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1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came[a] to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying, 2 “Yahweh was very angry with your ancestors.[b] 3 You must say to them: ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Return to me,” declares[c] Yahweh of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts. 4 “Do not be like your ancestors,[d] to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!”’ But they did not hear[e] and they did not pay attention[f] to me,” declares[g] Yahweh. 5 “Your ancestors,[h] where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors?[i] And they repented and said, ‘Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.’”’”
Zechariah’s First Vision
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying, 8 I had a vision in the night,[j] and look, a man riding on a red horse. And he was standing between the myrtle shrubs that were in the ravine, and behind him were red, reddish-brown, and white horses. 9 And I asked, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel who was talking with me said, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the man standing between the myrtle shrubs answered and said, “These are those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol[k] the earth.” 11 And they answered the angel of Yahweh who was standing between the myrtle shrubs, and they said, “We have patrolled[l] the earth, and look, all the earth is dwelling in peace.”[m] 12 The angel of Yahweh answered and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, how long[n] will you have no compassion on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you showed fury these seventy years?”[o] 13 With gracious[p] and comforting words Yahweh answered the angel who was talking with me. 14 And the angel who was talking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “I am very jealous[q] for Jerusalem and for Zion! 15 And I am extremely angry[r] with the nations that are at ease, for while I was a little angry, they furthered disaster.”[s] 16 Therefore, thus says Yahweh: “I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My temple[t] will be built in it,” declares[u] Yahweh of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’ 17 Proclaim again, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “My cities shall again overflow from prosperity, and Yahweh will comfort Zion again, and he will choose Jerusalem again.”’”
Zechariah’s Second Vision
18 [v] And I looked up[w] and I saw, and look, there were four horns! 19 And I said to the angel who was talking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then Yahweh showed me four skilled craftsmen, 21 and I asked, “What are these coming to do?” And he answered, saying, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no man[x] lifted up his head; but these have come to frighten them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
The Woman and Her Son Versus the Dragon
12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, 2 and who was pregnant[a] and was crying out because she[b] was having birth pains, and was in torment to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven, and behold, a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal headbands.[c] 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars from heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, in order that whenever she gave birth to her child he could devour it. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod,[d] and her child was snatched away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared there by God, so that they could feed her there for one thousand two hundred sixty days.
Satan Thrown Down from Heaven to Earth
7 And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against[e] the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back[f]. 8 And they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
“Now the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ have come,
because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down,
the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives until death.
12 Because of this, rejoice, you heavens,
and those who live in them!
Woe to the earth and to the sea,
because the devil has come down to you,
having great anger,
because he[g] knows that he has little time!”
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 And the two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she could fly into the wilderness, to her place where she is fed there for a time, and times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 And from his mouth the serpent spouted water like a river after the woman, in order that he could make her swept away by a river. 16 And the earth came to the aid of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spouted out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was angry at the woman, and went away to fight against[h] the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and who hold to the testimony about Jesus. 18 And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Prayer for Help in the Face of Enemies
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
140 Rescue me, O Yahweh, from evil men.[b]
Preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart.
They stir up wars continually.
3 They sharpen their tongue as sharp as a snake’s;
the venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 Protect me, O Yahweh, from the hands of the wicked.
Preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to make me stumble.[c]
5 The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords.
They have spread out a net along the side[d] of the path.
They have set snares for me. Selah
6 I say to Yahweh, “You are my God.”
Listen, O Yahweh, to the voice of my supplications.
7 O Yahweh, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O Yahweh, the desires of the wicked.
Do not allow them to attain their[e] plan, lest they be exalted. Selah
9 With respect to the head of those who surround me,
may the harm of their lips cover them.
10 Let burning coals fall on them;
let them be dropped into the fire,
into bottomless pits from which they cannot rise.
11 Do not let a slanderer[f] be established in the land;
as for the man of violence, let evil hunt him quickly.
12 I know[g] that Yahweh will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name;
the upright will dwell in your presence.
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns the obedience of a mother—
the ravens of the valley will peck it out,
and the offspring of vultures will eat it.
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