Chronological
The Lord Calls His People Back
1 It was the eighth month of the second year Darius was king of Persia. The Lord spoke his word to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Iddo. The Lord said:
2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell the people: This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘Return to me, and I will return to you.’ 4 Don’t be like your ancestors. In the past the prophets spoke to them. They said: This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘Stop your evil ways and evil actions.’ But they wouldn’t listen or pay attention to me, says the Lord. 5 Your ancestors are dead. And those prophets didn’t live forever. 6 I commanded my words and laws to my servants the prophets. They preached to your ancestors, who returned to me. They said, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies did as he said he would. He punished us for the way we lived and for what we did.’”
The Vision of the Horses
7 It was on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is called Shebat. It was Darius’s second year as king. The Lord spoke his word to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Iddo.
8 During the night I had a vision. I saw a man riding a red horse. He was standing among some myrtle trees in the ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9 I asked, “What are these, sir?”
The angel who was talking with me answered. He said, “I’ll show you what they are.”
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained. He said, “They are the ones the Lord sent through all the earth.”
11 Then they spoke to the Lord’s angel. He was standing among the myrtle trees. They said, “We have gone through all the earth. Everything is calm and quiet.”
12 Then the Lord’s angel asked, “Lord of heaven’s armies, how long before you show mercy to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years now.” 13 Then the Lord answered the angel who was talking with me. His words were comforting and good.
14 Then the angel told me, “Announce this: This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘I have a strong love for Jerusalem. 15 And I am very angry with the nations that feel so safe. I was only a little angry, but they made things worse for my people.’
16 “So this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy. My Temple will be rebuilt,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ‘And the measuring line will be used to rebuild Jerusalem.’
17 “Also announce: This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘My towns will be rich again. I will comfort Jerusalem again. I will still choose Jerusalem.’”
The Vision of the Horns
18 Then I looked up and saw four animal horns. 19 I asked the angel who was talking with me, “What are these?”
He said, “These are the strong nations that scattered the people of Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are they coming to do?”
He answered, “They have come to scare and throw down the horns. Those horns scattered the people of Judah. No one could even lift up his head. The horns stand for the strong nations that attacked the people of Judah and scattered them.”
The Vision of the Measuring Line
2 Then I looked up. And I saw a man holding a line for measuring things. 2 I asked him, “Where are you going?”
He said to me, “I am going to measure Jerusalem. I will see how wide and how long it is.”
3 Then the angel who was talking with me left. And another angel came out to meet him. 4 The second angel said to him, “Run and tell that young man this: ‘Jerusalem will become a city without walls because there will be so many people and cattle in it. 5 I will be a wall of fire around it,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will be the glory within it.’
6 “Hurry! Run away from Babylon. I have scattered you in all directions,” says the Lord.
7 “Hurry, people of Jerusalem! Escape from Babylon.” 8 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Whoever hurts you hurts what is precious to me.”
So the Lord will honor me. And he will send me to speak against those nations who scattered you. 9 “I will raise my hand against them. Their slaves will rob them.”
Then you will know that the Lord of heaven’s armies sent me.
10 “Shout and be glad, Jerusalem. I am coming, and I will live among you,” says the Lord. 11 “At that time people from many nations will come to the Lord. And they will become my people. I will live among you. And you will know that the Lord of heaven’s armies has sent me to you. 12 Judah will be the Lord’s special part of the holy land. And Jerusalem will be his chosen city again. 13 Be silent, everyone. The Lord is coming out of the holy place where he lives.”
The Vision of the High Priest
3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest. He was standing in front of the Lord’s angel. And Satan was standing by Joshua’s right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord says you are guilty, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem says you are guilty. This man was like a burning stick pulled from the fire.”
3 Joshua was standing in front of the angel. And Joshua was wearing dirty clothes. 4 Then the angel spoke to those standing near him. He said, “Take those dirty clothes off Joshua.”
Then the angel said to Joshua, “Look, I have taken away your sin. And I am giving you new clothes.”
5 Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head. They also dressed him while the Lord’s angel stood there.
6 Then the Lord’s angel said to Joshua, “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: 7 ‘Do as I tell you and serve me. Then you will be in charge of my Temple. You will take care of my courtyards. And I will let you be with these angels who are standing here.
8 “‘Listen, high priest Joshua and the people with you. You stand for things that will happen. I am going to bring my servant called the Branch. 9 Look, I put this stone in front of Joshua. The stone has seven sides. I will carve a message on it,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ‘And in one day I will take away the sin of this land.’
10 “The Lord of heaven’s armies says, ‘In that day, each of you will invite your neighbor to join you. And you will sit together under your own grapevine and under your own fig tree.’”
The Vision of the Lampstand
4 Then the angel who was talking with me came back. He woke me up as if I had been asleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a solid gold lampstand. There is a bowl at the top. And there are seven lamps. There are also seven places for wicks. 3 There are two olive trees by it. One is on the right of the bowl. And one is on the left.”
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “Sir, what are these?”
5 The angel said, “Don’t you know what they are?”
“No, sir,” I said.
6 Then he told me, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘You will not succeed by your own strength or by your own power. The power will come from my Spirit,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
7 “No mountain can stand in Zerubbabel’s way. It will be flattened. Then he will bring out the topmost stone. There will be shouts of ‘It’s beautiful! It’s beautiful!’”
8 Then the Lord spoke his word to me again. He said: 9 “Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of this Temple. He will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of heaven’s armies has sent me to you.
10 “The people should not think that small beginnings are unimportant. They will be happy when they see Zerubbabel with tools, building the Temple.
“(These seven lamps stand for the eyes of the Lord. They look back and forth across the earth.)”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?”
12 I also asked him, “What are the two branches full of olives? The olive oil flows through the two gold pipes to the lamps.”
13 He answered, “Don’t you know what they are?”
“No, sir,” I said.
14 So he said, “They stand for two men. They have been appointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
The Vision of the Flying Scroll
5 I looked up again. And I saw a flying scroll.
2 The angel asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a flying scroll. It is 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”
3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that will go all over the land. One side says every thief will be sent away. The other side says everyone who makes false promises will be sent away. 4 The Lord of heaven’s armies says, ‘I will send it to the houses of thieves. I will also send it to those who use my name to make false promises. The scroll will stay in that person’s house. And it will destroy the house with its wood and stones.’”
The Vision of the Woman
5 Then the angel who was talking with me came forward. He said to me, “Look up and see what is coming.”
6 I asked, “What is it?”
He answered, “It is a measuring basket.” He also said, “It stands for the people’s sins in all the land.”
7 Then the lid made of lead was raised. There was a woman sitting in the basket. 8 The angel said, “The woman stands for wickedness.” Then he pushed her back into the basket. And he put the lid back down.
9 Then I looked up. I saw two women. They had wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork. They lifted up the basket into the sky.
10 I spoke to the angel who was talking with me. I asked, “Where are they taking the basket?”
11 He answered, “They are going to Babylonia. They will build a temple for it. When the temple is ready, they will set the basket there in its place.”
The Vision of the Four Chariots
6 I looked up again. I saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. They were mountains of bronze. 2 Red horses pulled the first chariot. Black horses pulled the second chariot. 3 White horses pulled the third chariot. And strong, spotted horses pulled the fourth chariot. 4 I spoke to the angel who was talking with me. I asked, “What are these, sir?”
5 He said, “These are going to the four directions on earth. They have just come from the presence of the Lord of the whole world. 6 The chariot pulled by the black horses will go north. The white horses will go west. And the spotted horses will go south.”
7 The powerful horses were trying to go through all the earth. So he said, “Go through all the earth.” And they did.
8 Then he called to me, “Look. The horses that went north have calmed the Lord’s anger that came from there to punish.”
A Crown for Joshua
9 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 10 “Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah were captives in Babylon. Get silver and gold from them. Go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Make the silver and gold into a crown. And put it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak. Joshua is the high priest. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘There is a man whose name is the Branch. He will branch out from where he is. He will build the Temple of the Lord. 13 One man[a] will build the Temple of the Lord. And the other[b] will receive the honor of a king. One man will sit on his throne and rule. And the other will be a priest on his throne. And these two men will work together in peace.’ 14 The crown will be kept in the Temple of the Lord. It will remind Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Josiah son of Zephaniah of God’s king. 15 People living far away will come and build the Temple of the Lord. Then you will know the Lord of heaven’s armies has sent me to you. This will happen if you completely obey the Lord your God.”
The People Should Show Mercy
7 It was the fourth year of King Darius’s rule. It was on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Kislev. The Lord spoke his word to Zechariah. 2 The city of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech and their men to ask the Lord a question. 3 They went to the prophets and priests. They were at the Temple of the Lord of heaven’s armies. The men said, “For years the fifth month of each year has been a special time for us. We have shown our sadness and gone without food in this month. Should we continue to do this?”
4 The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me. He said, 5 “Tell the priests and the people in the country this: ‘For 70 years you went without food and cried in the fifth and seventh months. But that was not really for me. 6 And when you ate and drank, it was really for yourselves. 7 The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing. Jerusalem and the surrounding towns were at peace and wealthy then. People lived in the southern area and the western mountain slopes.’”
8 And the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah again: 9 “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘Do what is right and fair. Be kind and merciful to each other. 10 Don’t hurt widows and orphans, foreigners or the poor. Don’t even think of doing evil to somebody else.’
11 “But they refused to pay attention. They were stubborn and would not listen. 12 They made their hearts as hard as rock. They would not listen to the teachings of the Lord of heaven’s armies. And they would not hear his words through the earlier prophets. So the Lord of heaven’s armies became very angry.
13 “The Lord of heaven’s armies says, ‘When I called to them, they would not listen. So when they called to me, I would not listen. 14 I scattered them like a hurricane to other countries. These were countries they did not know. This good land was left so ruined that no one could live there.’”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.