Old/New Testament
Chapter 1
Call for Obedience. 1 In the second year of Darius,[a] in the eighth month, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: 2 The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.[b](A) 3 Say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return to me—oracle of the Lord[c] of hosts—and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 4 Do not be like your ancestors to whom the earlier prophets[d] proclaimed: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn from your evil ways and from your wicked deeds.(B) But they did not listen or pay attention to me(C)—oracle of the Lord.— 5 Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, can they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes, with which I charged my servants the prophets, did these not overtake your ancestors?(D) Then they repented[e] and admitted: “Just as the Lord of hosts intended to treat us according to our ways and deeds, so the Lord has done.”
First Vision: Horses Patrolling the Earth.(E) 7 In the second year of Darius, on the twenty-fourth day of Shebat, the eleventh month,[f] the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
8 [g]I looked out in the night,[h] and there was a man mounted on a red horse standing in the shadows among myrtle trees; and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 I asked, “What are these, my lord?”[i] Then the angel who spoke with me answered, “I will show you what these are.” 10 Then the man who was standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.”(F) 11 And they answered the angel of the Lord,[j] who was standing among the myrtle trees: “We have been patrolling the earth, and now the whole earth rests quietly.” 12 Then the angel of the Lord replied, “Lord of hosts, how long will you be without mercy for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that have felt your anger these seventy years?”[k](G) 13 To the angel who spoke with me, the Lord replied favorably, with comforting words.
Oracular Response. 14 The angel who spoke with me then said to me, Proclaim: Thus says the Lord of hosts:
I am jealous for Jerusalem
and for Zion[l] intensely jealous.(H)
15 I am consumed with anger
toward the complacent nations;[m]
When I was only a little angry,
they compounded the disaster.(I)
16 Therefore, thus says the Lord:
I return to Jerusalem in mercy;(J)
my house[n] will be rebuilt there(K)—oracle of the Lord of hosts—
and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.
17 Proclaim further: Thus says the Lord of hosts:
My cities will again overflow with prosperity;
the Lord will again comfort Zion,
and will again choose Jerusalem.(L)
Chapter 2
Second Vision: The Four Horns and the Four Smiths. 1 I raised my eyes and looked and there were four horns.[o] 2 Then I asked the angel who spoke with me, “What are those?” He answered, “Those are the horns that scattered[p] Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”(M)
3 Then the Lord showed me four workmen.[q] 4 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And the Lord said, “Those are the horns that scattered Judah, so that none could raise their heads any more;(N) and these have come to terrify them—to cut down the horns of the nations that raised their horns to scatter the land of Judah.”
Third Vision: The Man with the Measuring Cord. 5 I raised my eyes and looked, and there was a man with a measuring cord[r] in his hand.(O) 6 I asked, “Where are you going?” And he said, “To measure Jerusalem—to see how great its width is and how great its length.”
7 Then the angel who spoke with me advanced as another angel came out to meet him 8 and he said to the latter, “Run, speak to that official:[s] Jerusalem will be unwalled, because of the abundance of people and beasts in its midst.(P) 9 I will be an encircling wall of fire[t] for it—oracle of the Lord—and I will be the glory in its midst.”(Q)
Expansion on the Themes of the First Three Visions. 10 Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north[u]—oracle of the Lord;—For like the four winds of heaven I have dispersed you—oracle of the Lord.(R) 11 Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell in daughter Babylon! 12 For thus says the Lord of hosts after the Lord’s glory had sent me, concerning the nations that have plundered you: Whoever strikes you strikes me directly in the eye.(S) 13 Now I wave my hand over them, and they become plunder for their own servants.(T) Thus you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. 14 Sing and rejoice, daughter Zion! Now, I am coming to dwell in your midst—oracle of the Lord. 15 Many nations will bind themselves to the Lord on that day.(U) They will be my people,[v] and I will dwell in your midst. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 16 The Lord will inherit Judah(V) as his portion of the holy land,[w] and the Lord will again choose Jerusalem. 17 Silence, all people, in the presence of the Lord, who stirs forth from his holy dwelling.(W)
Chapter 3
Prophetic Vision: Joshua the High Priest. 1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, while the adversary[x] stood at his right side to accuse him.(X) 2 And the angel of the Lord said to the adversary, “May the Lord rebuke you, O adversary; may the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!(Y) Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”(Z)
3 [y]Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clad in filthy garments. 4 Then the angel said to those standing before him, “Remove his filthy garments.”(AA) And to him he said, “Look, I have taken your guilt from you,(AB) and I am clothing you in stately robes.” 5 Then he said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” And they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with the garments while the angel of the Lord was standing by. 6 Then the angel of the Lord charged Joshua: 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you walk in my ways and carry out my charge, you will administer my house and watch over my courts;[z] and I will give you access to those standing here.”
Supplementary Oracle. 8 “Hear, O Joshua, high priest! You and your associates who sit before you! For they are signs of things to come I will surely bring my servant the Branch. 9 Look at the stone(AD) that I have placed before Joshua. On this one stone with seven facets[ab](AE) I will engrave its inscription—oracle of the Lord of hosts—and I will take away the guilt of that land in one day. 10 On that day—oracle of the Lord of hosts—you will invite one another under your vines and fig trees.”(AF)
Chapter 4
Fourth Vision: The Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees. 1 Then the angel who spoke with me returned and aroused me, like one awakened from sleep. 2 He said to me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a lampstand[ac] all of gold,(AG) with a bowl on top of it. There are seven lamps on it, with seven spouts on each of the lamps that are on top of it. 3 And beside it are two olive trees,[ad] one on the right of the bowl and one to its left.” 4 Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, “What are these things, my lord?” 5 And the angel who spoke with me replied, “Do you not know what these things are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
An Oracle. 6 Then he said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, and not by power, but by my spirit,[ae](AH) says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain?[af] Before Zerubbabel you become a plain. He will bring forth the first stone amid shouts of ‘Favor, favor be upon it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house, and his hands will finish it. Thus you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has scorned such a day of small things will rejoice to see the capstone[ag] in the hand of Zerubbabel.
Resumption of the Vision: Explanation of Lamps and Trees. “These seven are the eyes of the Lord that range over the whole earth.”(AI) 11 I then asked him, “What are these two olive trees, on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” 12 A second time I asked, “What are the two streams from the olive trees that pour out golden oil through two taps of gold?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I answered, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones[ah] who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”(AJ)
Chapter 18
The Fall of Babylon.[a] 1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth became illumined by his splendor.(A) 2 [b]He cried out in a mighty voice:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.(B)
She has become a haunt for demons.
She is a cage for every unclean spirit,
a cage for every unclean bird,
[a cage for every unclean] and disgusting [beast].
3 For all the nations have drunk[c]
the wine of her licentious passion.
The kings of the earth had intercourse with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her drive for luxury.”(C)
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Depart from her,[d] my people,
so as not to take part in her sins
and receive a share in her plagues,(D)
5 for her sins are piled up to the sky,
and God remembers her crimes.(E)
6 Pay her back as she has paid others.
Pay her back double for her deeds.
Into her cup pour double what she poured.(F)
7 To the measure of her boasting and wantonness
repay her in torment and grief;
for she said to herself,
‘I sit enthroned as queen;
I am no widow,
and I will never know grief.’(G)
8 Therefore, her plagues will come in one day,
pestilence, grief, and famine;
she will be consumed by fire.
For mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
9 The kings of the earth who had intercourse with her in their wantonness will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her pyre. 10 They will keep their distance for fear of the torment inflicted on her, and they will say:
“Alas, alas, great city,
Babylon, mighty city.
In one hour your judgment has come.”
11 The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her, because there will be no more markets[e] for their cargo: 12 their cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple silk, and scarlet cloth; fragrant wood of every kind, all articles of ivory and all articles of the most expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, spice,[f] incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human beings.
14 “The fruit you craved
has left you.
All your luxury and splendor are gone,
never again will one find them.”(H)
15 The merchants who deal in these goods, who grew rich from her, will keep their distance for fear of the torment inflicted on her. Weeping and mourning, 16 they cry out:
“Alas, alas, great city,
wearing fine linen, purple and scarlet,
adorned [in] gold, precious stones, and pearls.(I)
17 In one hour this great wealth has been ruined.”
Every captain of a ship, every traveler at sea, sailors, and seafaring merchants stood at a distance 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her pyre, “What city could compare with the great city?” 19 (J)They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and mourning:
“Alas, alas, great city,
in which all who had ships at sea
grew rich from her wealth.
In one hour she has been ruined.
20 Rejoice over her, heaven,
you holy ones, apostles, and prophets.
For God has judged your case against her.”(K)
21 A mighty angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone and threw it into the sea and said:
“With such force will Babylon the great city be thrown down,
and will never be found again.(L)
22 No melodies of harpists and musicians,
flutists and trumpeters,
will ever be heard in you again.
No craftsmen in any trade
will ever be found in you again.
No sound of the millstone
will ever be heard in you again.(M)
23 No light from a lamp
will ever be seen in you again.
No voices of bride and groom
will ever be heard in you again.
Because your merchants were the great ones of the world,
all nations were led astray by your magic potion.(N)
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and holy ones
and all who have been slain on the earth.”(O)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.