Old/New Testament

The Lord Calls His People to Turn from Sin

1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah the man of God, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying, ² “The Lord was very angry with your fathers. ³ So tell them, ‘The Lord of All says, “Return to Me, that I may return to you. ⁴ Do not be like your fathers. The men who spoke for Me in the past told them, ‘The Lord of All says, “Return from your sinful ways and from your sinful works.”’ But they did not listen to Me,” says the Lord. ⁵ “Where are your fathers now? And the men who spoke for Me, do they live forever? ⁶ I gave My Words and My Laws to your fathers through My servants who spoke for Me. But they would not listen and so they were punished. Then they were sorry for their sins and said, ‘The Lord of All has punished us for our ways and our works, as He said He would.’”’”

Zechariah Sees Horses during the Night

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah the man of God, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo. ⁸ During the night while I was sleeping I saw a man traveling on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the narrow valley, with red, brown, and white horses behind him. ⁹ I asked, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said, “I will show you what these are.” ¹⁰ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to travel all over the earth to keep watch.” ¹¹ And they said to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have looked over all the earth, and saw that the whole earth is at rest and in peace.”

The Lord Comforts Jerusalem

¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of All, how long will You have no loving-pity for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? You have been angry with them for seventy years now.” ¹³ And the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me. ¹⁴ So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Make this known: ‘The Lord of All says, “I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵ But I am very angry with the nations who take it easy. When I was only a little angry, they added to the trouble.” ¹⁶ So the Lord says, “I will return to Jerusalem with loving-pity. My house will be built in it and all Jerusalem will be built again,” says the Lord of All. ¹⁷ Also make this known: ‘The Lord of All says, “My cities will again be filled with riches. The Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”

Zechariah Sees Horns

¹⁸ Then I looked up and saw four horns. ¹⁹ So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he said, “These are the horns which have divided the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four workmen. ²¹ I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have sent the people of Judah everywhere, so that no man raised his head. But these workmen have come to make them afraid and to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah so the people would be sent everywhere.”

Zechariah Sees a String

2 Then I looked up and saw a man holding a string used to find the length of things. ² So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To see how long and how wide Jerusalem is.” ³ Then the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, ⁴ and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the many men and cattle in it. ⁵ For I will be a wall of fire around her,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will be the shining-greatness of her.’”

Joy to Come for Jerusalem

⁶ “Come, come, run from the land of the north!” says the Lord. “For I have sent you to the four winds of the heavens,” says the Lord. ⁷ “O Zion! Run away, you who are living with the people of Babylon.” ⁸ For the Lord of All says, “The Lord of shining-greatness has sent Me against the nations which have robbed you in battle. For whoever touches you, touches what is of great worth to Him. ⁹ I will wave My hand over them, and they will be taken by those who were made to serve them. Then you will know that the Lord of All has sent Me. ¹⁰ Sing for joy and be glad, O people of Zion. For I am coming and I will live among you,” says the Lord. ¹¹ “Many nations will be joined to the Lord in that day and will become My people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of All has sent Me to you. ¹² The Lord will receive Judah as His share in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. ¹³ All of you be quiet before the Lord. For He is coming from His holy place.”

Zechariah Sees a Religious Leader

3 Then he showed me Joshua the head religious leader standing before the angel of the Lord. And Satan was standing at his right side to blame him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “May the Lord’s Word be sharp against you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem speak sharp words against you! Is not this a burning stick saved from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was dressed in dirty clothes and standing in front of the angel. ⁴ The angel said to those who were standing in front of him, “Take off his dirty clothes.” And he said to him, “See, I have taken your sin away from you, and will dress you in beautiful clothes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Let them put a clean covering on his head.” So they put a clean covering on his head and dressed him in clothes, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ The angel of the Lord told Joshua in strong words, ⁷ “The Lord of All says, ‘If you will walk in My ways and do My work, then you will rule My house and everything around it. And I will give you a place among these who are standing here. ⁸ Now listen, Joshua the head religious leader, and your friends who are sitting in front of you are men who show a part of the good things to come in the future. See, I am going to bring My Servant the Branch. ⁹ See the stone that I have set in front of Joshua. There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will cut writings on it,’ says the Lord of All. ‘And I will take away the sin of that land in one day. ¹⁰ In that day,’ says the Lord of All, ‘every one of you will ask his neighbor to come sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”

Zechariah Sees a Lamp-Stand

4 Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and woke me up like a man would be made to wake up from his sleep. ² He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a gold lamp-stand with a cup at the top and seven lamps on it. And there are seven places to hold oil, one on the top of each of the lamps. ³ There are two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the cup and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

God’s Promise to Zechariah

⁶ Then he said to me, “This is the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by strength nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of All. ⁷ ‘What are you, O great mountain? In front of Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring out the top stone and call out, “May God give it loving-favor!”’” ⁸ Also the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁹ “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the first stones of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of All has sent me to you. ¹⁰ Who has hated the day of small things? Men will be glad when they see Zerubbabel building the walls of the Lord’s house. These seven are the eyes of the Lord which travel over all the earth.”

¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and left sides of the lamp-stand?” ¹² A second time I said to him, “What are the two olive branches beside the two gold places that hold the oil to be poured out?” ¹³ He answered me saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two who are set apart to serve the Lord of All the earth.”

Babylon Is Destroyed

18 Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had much power. The earth was made bright with his shining-greatness. ² He cried out with a loud voice, “The big and powerful city of Babylon is destroyed. Demons and every kind of unclean spirit live there. Unclean birds that are hated are there. ³ For she gave her wine to the nations of the world. It was the wine of her desire for sex sins. The kings of the earth have done these sex sins with her. The men of the earth who buy and sell have become rich from the riches she received while living in sin.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out from her, my people. Do not be a part of her sins so you will not share her troubles. ⁵ For her sins are as high as heaven. God is ready to punish her for her sins. ⁶ Pay her back for what she has paid you. Give back to her twice as much for what she has done. In her own cup give her twice as much as she gave. ⁷ Give her as much trouble and suffering as the fun and the rich living she chose for herself. In her heart she says, ‘I sit here like a queen. I am not a woman whose husband has died. I will never have sorrow.’ ⁸ Because of this, troubles of death and sorrow and no food will come to her in one day. She will be burned with fire. For the Lord God is powerful. He is the One Who says she is guilty.

Kings Cry Because of Babylon

⁹ “Then the kings of the earth will cry for her and be sorry when they see the smoke of her burning. They are the ones who did sex sins with her and lived as rich people. ¹⁰ They stand a long way from her because they are afraid of her sufferings. They say, ‘It is bad! It is bad for the big and powerful city of Babylon. For in one hour she is destroyed.’ ¹¹ The men of the earth who buy and sell are sorry for her and cry. They cry because there is no one to buy their things anymore. ¹² They sold gold and silver and stones worth much money and pearls. They sold fine linen and purple and red silk cloth. They sold all kinds of perfumed wood. They sold things made from the teeth of animals and things made from wood that cost much money. They sold brass and iron and stone. ¹³ They sold spices and perfumes of all kinds. They sold wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat. They sold cows and sheep and horses and wagons. They sold men who are not free and they sold the lives of men. ¹⁴ They say to her, ‘All the good things you wanted so much are gone from you. Your riches are gone. The things you liked so much are gone. You will never have them again.’ ¹⁵ The men of the earth who became rich by buying and selling in that city will stand a long way back because they are afraid of her sufferings. They will cry and have sorrow. ¹⁶ They will say, ‘It is bad! It is bad for that powerful city. She dressed in fine linen of purple and red. She covered herself with gold and pearls and stones worth much money. ¹⁷ For in one hour her riches are destroyed.’ The captain of every ship and all who traveled on ships and all who worked on ships stood a long way back. ¹⁸ They cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘Has there ever been such a city as powerful as this one?’ ¹⁹ They threw dirt on their heads. They cried out with much sorrow and said, ‘It is bad! It is bad for the powerful city! She is the place where all those who owned ships on the sea became rich from all her riches. For in one hour everything is gone!’

²⁰ “Be full of joy because of her, O heaven! Be full of joy, you who belong to God and missionaries and early preachers! For God has punished her for what she did to you.”

²¹ Then a strong angel picked up a large stone like those used for grinding wheat. He threw it into the sea, saying, “The big and strong city of Babylon will be thrown down like this. It will never be found again. ²² The sound of those playing on harps and on flutes and on horns will not be heard in you again. No workman doing any kind of work will be found in you again. The sound of the grinding-stone will not be heard in you again. ²³ No light will ever shine in you again. There will be no more happy voices from a wedding heard in you. Your men who bought and sold were the most powerful on earth. You fooled people over all the world by your witchcraft. ²⁴ And in this city was found the blood of the early preachers and of those who belonged to God and of all those who had been killed on the earth.”