)For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, (VA)and the heavens shall give their dew. (VB)And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as (VC)you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, (VD)so will I save you, and (VE)you shall be a blessing. (VF)Fear not, but (VG)let your hands be strong.”
14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: (VH)“As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; (VI)fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: (VJ)Speak the truth to one another; (VK)render in your gates judgments (VL)that are true and make for peace; 17 (VM)do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and (VN)love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the (VO)fourth month and the fast of the (VP)fifth and the fast of the (VQ)seventh and the fast of the (VR)tenth shall be to the house of Judah (VS)seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love (VT)truth and peace.
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, (VU)‘Let us go at once (VV)to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 (VW)Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and (VX)to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days (VY)ten men (VZ)from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for (WA)we have heard that God is with you.’”
Judgment on Israel's Enemies
9 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
and (WB)Damascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
and on all the tribes of Israel,[aq]
2 (WC)and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
(WD)Tyre and (WE)Sidon, though (WF)they are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself (WG)a rampart
and (WH)heaped up silver like dust,
and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
and strike down (WI)her power on the sea,
and (WJ)she shall be devoured by fire.
5 (WK)Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 (WL)a mixed people[ar] shall dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away (WM)its blood from its mouth,
and (WN)its abominations from between its teeth;
(WO)it too shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like (WP)a clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then (WQ)I will encamp at my house as a guard,
(WR)so that none shall march to and fro;
(WS)no oppressor shall again march over them,
(WT)for now I see with my own eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 (WU)Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
(WV)Behold, (WW)your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
(WX)humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 (WY)I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and (WZ)the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and (XA)he shall speak peace to the nations;
(XB)his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from (XC)the River[as] to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of (XD)the blood of my covenant with you,
(XE)I will set your prisoners free from (XF)the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O (XG)prisoners of hope;
today I declare that (XH)I will restore to you double.
13 For (XI)I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, (XJ)O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior's sword.
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and (XK)his arrow will go forth like lightning;
(XL)the Lord God will sound the trumpet
and will march forth in (XM)the whirlwinds (XN)of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts (XO)will protect them,
and (XP)they shall devour, (XQ)and tread down the sling stones,
and (XR)they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
and be full like a bowl,
drenched (XS)like the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as (XT)the flock of his people;
for (XU)like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
17 (XV)For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
(XW)Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.
The Restoration for Judah and Israel
10 Ask rain (XX)from the Lord
in the season of (XY)the spring rain,
from the Lord (XZ)who makes the storm clouds,
and (YA)he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For (YB)the household gods (YC)utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
(YD)they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore (YE)the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
3 (YF)“My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and (YG)I will punish the leaders;[at]
for (YH)the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come (YI)the cornerstone,
from him (YJ)the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—(YK)all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
(YL)trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame (YM)the riders on horses.
6 (YN)“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and (YO)I will save the house of Joseph.
(YP)I will bring them back (YQ)because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for (YR)I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and (YS)their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 (YT)“I will whistle for them and (YU)gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and (YV)they shall be as many as they were before.
9 (YW)Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries (YX)they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
10 (YY)I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and (YZ)I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
(ZA)till there is no room for them.
11 (ZB)He shall pass through the sea of troubles
and strike down the waves of the sea,
(ZC)and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and (ZD)the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 (ZE)I will make them strong in the Lord,
and (ZF)they shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.