Zechariah
1 In the eighth month of the second
year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the
prophet, saying,
2"The LORD has been very angry with your fathers.
3Therefore say to them, "Thus says the LORD of
hosts: "Return to Me," says the LORD of
hosts, "and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts.
4"Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former
prophets preached, saying, "Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Turn now
from your evil ways and your evil deeds."' But they did not hear nor heed Me," says the LORD.
5"Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets,
do they live forever?
6Yet surely My words and My
statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake
your fathers? "So they returned and said: "Just as the LORD of hosts
determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He
has dealt with us."""
7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which
is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius,
the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the
prophet:
8I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red
horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were
horses: red, sorrel, and white.
9Then I said, "My lord, what are these?" So
the angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you what they
are."
10And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered
and said, "These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro
throughout the earth."
11So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood
among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have walked to and fro throughout
the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly."
12Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, "O
LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on
13And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me,
with good and comforting words.
14So the angel who spoke with me said to me,
"Proclaim, saying, "Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I am zealous
for
15I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped--but with evil
intent."
16"Therefore thus says the LORD: "I am
returning to
17"Again proclaim, saying, "Thus says the
LORD of hosts: "My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The
LORD will again comfort
18Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four
horns.
19And I said to the angel who talked with me,
"What are these?" So he answered me, "These are the horns that
have scattered
20Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21And I said, "What are these coming to do?"
So he said, "These are the horns that scattered
2Then I raised my eyes and looked,
and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
2So I said, "Where are you going?" And he
said to me, "To measure
3And there was the angel who talked with me, going
out; and another angel was coming out to meet him,
4who said to him, "Run, speak to this young man,
saying: "
5For I,' says the LORD, "will be a wall of fire
all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst."'
6"Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,"
says the LORD; "for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of
heaven," says the LORD.
7"Up,
8For thus says the LORD of hosts: "He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who
touches you touches the apple of His eye.
9For surely I will shake My
hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you
will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
10"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of
11"Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in
that day, and they shall become My people. And I will
dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
12And the LORD will take possession of
13Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is
aroused from His holy habitation!"
3Then he showed me Joshua the high
priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right
hand to oppose him.
2And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen
3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was
standing before the Angel.
4Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before
Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He
said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you
with rich robes."
5And I said, "Let them
put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head,
and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
6Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,
7"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "If you will
walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then
you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will
give you places to walk Among these who stand here.
8"Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your
companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am
bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
9For behold, the stone That I
have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave
its inscription,' Says the LORD of hosts, "And I will remove the iniquity
of that land in one day.
10In that day,' says the LORD
of hosts, "Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his
fig tree."'
4Now the angel who talked with me
came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
2And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I
said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand of
solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven
pipes to the seven lamps.
3Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the
bowl and the other at its left."
4So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with
me, saying, "What are these, my lord?"
5Then the angel who talked with me answered and said
to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my
lord."
6So he answered and said to me: "This is the word
of the LORD to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by
power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.
7"Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring
forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace
to it!""'
8Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
9"The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then
you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to
you.
10For who has despised the day of small things? For
these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand
of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which
scan to and fro throughout the whole earth."
11Then I answered and said to him, "What are these
two olive trees--at the right of the lampstand and at
its left?"
12And I further answered and said to him, "What
are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold
pipes from which the golden oil drains?"
13Then he answered me and said, "Do you not know
what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord."
14So he said, "These are the two anointed ones,
who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth."
5Then I turned and raised my eyes,
and saw there a flying scroll.
2And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I
answered, "I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its
width ten cubits."
3Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes
out over the face of the whole earth: "Every thief shall be expelled,'
according to this side of the scroll; and, "Every
perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of it."
4"I will send out the curse," says the LORD
of hosts; "It shall enter the house of the thief And
the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the
midst of his house And consume it, with its timber and
stones."
5Then the angel who talked with me came out and said
to me, "Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth."
6So I asked, "What is it?" And he said,
"It is a basket that is going forth." He also said, "This is
their resemblance throughout the earth:
7Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman
sitting inside the basket";
8then he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he
thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.
9Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two
women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings
of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
10So I said to the angel who talked with me,
"Where are they carrying the basket?"
11And he said to me, "To build a house for it in
the
6Then I turned and raised my eyes and
looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and
the mountains were mountains of bronze.
2With the first chariot were red horses, with the
second chariot black horses,
3with the third chariot white horses, and with the
fourth chariot dappled horses--strong steeds.
4Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with
me, "What are these, my lord?"
5And the angel answered and said to me, "These
are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of
all the earth.
6The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the
dappled are going toward the south country."
7Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that
they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, "Go, walk to
and fro throughout the earth." So they walked to and fro throughout the
earth.
8And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying,
"See, those who go toward the north country have
given rest to My Spirit in the north country."
9Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
10"Receive the gift from the captives--from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from
11Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown,
and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak,
the high priest.
12Then speak to him, saying, "Thus says the LORD
of hosts, saying: "Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His
place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
13Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall
bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be
between them both."'
14"Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial
in the temple of the LORD for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son
of Zephaniah.
15Even those from afar shall come and build the temple
of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently
obey the voice of the LORD your God."
7Now in the fourth year of King
Darius it came to pass that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, on the
fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev,
2when the people sent Sherezer,
with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God,
to pray before the LORD,
3and to ask the priests who were in the house of the
LORD of hosts, and the prophets, saying, "Should I weep in the fifth month
and fast as I have done for so many years?"
4Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me,
saying,
5"Say to all the people of the land, and to the
priests: "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months
during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me--for
Me?
6When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and
drink for yourselves?
7Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD
proclaimed through the former prophets when
8Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
9"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Execute true
justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his
brother.
10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his
heart Against his brother.'
11But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders,
and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.
12Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to
hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit
through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.
13Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and
they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen," says the
LORD of hosts.
14"But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all
the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them,
so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land
desolate."
8Again the word of the LORD of hosts
came, saying,
2"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I am zealous
for
3"Thus says the LORD: "I will return to
4"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Old men and
old women shall again sit In the streets of
5The streets of the city Shall
be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets.'
6"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people
in these days, Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?' Says
the LORD of hosts.
7"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Behold, I
will save My people from the land of the east And from
the land of the west;
8I will bring them back, And
they shall dwell in the midst of
9"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Let your
hands be strong, You who have been hearing in these days These words by the
mouth of the prophets, Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid For the
house of the LORD of hosts, That the temple might be built.
10For before these days There
were no wages for man nor any hire for beast; There was no peace from the enemy
for whoever went out or came in; For I set all men, everyone, against his
neighbor.
11But now I will not treat the remnant of this people
as in the former days,' says the LORD of hosts.
12"For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her
increase, And the heavens shall give their dew-- I will cause the remnant of
this people To possess all these.
13And it shall come to pass That
just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of
14"For thus says the LORD of hosts: "Just as
I determined to punish you When your fathers provoked
Me to wrath,' Says the LORD of hosts, "And I would not relent,
15So again in these days I am determined to do good To
Jerusalem and to the house of
16These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the
truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and
peace;
17Let none of you think evil in your heart against your
neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these
are things that I hate,' Says the LORD."
18Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me,
saying,
19"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "The fast of
the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, The fast of
the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful
feasts For the house of
20"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Peoples
shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities;
21The inhabitants of one city shall go to another,
saying, "Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, And seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also."
22Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in
23"Thus says the LORD of hosts: "In those
days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a
Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is
with you.""'
9The burden of the word of the LORD
Against the
2Also against Hamath,
which borders on it, And against
3For
4Behold, the LORD will cast her out; He will destroy
her power in the sea, And she will be devoured by
fire.
5Ashkelon shall see it and fear;
6"A mixed race shall settle in
7I will take away the blood from his mouth, And the abominations from between his teeth. But he who
remains, even he shall be for our God, And shall be
like a leader in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite.
8I will camp around My house
Because of the army, Because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more
shall an oppressor pass through them, For now I have
seen with My eyes.
9"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from
11"As for you also, Because of the blood of your
covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12Return to the stronghold, You
prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will
restore double to you.
13For I have bent
14Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD
will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the
south.
15The LORD of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall
be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar.
16The LORD their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the
jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land--
17For how great is its goodness And
how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, And
new wine the young women.
10Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing
clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in
the field for everyone.
2For the idols speak delusion; The
diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore
the people wend their way like sheep; They are in
trouble because there is no shepherd.
3"My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the LORD of hosts will
visit His flock, The house of
4From him comes the cornerstone, From
him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, From him every ruler together.
5They shall be like mighty men, Who
tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall
fight because the LORD is with them, And the riders on
horses shall be put to shame.
6"I will strengthen the house of
7Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their
children shall see it and be glad; Their heart shall
rejoice in the LORD.
8I will whistle for them and gather them, For I will redeem them; And they shall increase as they once
increased.
9"I will sow them among the peoples, And they shall remember Me in far countries; They shall
live, together with their children, And they shall return.
10I will also bring them back from the
11He shall pass through the sea with affliction, And strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River
shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of
12"So I will strengthen them in the LORD, And they shall walk up and down in His name," Says the
LORD.
11Open your doors, O Lebanon, That fire may devour your cedars.
2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of
3There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their
glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the
4Thus says the LORD my God, "Feed the flock for
slaughter,
5whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those
who sell them say, "Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich'; and their
shepherds do not pity them.
6For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the
land," says the LORD. "But indeed I will give everyone into his
neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and
I will not deliver them from their hand."
7So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the
poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and
the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock.
8I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul
loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
9Then I said, "I will not feed you. Let what is
dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each
other's flesh."
10And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that
I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
11So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the
flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD.
12Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you,
give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages
thirty pieces of silver.
13And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the
potter"--that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces
of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.
14Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might
break the brotherhood between
15And the LORD said to me, "Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.
16For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who
will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those
that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of
the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.
17"Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither,
And his right eye shall be totally blinded."
12The burden of the word of the LORD against
2"Behold, I will make
3And it shall happen in that day that I will make
4In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike
every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of
5And the governors of
6In that day I will make the governors of
7"The LORD will save the tents of
8In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of
9It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy
all the nations that come against
10"And I will pour on the house of David and on
the inhabitants of
11In that day there shall be a great mourning in
12And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the
family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the
family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;
13the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their
wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself,
and their wives by themselves;
14all the families that remain, every
family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
13"In that day a fountain shall
be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of
2"It shall be in that day," says the LORD of
hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they
shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean
spirit to depart from the land.
3It shall come to pass that if anyone still
prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name
of the LORD.' And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through
when he prophesies.
4"And it shall be in that day that every prophet
will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of
coarse hair to deceive.
5But he will say, "I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my
youth.'
6And one will say to him, "What
are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will answer, "Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'
7"Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against
the Man who is My Companion," Says the LORD of hosts. "Strike the
Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will
turn My hand against the little ones.
8And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says
the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third
shall be left in it:
9I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will
refine them as silver is refined, And test them as
gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will
answer them. I will say, "This is My people'; And
each one will say, "The LORD is my God."'
14Behold, the day of the LORD is
coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2For I will gather all the nations to battle against
3Then the LORD will go forth And
fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.
4And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of
Olives, Which faces
5Then you shall flee through My
mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In
the days of Uzziah king of
6It shall come to pass in that day That
there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
7It shall be one day Which is
known to the LORD-- Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.
8And in that day it shall be That
living waters shall flow from
9And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In
that day it shall be-- "The LORD is one," And His name one.
10All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of
11The people shall dwell in it; And
no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely
inhabited.
12And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will
strike all the people who fought against
13It shall come to pass in that day That
a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of
his neighbor, And raise his hand against his
neighbor's hand;
14Judah also will fight at
15Such also shall be the plague On
the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that
will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.
16And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left
of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year
to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
17And it shall be that whichever of the families of the
earth do not come up to
18If the family of
19This shall be the punishment of
20In that day "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" shall be
engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the LORD's
house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21Yes, every pot in