Old/New Testament
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 Lord Will Bless Jerusalem
8 The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me again. 2 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I have a very strong love for Jerusalem. My strong love for her is like a fire burning in me.”
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Jerusalem. I will live in Jerusalem. Then it will be called the City of Truth. And the mountain of the Lord of heaven’s armies will be called the Holy Mountain.”
4 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Old men and old women will again sit along Jerusalem’s streets. Each will carry a cane because of his age. 5 And the streets will be filled with boys and girls playing.”
6 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Those who are left alive then may think it is too difficult to happen. But it is not too difficult for me,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 7 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I will save my people from countries in the east and west. 8 I will bring them back. And they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people. And I will be their good and loyal God.”
9 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Be strong, you who are hearing these words today. The prophets spoke these words when the foundation was laid for the building of the Temple. 10 Before that time there was no money to hire men or animals. People could not safely come and go because of the enemies. I had turned everyone against his neighbor. 11 But I will not do to these people who are left alive what I did in the past,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
12 “Their seeds will come up. Their grapevines will have fruit. The ground will give good crops. And the sky will send rain. I will give all this to those who are left alive. 13 Judah and Israel, your names have been used as curses. But I will save you. And you will be a blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong.”
14 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Your ancestors made me angry. So I planned to punish you. I had no mercy,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 15 “But now I am planning to do good to Jerusalem and Judah. So don’t be afraid. 16 But do these things: Tell each other the truth. In the courts judge with truth and complete fairness. 17 Do not make plans to hurt your neighbors. And don’t make false promises. I hate all these things,” says the Lord.
18 The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me again. 19 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “You have special days when you give up eating. These days are in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months. Those days will become good, joyful, happy feasts in Judah. But you must love truth and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Many people from many cities will still come to Jerusalem. 21 People from one city will say to those from another city, ‘We are going to pray to the Lord. We want to ask the Lord of heaven’s armies for help. Come and go with us.’ 22 Many people and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem. They will worship the Lord of heaven’s armies. They will pray to the Lord.”
23 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “At that time, ten men from different countries with different languages will come. They will take hold of one Jew by his coat. They will say to him, ‘Let us go with you. We have heard that God is with you.’”
People in Heaven Praise God
19 After this I heard what sounded like a great many people in heaven. They were saying:
“Hallelujah![a]
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God.
2 His judgments are true and right.
Our God has punished the prostitute.
She is the one who made the earth evil with her sexual immorality.
God has punished the prostitute to pay her back for the death of his servants.”
3 Again they said:
“Hallelujah!
She is burning, and her smoke will rise forever and ever.”
4 Then the 24 elders[b] and the four living things bowed down. They worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne:
“Praise our God, all you who serve him!
Praise our God, all you who honor him, both small and great!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great many people. It sounded like the noise of flooding water and like loud thunder. The people were saying:
“Hallelujah!
Our Lord God rules. He is the All-Powerful.
7 Let us rejoice and be happy
and give God glory!
Give God glory, because the wedding of the Lamb has come.
And the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen was given to the bride for her to wear.
The linen was bright and clean.”
(The fine linen means the good things done by God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Those who are invited to the wedding meal of the Lamb are happy!” Then the angel said, “These are the true words of God.”
10 Then I bowed down at the angel’s feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers who have the truth of Jesus. Worship God! Because the truth about Jesus is the spirit that gives all prophecy.”
The Rider on the White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven open. There before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse is called Faithful and True. He is right when he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like burning fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, but he is the only one who knows the name. No other person knows the name. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. His name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him on white horses. They were dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 A sharp sword comes out of the rider’s mouth. He will use this sword to defeat the nations. He will rule them with a scepter of iron. He will crush out the wine in the winepress of the terrible anger of God All-Powerful. 16 On his robe and on his leg was written this name: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. The angel called with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the sky, “Come together for the great feast of God. 18 Come together so that you can eat the bodies of kings and generals and famous men. Come to eat the bodies of the horses and their riders and the bodies of all people—free, slave, small, and great.”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth. Their armies were gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured and with him the false prophet. This false prophet was the one who did the miracles for the beast. The false prophet had used these miracles to trick those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his idol. The false prophet and the beast were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 Their armies were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse. All the birds ate the bodies until they were full.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.