Old/New Testament

Zechariah Sees a Flying Book

5 I looked up again and saw a flying book. ² And the angel said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see a flying book, as long as ten long steps and as wide as five long steps.” ³ Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over all the land. Everyone who steals will be cut off by what is written on one side. And everyone who swears will be cut off by what is written on the other side. ⁴ I will send it out,” says the Lord of All, “and it will go into the house of the robber and the house of the one who makes false promises using My name. It will spend the night in that house and destroy it, both its wood and stones.”

Zechariah Sees a Woman in a Basket

⁵ Then the angel who was speaking with me came out and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is going out.” ⁶ And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the large basket going out.” And he said, “This is the sin of all the people in all the land.” ⁷ Then the lead cover was lifted up, and there was a woman sitting in the large basket. ⁸ The angel said, “This is Sin!” And he threw her back into the basket and threw the lead weight on its opening. ⁹ Then I looked up and saw two women coming out with the wind in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the large basket between earth and heaven. ¹⁰ I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” ¹¹ He said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar. When it is ready, it will be put in its place.”

Zechariah Sees Four War-Wagons

6 I looked up again and saw four war-wagons coming out from between the two mountains. The mountains were made of brass. ² The first war-wagon had red horses. The second war-wagon had black horses. ³ The third war-wagon had white horses, and the fourth war-wagon had strong horses with spots. ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ The angel said to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going away from standing before the Lord of All the earth. ⁶ The war-wagon with the black horses is going toward the north country. The white ones follow them. And the horses with spots go toward the south country. ⁷ When the strong horses went out, they were in a hurry to look over all the earth.” And he said, “Go, look over all the earth.” So they went over the whole earth. ⁸ Then he called to me, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have given My Spirit rest in the north country.”

The Crown on Joshua

⁹ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁰ “Take the gifts from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have returned from Babylon. And go the same day to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the head religious leader. ¹² Then tell him, ‘The Lord of All says, “See, the man whose name is the Branch, for He will branch out from where He is. And He will build the house of the Lord. ¹³ Yes, He is the One Who will build the house of the Lord. He will be honored as King, and sit and rule on His throne. And He will be a religious leader on His throne, and there will be peace between the two.”’ ¹⁴ The crown will be in the Lord’s house, that people may remember Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ Those who are far away will come to build the house of the Lord. Then you will know that the Lord of All has sent me to you. This will happen if you are careful to obey the Lord your God.”

It Is Better to Obey Than Go without Food

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to ask for the Lord’s favor. ³ They asked the religious leaders of the house of the Lord of All, and the men who speak for God, “Should I cry and go without food in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?” ⁴ Then the Word of the Lord of All came to me saying, ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and to the religious leaders, ‘When you went without food and cried in sorrow in the fifth and seventh months these 70 years, was it to honor Me? ⁶ When you eat and drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? ⁷ Are not these the words the Lord made known through the men who spoke for Him in the past? They spoke these words when Jerusalem was full of people and riches, together with the cities around it, and when the Negev and the lower hills were full of people.’”

People Taken Away Because Of Not Obeying

⁸ Then the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, ⁹ “The Lord of All said, ‘Do what is right and be kind and show loving-pity to one another. ¹⁰ Do not make it hard for the woman whose husband has died, or the child who has no parents, or the stranger, or the poor. Do not make sinful plans in your hearts against one another.’ ¹¹ But they would not listen. They turned away and stopped their ears from hearing. ¹² They made their hearts like hard stone, so that they could not hear the Law and the words which the Lord of All had sent by His Spirit through the men who spoke for Him in the past. So the Lord of All became very angry. ¹³ When I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord of All. ¹⁴ “With the wind of a storm I sent them everywhere among all the nations that they had not known. The land was laid waste behind them, so that no one could come or go. They turned the good land into an empty waste.”

The Lord Promises to Build Jerusalem Again

8 Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “The Lord of All says, ‘I am very jealous for Zion. I am jealous for her with much anger.’ ³ The Lord says, ‘I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of All will be called the Holy Mountain.’ ⁴ The Lord of All says, ‘Old men and old women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem again. Each man will have a walking stick in his hand because he will be old. ⁵ And the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.’ ⁶ The Lord of All says, ‘It may be wonderful to the few people here in those days, but will it be wonderful to Me also?’ says the Lord of All. ⁷ The Lord of All says, ‘I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. ⁸ I will bring them back and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be My people and I will be their God. I will be faithful and do what is right and good for them.’

⁹ “The Lord of All says, ‘You who are now listening to these words spoken through the men of God who were there when the Lord’s house was started, let your hands be strong for building the Lord’s house. ¹⁰ Before that time there was no pay for man or animal. No one could come in or go out in peace because of those who hated him. I turned people against one another. ¹¹ But now I will not do to the rest of these people as I did in the past,’ says the Lord of All. ¹² ‘The seed will grow in peace. The vine will give its fruit. The land will give its food. The heavens will give water on the grass in the early morning. And I will let the rest of this people have all these things. ¹³ O people of Judah and Israel, just as you were a curse among the nations, I will save you and make you something good. Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong.’

¹⁴ “The Lord of All says, ‘I wanted to hurt you because your fathers made Me angry. ¹⁵ But now I want to do good to Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. Do not be afraid. ¹⁶ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another. Judge with truth so there will be peace within your gates. ¹⁷ Do not make sinful plans against one another in your hearts. And do not love to make false promises. For I hate all these things,’ says the Lord.”

¹⁸ Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁹ “The Lord of All says, ‘The times when you do not eat in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become glad times of joy. They will become happy, special suppers for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.’ ²⁰ The Lord of All says, ‘Many people will yet come from many cities. ²¹ The people of one city will say to another, “Let us go at once and pray to the Lord and ask for His favor. I will go also.” ²² ‘So many people and powerful nations will come to look for the Lord of All in Jerusalem and to ask for the Lord’s favor.’ ²³ The Lord of All says, ‘In those days ten men from the nations of every language will take hold of the coat of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

Giving Thanks in Heaven

19 After this I heard what sounded like the voices of many people in heaven, saying, “Thanks to our God, the One Who saves. Honor and power belong to Him. ² For the way He punishes people is right and true. He has punished the powerful woman who sold the use of her body. She was making the earth sinful with her sex sins. She killed those who worked for God. He has punished her for it.” ³ Again they said, “Thanks to our God. The smoke from her burning goes up forever.” ⁴ The twenty-four leaders and the four living beings got down and worshiped God Who was sitting on the throne. They said, “Let it be so. Thanks to our God!”

⁵ A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give thanks to our God, you servants who are owned by Him. Give thanks to our God, you who honor Him with love and fear, both small and great.”

The Wedding Supper of the Lamb

⁶ Then I heard what sounded like the voices of many people. It was like the sound of powerful rushing water. And it was like loud thunder. It said, “Thanks to our God. For the Lord our God is King. He is the All-powerful One. ⁷ Let us be full of joy and be glad. Let us honor Him, for the time has come for the wedding supper of the Lamb. His bride has made herself ready. ⁸ She was given clean, white, fine linen clothes to wear. The fine linen is the right living of God’s people.”

⁹ The angel said to me, “Write this: ‘Those who are asked to the wedding supper of the Lamb are happy.’” And he said, “These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “No! Do not worship me. I am a servant together with you and your Christian brothers who tell of their trust in Christ. Worship God. For those who speak for Jesus are led in what to say as the early preachers were led.”

The King of Kings on the White Horse

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened. A white horse was standing there. The One Who was sitting on the horse is called Faithful and True. He is the One Who punishes in the right way. He makes war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire. He has many crowns on His head. His name is written on Him but He is the only One Who knows what it says. ¹³ The coat He wears has been put in blood. His name is The Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies in heaven were dressed in clean, white, fine linen. They were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword to punish the nations. He will be the Leader over them using a piece of iron. He walks on the grapes where wine is made, pressing out the anger of God, the All-powerful One. ¹⁶ On His coat and on His leg is the name written, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the sky, “Come and gather together for the great supper of God! ¹⁸ Come and eat the flesh of kings and of captains of soldiers and of strong men and of the flesh of horses and of those sitting on them. Come and eat the flesh of all men, small and great. Some are free and some are not free.”

¹⁹ Then I saw the wild animal and the kings of the earth and their armies gather together. They were ready to fight against the One Who is sitting on the white horse and against His army. ²⁰ The wild animal was taken. The false preacher was taken with it. It was the false preacher who had done powerful works in front of the wild animal. In this way, he fooled those who had received the mark of the wild animal and those who worshiped his false god. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. ²¹ The rest were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the One Who sat on the horse. All the birds were filled by eating the flesh of these who were killed.