Old/New Testament
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.”
Babylon Is Destroyed
18 Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power. The angel’s glory made the earth bright. 2 The angel shouted in a powerful voice:
“The great city of Babylon is destroyed!
She has become a home for demons.
She has become a city for every evil spirit,
a city for every unclean and hated bird.
3 All the peoples of the earth have drunk
the strong wine of her sexual immorality.
The kings of the earth have sinned sexually with her,
and the businessmen of the world have grown rich from the great wealth of her luxury.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Come out of that city, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins.
Then you will not receive the terrible things that will happen to her.
5 The city’s sins are piled up as high as the sky.
God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done.
6 Give that city the same as she gave to others.
Pay her back twice as much as she did.
Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong
as the wine she prepared for others.
7 She gave herself much glory and rich living.
Give her that much suffering and sadness.
She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne.
I am not a widow; I will never be sad.’
8 So these terrible things will come to her in one day:
death, crying, and great hunger.
She will be destroyed by fire,
because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.”
9 The kings of the earth who sinned sexually with her and shared her wealth will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will cry and weep because of her death. 10 They will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away. They will say:
“Terrible! How terrible, great city,
powerful city of Babylon!
Your punishment has come in one hour!”
11 And the businessmen of the earth will cry and weep for her. They will be sad because now there is no one to buy the things they sell. 12 They sell gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen cloth, purple cloth, silk, and red cloth. They sell all kinds of citron wood and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble. 13 They also sell cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, and olive oil; fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages. They sell the bodies and souls of men.
14 They will say,
“Babylon, the good things you wanted are gone from you.
All your rich and fancy things have disappeared.
You will never have them again.”
15 The businessmen will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away from her. These are the men who became rich from selling those things to her. The men will cry and be sad. 16 They will say:
“Terrible! How terrible for the great city!
She was dressed in fine linen, purple and red cloth.
She was shining with gold, jewels, and pearls!
17 All these riches have been destroyed in one hour!”
Every sea captain, all those who travel on ships, the sailors, and all the people who earn money from the sea stood far away from Babylon. 18 They saw the smoke from her burning. They said loudly, “There was never a city like this great city!” 19 They threw dust on their heads and cried to show how sad they were. They said:
“Terrible! How terrible for the great city!
All the people who had ships on the sea
became rich because of her wealth!
But she has been destroyed in one hour!
20 Be happy because of this, heaven!
Be happy, God’s holy people and apostles and prophets!
God has punished her because of what she did to you.”
21 Then a powerful angel picked up a stone like a large stone for grinding grain. The angel threw the stone into the sea and said:
“That is how the great city of Babylon will be thrown down.
The city will never be found again.
22 The music of people playing harps and other instruments, flutes and trumpets,
will never be heard in you again.
No workman doing any job
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of grinding grain
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voices of a bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Your businessmen were the world’s great men.
All the nations were tricked by your magic.
24 She is guilty of the death
of the prophets and God’s holy people
and of all who have been killed on earth.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.