Old/New Testament
A Plea for Repentance
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius,(A) the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah(B) son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: 2 “The Lord was extremely angry with your ancestors.(C) 3 So tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: Return to me—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—and I will return to you, says the Lord of Armies.(D) 4 Do not be like your ancestors;(E) the earlier prophets proclaimed to them:(F) This is what the Lord of Armies says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds.(G) But they did not listen or pay attention to me—this is the Lord’s declaration. 5 Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? 6 But didn’t my words and my statutes that I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors?’”
So the people repented and said, “As the Lord of Armies decided to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so he has dealt with us.”(H)
The Night Visions
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
First Vision: Horsemen
8 I looked out in the night and saw a man riding on a chestnut[a] horse.(I) He was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley.[b] Behind him were chestnut, brown, and white horses. 9 I asked, “What are these, my lord?”
The angel who was talking to me replied, “I will show you what they are.”
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.”
11 They reported to the angel of the Lord standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet.”(J)
12 Then the angel of the Lord responded, “How long, Lord of Armies, will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that you have been angry with these seventy years?” (K) 13 The Lord replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.
14 So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: The Lord of Armies says: I am extremely jealous(L) for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease,(M) for I was a little angry, but they made the destruction worse.[c] 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; my house will be rebuilt within it—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.(N)
17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord of Armies says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”(O)
Second Vision: Four Horns and Craftsmen
18 Then I looked up and saw four horns.(P) 19 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?”
And he said to me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are they coming to do?”
He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off[d] the horns of the nations that raised a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
Third Vision: Surveyor
2 I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem to determine its width and length.”
3 Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him. 4 He said to him, “Run and tell this young man: Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and animals in it.”(Q) 5 The declaration of the Lord: “I myself will be a wall(R) of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.”
6 “Listen! Listen! Flee from the land of the north”(S)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 7 “Listen, Zion! Escape, you who are living with Daughter Babylon.” 8 For the Lord of Armies says this: “In pursuit of his glory, he sent me against the nations plundering you, for whoever touches you touches the pupil[e] of my[f] eye. 9 For look, I am raising my hand against them, and they will become plunder for their own servants.(T) Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me.
10 “Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and become my[g] people.(U) I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his portion in the Holy Land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem.(V) 13 Let all humanity be silent(W) before the Lord, for from his holy dwelling he has roused himself.”
Fourth Vision: High Priest and Branch
3 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua(X) standing before the angel of the Lord,(Y) with Satan[h](Z) standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord[i] said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” (AA)
3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy[j] clothes(AB) as he stood before the angel.(AC) 4 So the angel of the Lord[k] spoke to those[l] standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to him, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you,(AD) and I will clothe you with festive robes.”
5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban(AE) on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him in garments while the angel of the Lord was standing nearby.
6 Then the angel of the Lord charged Joshua, 7 “This is what the Lord of Armies says: If you walk in my ways and keep my mandates, you will both rule my house and take care of my courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.
8 “Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your colleagues sitting before you; indeed, these men are a sign that I am about to bring my servant, the Branch.(AF) 9 Notice the stone(AG) I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes.(AH) I will engrave an inscription on it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“and I will take away the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree.”(AI) This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
Fifth Vision: Gold Lampstand
4 The angel who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. The lampstand also has seven lamps at the top with seven spouts for each of[m] the lamps. 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4 Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 “Don’t you know what they are?” replied the angel who was speaking with me.
I said, “No, my lord.”
6 So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’(AJ) says the Lord of Armies. 7 ‘What are you, great mountain?(AK) Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.(AL) And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me:(AM) 9 “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house,(AN) and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. 10 For who despises the day of small things?(AO) These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone[n] in Zerubbabel’s hand.”(AP)
11 I asked him, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?” 12 And I questioned him further, “What are the two streams[o] of the olive trees, from which the golden oil is pouring through the two golden conduits?”
13 Then he inquired of me, “Don’t you know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
14 “These are the two anointed ones,”[p](AQ) he said, “who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”(AR)
The Fall of Babylon the Great
18 After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven,(A) and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 He called out in a mighty voice:
It has fallen,[a]
Babylon the Great has fallen!(B)
She has become a home for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
and a haunt[b] for every unclean and despicable beast.[c](C)
3 For all the nations have drunk[d]
the wine of her sexual immorality,
which brings wrath.(D)
The kings of the earth
have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth
have grown wealthy from her sensuality and excess.(E)
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven:
Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins(F)
or receive any of her plagues.
5 For her sins are piled up[e] to heaven,(G)
and God has remembered her crimes.(H)
6 Pay her back the way she also paid,(I)
and double it according to her works.(J)
In the cup in which she mixed,(K)
mix a double portion for her.
7 As much as she glorified herself and indulged her sensual and excessive ways,
give her that much torment and grief.
For she says in her heart,
“I sit as a queen;
I am not a widow,
and I will never see grief.”(L)
8 For this reason her plagues will come in just one day—
death and grief and famine.(M)
She will be burned up with fire,(N)
because the Lord God who judges(O) her is mighty.(P)
The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall
9 The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and shared her sensual and excessive ways will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from her burning. 10 They will stand far off in fear of her torment,(Q) saying,
Woe, woe, the great city,(R)
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in a single hour
your judgment has come.
11 The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer— 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass,[f] iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, spice,[g] incense, myrrh,[h] and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves—human lives.(S)
14 The fruit you craved has left you.
All your splendid and glamorous things are gone;
they will never find them again.
15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying,
Woe, woe, the great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,
adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls;(T)
17 for in a single hour
such fabulous wealth was destroyed!
And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off 18 as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out, “Who was like the great city?” (U) 19 They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning,(V)
Woe, woe, the great city,(W)
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth;
for in a single hour she was destroyed.
20 Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,(X)
because God has pronounced on her the judgment(Y) she passed on you!
The Finality of Babylon’s Fall
21 Then a mighty angel(Z) picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
In this way, Babylon the great city
will be thrown down violently(AA)
and never be found again.(AB)
22 The sound of harpists, musicians,
flutists, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you again;(AC)
no craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the sound of a mill
will never be heard in you again;
23 the light of a lamp
will never shine in you again;
and the voice of a groom and bride
will never be heard in you again.(AD)
All this will happen
because your merchants
were the nobility of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery.
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints,(AE)
and of all those slaughtered on the earth.(AF)
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