Old/New Testament
A Call to Return
1 In the eighth month of the second year[a] of the reign of[b] Darius, this message from the Lord came to Berechiah’s son Zechariah,[c] the grandson of Iddo the prophet: 2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “Return to me,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, “and I will return to you.[d] 4 Don’t be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “It’s time to turn from your evil lifestyles[e] and from your evil actions,” ‘but they would neither listen nor pay attention to me,’” declares the Lord.’ 5 “Your ancestors—where are they? And the prophets—do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets—did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me:[f] ‘The Lord of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do—in keeping with our lifestyles[g] and in keeping with our actions.’”
The Vision of Horses
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month Shebat) in the second year of the reign of[h] Darius, this message from the Lord came to Berechiah’s son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet: 8 “I stared into the night, and there was a man mounted on a red horse! The horse[i] was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him there were red, brown,[j] and white horses.”
9 Then I asked, “Who are these, sir?”[k]
The messenger who was talking to me answered, “I will tell you who these are.”
10 The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, “These are the ones whom the Lord sent out to wander throughout the earth.”
11 Then they reported to the angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtle trees, “We have wandered throughout the earth—and look!—the entire earth is at rest. Everything is quiet and peaceful.”[l]
12 And the angel of the Lord replied, “Lord of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?”
13 So the Lord answered the angel who was speaking to me with kind and comforting words.
The Lord’s Concern for Zion
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me told me, “Announce this: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “I have a deep concern for Jerusalem, a great concern for Zion. 15 I am deeply angry with the nations who are complacent, with whom I was only a little displeased—but they made things worse!” 16 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says: “I have returned to Jerusalem with compassionate intentions. My Temple will be rebuilt there,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, “and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’”
The Future Prosperity of Zion
17 “Also announce the following: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “My cities will again overflow with prosperity. The Lord will comfort Zion once more and will choose Jerusalem again.”’”
The Vision of Four Horns
18 [m]Then I looked up and saw four horns. 19 I asked the angel who was talking to me, “What are those?”
So he answered me, “Those are the forces[n] that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
The Vision of Four Artisans
20 Then the Lord showed me four artisans.
21 Then I asked, “What have they come to do?”
He answered, “Those horns that dispersed Judah—so that no one could lift up his head—those artisans[o] are coming to disrupt the power[p] of nations, tearing them down now that they’ve come to power and dispersed the land of Judah.”
The Vision of the Measuring Line
2 [q]Then I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He responded, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and length.”
3 Look! That angel who was talking to me left, and another angel came forward to meet him. 4 That other angel told him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be an inhabited city without walls due to the number of people and livestock within it. 5 I myself will be an encircling rampart of fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be the glory in her midst.’
6 “‘Come now! Come now! Flee from the land of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I have dispersed you like the four winds of heaven,’ declares the Lord.
7 “‘Come now, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the residents of Babylon. 8 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “In pursuit of glory I was sent to the nations who plundered you, because whoever injures you injures the pupil of my eye. 9 And look, I will shake my fist over them, and they will become plunder for their former[r] slaves. And you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies sent me.”’”
The Lord will Live in Zion
10 “Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion! Take note! I am coming to live in your midst,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will cling to the Lord at that time[s] and will become my people. I will live in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his own property in the Holy Land—and he will choose Jerusalem again. 13 Be silent, every living thing, in the presence of the Lord, because he is emerging[t] from his Holy Place.”
The Vision of the High Priest
3 Then I saw Joshua the High Priest standing in the presence of the angel of the Lord, with Satan[u] standing at his right to oppose him.
2 The Lord told Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan—in fact, may the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! This man is a burning brand plucked from the fire, is he not?”
3 Now Joshua was wearing filthy clothes as he stood in the presence of the angel.
4 So the angel[v] continued to tell those who were standing in his presence, “Remove his filthy clothes.”
And he told Joshua,[w] “Look how I’ve removed your iniquity. Now I’m clothing you with fine garments.”
5 Then I said, “Let them place a pure diadem[x] on his head.”
So they placed the pure diadem[y] on his head and clothed him with fine garments while the angel of the Lord was standing beside them.[z]
The Lord’s Charge to Joshua
6 Then the angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘If you will live according to my ways, and if you will keep what I have entrusted to you,[aa] then you will also administer my Temple, and you will also guard my courtyards. And I will give you access to these who serve[ab] here.
8 “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and those companions of yours who sit with you,[ac] for these men are a sign that I am presenting my servant, the Branch.[ad] 9 Look, the stone that I put in place in Joshua’s presence—on that one stone are seven eyes.[ae] And look, I will do the engraving myself,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, ‘and I will remove the perversity of that land in a single day. 10 At that time,’[af] declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, ‘you will invite each of your neighbors to join you[ag] under the vine and fig tree.’”
The Vision of the Golden Menorah
4 Then the angel who had been speaking with me returned and woke me up as if I had been asleep. 2 Then he asked me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I have been watching—and look!—there is a menorah made completely of gold with a bowl on top of it. And there are seven lights on it, along with seven feeder channels to the lamps, which are also on top of it. 3 Two olive trees are near it, one on the right side of the bowl and one on the left.”
4 Then I asked the angel who had been speaking with me, “Sir,[ah] what are these?”
5 The angel who had been speaking with me answered by asking, “You don’t know what these mean, do you?”
So I responded, “No, sir.”
The Lord’s First Charge to Zerubbabel
6 Then he replied to me, “This is this message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by valor nor by strength, but only by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 7 ‘Who are you, great mountain? You will become a plain in Zerubbabel’s presence, and he will position the capstone, exulting over it, “How beautiful! How beautiful!”’”
The Lord’s Second Charge to Zerubbabel
8 Then this message from the Lord came to me again: 9 “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this Temple, and his hands will finish it, so that you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to all of you. 10 For who has despised the time[ai] of insignificant things? They will rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.[aj] These seven lights[ak] represent the eyes of the Lord, which are looking throughout all of the earth.”
The Two Anointed Ones
11 Then I asked the angel,[al] “What are these two olive trees, one[am] on the right of the menorah and one[an] on the left?” 12 I also asked him a second question: “What are these two olive branches on either side of[ao] the two golden feeder channels that carry the golden oil to the seven lights?”[ap]
13 The angel[aq] replied, “You don’t know what these are, do you?”
I responded to him, “No, sir.”
14 He said, “These are the two anointed ones,[ar] who stand continuously beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
The Vision of the Fall of Babylon
18 After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority,[a] and the earth was made bright by his splendor. 2 He cried out in a powerful voice,
“Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen!
She has become a home for demons.
She is a prison for every unclean spirit,
a prison for every unclean bird,
and a prison for every unclean
and hated beast.
3 For all the nations have drunk
from the wine of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her.
The world’s businesses have become rich
from her luxurious excesses.”
The Warning to Leave Babylon
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
“Come out of her, my people,
so that you don’t participate in her sins
and also suffer from her diseases.
5 For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Do to her as she herself has done,
and give her double for her deeds.
Mix a double drink for her in the cup she mixed.
7 Just as she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
inflict on her just as much torture and misery.
In her heart she says,
‘I am a queen on a throne, not a widow.
I will never see misery.’
8 For this reason, her diseases that result in death, misery, and famine
will come in a single day.
She will be burned up in a fire,
because powerful is the Lord God who judges her.”
9 The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality with her and lived in luxury with her, will cry and mourn over her when they see the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.[b] 10 Frightened by the torture that she experiences,[c] they will stand far away and cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible it is for that great city,
the powerful city Babylon,
because your judgment arrived in a single hour!”
11 The world’s businesses cry and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore— 12 cargo of gold, silver, gems, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all articles made of ivory, all articles made of very costly wood, bronze, iron, marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and slaves (that is, human souls)—
14 “The fruit that you crafted has abandoned you.
All your dainties and your splendor are lost,[d]
and no one will ever find them again.”
15 Frightened by the severity of her punishment, businesses that had become rich because of her will stand at a distance, crying and mourning:
16 “How terrible, how terrible it is for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet
and was adorned with gold, gems, and pearls,
17 because all this wealth has been destroyed in a single hour!”
Every ship’s captain, everyone who traveled by ship, sailors, and everyone who made a living from the sea stood far away. 18 When they saw the smoke rising from the fire that consumed her,[e] they began to cry out, “What city was like that great city?” 19 Then they threw dust on their heads and shouted while crying and mourning:
“How terrible, how terrible it is for the great city,
where all who had ships at sea became rich from her wealth,
because it has been destroyed in a single hour!
20 Be happy about her, heaven, saints, apostles, and prophets,
for God has condemned her for you!”
The Vision of the Powerful Angel with the Millstone
21 Then a powerful angel picked up a stone that was like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“The great city Babylon will be thrown down violently—
and will never be found again.
22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters
will never be heard within you again.
No artisan of any trade
will ever be found within you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard within you again.
23 The light from a lamp
will never shine within you again.
The voice of a bridegroom and bride
will never be heard within you again.
For your merchants were the important people of the world,
and all the nations were deceived by your witchcraft.
24 The blood of the world’s prophets, saints,
and all who had been murdered
was found within her.”
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