Zechariah 3-12
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 3
1Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right to accuse him. 2And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a log snatched from the fire?' 3Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before the angel. 4And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, 'Remove the filthy garments from him.' Again he said to him, 'See, I have taken your guilt away from you and will clothe you with festive robes.' 5Then I said, 'Have them put a clean headband on his head.' So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.
6And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying,
7The Lord of armies says this: ‘If you walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both govern My house and be in charge of My courtyards, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.
8Now listen, Joshua, you high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a sign: for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch.
9For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘and I will remove the guilt of that land in one day.
10On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’?'
Chapter 4
1Then the angel who had been speaking with me returned and woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. 2And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; 3also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.' 4Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, 'What are these, my lord?' 5So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.' 6Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. 7‘What are you, you great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'?’?'
8Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you.
10For who has shown contempt for the day of small things? But these seven will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the eyes of the Lord roaming throughout the earth.'
11Then I said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?'
12And I responded the second time and said to him, 'What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?'
13So he answered me, saying, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.'
14Then he said, 'These are the two anointed ones, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.'
Chapter 5
1Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. 2And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, '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 is going forth over the face of the entire land; everyone who steals certainly will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears falsely will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. 4I will make it go forth,' declares the Lord of armies, 'and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and destroy it with its timber and stones.'
5Then the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, 'Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.'
6And I said, 'What is it?' Then he said, 'This is the ephah going forth.' Again he said, 'This is their appearance in all the land.
7And behold, a lead cover was lifted up.' He continued, 'And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.'
8Then he said, 'This is Wickedness!' And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its opening.
9Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.
10So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, 'Where are they taking the ephah?'
11Then he said to me, 'To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.'
Chapter 6
1Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. 2With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, 3with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong spotted horses. 4So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, 'What are these, my lord?' 5The angel replied to me, 'These are the four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth, 6with one of which the black horses are going out to the north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the south country.' 7When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth. And He said, 'Go, patrol the earth.' So they patrolled the earth. 8Then He called out to me and spoke to me, saying, 'See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.'
9The word of the Lord also came to me, saying,
10Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you shall go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.
11Also take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12Then say to him, ‘The Lord of armies says this: 'Behold, there is a Man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord.
13Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the majesty and sit and rule on His throne. So He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.'?’
14Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
15Those who are far away will come and build the temple of the Lord.' Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the Lord your God.
Chapter 7
1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the Lord, 3speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lord of armies, and to the prophets, saying, 'Shall I weep in the fifth month and fast, as I have done these many years?' 4Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying, 5Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? 6And when you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7Are these not the words which the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and carefree along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’?'
8Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,
9This is what the Lord of armies has said: ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother;
10and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’
11But they refused to pay attention, and turned a stubborn shoulder and plugged their ears from hearing.
12They also made their hearts as hard as a diamond so that they could not hear the Law and the words which the Lord of armies had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of armies.
13And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,' says the Lord of armies;
14but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they did not know. So the land was desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, since they made the pleasant land desolate.'
Chapter 8
1Then the word of the Lord of armies came, saying, 2The Lord of armies says this: ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ 3The Lord says this: ‘I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of armies will be called the Holy Mountain.’ 4The Lord of armies says this: ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each person with his staff in his hand because of age. 5And the public squares of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its squares.’ 6The Lord of armies says this: ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of armies. 7The Lord of armies says this: ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; 8and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’
9The Lord of armies says this: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of armies was laid, so that the temple might be built.
10For before those days there was no wage for man nor any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I sent all the people against one another.
11But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of armies.
12‘For there will be the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance.
13And it will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
14For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Just as I determined to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and I have not relented,
15so I have again determined in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
16These are the things which you shall do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace at your gates.
17Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these things are what I hate,’ declares the Lord.'
18Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying,
19The Lord of armies says this: ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, jubilation, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’
20The Lord of armies says this: ‘ It will yet turn out that peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities.
21The inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, 'Let’s go at once to plead for the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of armies; I also will go.'
22So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of armies in Jerusalem, and to plead for the favor of the Lord.’
23The Lord of armies says this: ‘In those days ten people from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'?’?'
2And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3For Tyre built herself a fortress, And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mud of the streets.
4Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And throw her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire.
5Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
6And a people of mixed origins will live in Ashdod, And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
7And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
8But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.
9Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10And I will eliminate the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be eliminated. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12Return to the stronghold, you prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.
13For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
14Then the Lord will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord God will blow the trumpet, And march in the storm winds of the south.
15The Lord of armies will protect them. And they will devour and trample on the slingstones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar.
16And the Lord their God will save them on that day As the flock of His people; For they are like the precious stones of a crown, Sparkling on His land.
17For how great will their loveliness and beauty be! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.
Chapter 10
1Ask for rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain— The Lord who makes the storm winds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person. 2For the household idols speak deception, And the diviners see an illusion And tell deceitful dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are wretched because there is no shepherd. 3'My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the Lord of armies has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. 4From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every tyrant, all of them together. 5And they will be like warriors, Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle; And they will fight, because the Lord will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. 6And I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. 7Ephraim will be like a warrior, And their heart will be joyful as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be joyful, Their heart will rejoice in the Lord. 8I will whistle for them and gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. 9When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in distant countries, And they with their children will live and come back. 10I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. 11And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt will depart. 12And I will strengthen them in the Lord, And in His name they will walk,' declares the Lord.Chapter 11
1Open your doors, Lebanon, So that a fire may feed on your cedars. 2Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen, For the magnificent trees have been destroyed; Wail, oaks of Bashan, Because the impenetrable forest has come down.
4This is what the Lord my God says: 'Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter.
5Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no compassion for them.
6For I will no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,' declares the Lord; 'but behold, I will let the people fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will not rescue them from their power.'
7So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, therefore also the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor, and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock.
8Then I did away with the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was tired of me.
9Then I said, 'I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to perish, let it perish; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.'
10And I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
11So it was broken on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord.
12And I said to them, 'If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!' So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
13Then the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.' So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.
14Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15And the Lord said to me, 'Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
Chapter 12
1The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: The Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4On that day,' declares the Lord, 'I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’
6On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem.
7The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah.
8On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.
9And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
11On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12The land will 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 the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;
14all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
King James Version
Chapter 3
1And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 5And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. 6And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, 7Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. 8Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. 9For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.Chapter 4
1And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. 7Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
11Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Chapter 5
1Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. 2And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 3Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. 4I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. 5Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 6And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. 7And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 8And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 9Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. 10Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? 11And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.Chapter 6
1And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 2In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 3And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 4Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. 6The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 7And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. 8Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. 9And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 10Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 11Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: 13Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.Chapter 7
1And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; 2When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the Lord, 3And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 4Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying, 5Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? 6And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? 7Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
8And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
9Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
10And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
11But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
12Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.
13Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:
14But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
Chapter 8
1Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 2Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 3Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. 4Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 5And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 6Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.
7Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
8And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
9Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
10For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.
11But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.
12For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
13And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.
14For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:
15So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
16These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
17And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.
18And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying,
19Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.
20Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.
22Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
23Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
Chapter 9
1The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord. 2And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. 3And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 4Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. 5Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 8And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. 9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
11As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
12Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
13When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
14And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
15The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
16And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
17For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
Chapter 10
1Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. 2For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. 3Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. 4Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. 5And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
6And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.
7And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.
8I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
9And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.
10I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.
11And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
12And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.
3There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
4Thus saith the Lord my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
5Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.
6For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
7And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
9Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
10And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord.
12And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
13And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.
14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
17Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
Chapter 12
1The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. 2Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 5And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. 6In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 7The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. 9And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 3
1Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord 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?"
3Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.
4So the angel of the Lord spoke to those standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes!" Then he said to him, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with festive robes."
6Then 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.
9Notice the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. 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.
10On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree." This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
Chapter 4
1The angel who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep.
2He 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 the lamps.
3There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."
6So he answered me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Armies.
7‘What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’"
8Then the word of the Lord came to me:
9"Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you.
10For who despises the day of small things? These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone in Zerubbabel’s hand."
11I asked him, "What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?"
12And I questioned him further, "What are the two streams of the olive trees, from which the golden oil is pouring through the two golden conduits?"
3Then he said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the whole land, for everyone who is a thief, contrary to what is written on one side, has gone unpunished, and everyone who swears falsely, contrary to what is written on the other side, has gone unpunished.
4I will send it out," —this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—"and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by my name. It will stay inside his house and destroy it along with its timbers and stones."
6So I asked, "What is it?" He responded, "It’s a measuring basket that is approaching." And he continued, "This is their iniquity in all the land."
7Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.
8"This is Wickedness," he said. He shoved her down into the basket and pushed the lead weight over its opening.
9Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.
Chapter 6
1Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. The mountains were made of bronze. 2The first chariot had chestnut horses, the second chariot black horses, 3the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all strong horses. 4So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these, my lord?"
5The angel told me, "These are the four spirits of heaven going out after presenting themselves to the Lord of the whole earth.
6The one with the black horses is going to the land of the north, the white horses are going after them, but the dappled horses are going to the land of the south."
7As the strong horses went out, they wanted to go patrol the earth, and the Lord said, "Go, patrol the earth." So they patrolled the earth.
8Then he summoned me saying, "See, those going to the land of the north have pacified my Spirit in the northern land."
9The word of the Lord came to me:
10"Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
11Take silver and gold, make a crown, and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Armies says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; he will branch out from his place and build the Lord’s temple.
13Yes, he will build the Lord’s temple; he will be clothed in splendor and will sit on his throne and rule. There will also be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them.
14The crown will reside in the Lord’s temple as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah.
15People who are far off will come and build the Lord’s temple, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the Lord your God."
Chapter 7
1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer, Regem-melech, and their men to plead for the Lord’s favor 3by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Armies as well as the prophets, "Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?"
4Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me:
5"Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?
6When you eat and drink, don’t you eat and drink simply for yourselves?
7Aren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure, along with its surrounding cities, and when the southern region and the Judean foothills were inhabited?"
8The word of the Lord came to Zechariah:
9"The Lord of Armies says this: ‘Make fair decisions. Show faithful love and compassion to one another.
10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the resident alien or the poor, and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear.
12They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore intense anger came from the Lord of Armies.
13Just as he had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord of Armies.
14I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation."
Chapter 8
1The word of the Lord of Armies came: 2The Lord of Armies says this: "I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath." 3The Lord says this: "I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the Lord of Armies will be called the Holy Mountain." 4The Lord of Armies says this: "Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. 5The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them." 6The Lord of Armies says this: "Though it may seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me?"—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. 7The Lord of Armies says this: "I will save my people from the land of the east and the land of the west. 8I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God."
9The Lord of Armies says this: "Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of Armies.
10For prior to those days neither man nor animal had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor.
11But now, I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days"—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
12"For they will sow in peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the skies will yield their dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance.
13As you have been a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Don’t be afraid; let your hands be strong."
14For the Lord of Armies says this: "As I resolved to treat you badly when your fathers provoked me to anger, and I did not relent," says the Lord of Armies,
15"so I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don’t be afraid.
16These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another; make true and sound decisions within your city gates.
17Do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love perjury, for I hate all this"—this is the Lord’s declaration.
18Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me:
19The Lord of Armies says this: "The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth will become times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace."
20The Lord of Armies says this: "Peoples will yet come, the residents of many cities;
21the residents of one city will go to another, saying: Let’s go at once to plead for the Lord’s favor and to seek the Lord of Armies. I am also going.
22Many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of Armies in Jerusalem and to plead for the Lord’s favor."
23The Lord of Armies says this: "In those days, ten men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."
Chapter 9
1A pronouncement: The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is its resting place— for the eyes of humanity and all the tribes of Israel are on the Lord — 2and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd. 3Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust and gold like the dirt of the streets. 4Listen! The Lord will impoverish her and cast her wealth into the sea; she herself will be consumed by fire. 5Ashkelon will see it and be afraid; Gaza too, and will writhe in great pain, as will Ekron, for her hope will fail. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will become uninhabited. 6A mongrel people will live in Ashdod, and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines. 7I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abhorrent things from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah and Ekron like the Jebusites. 8I will encamp at my house as a guard, against those who march back and forth, and no oppressor will march against them again, for now I have seen with my own eyes. 9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. 11As for you, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless cistern. 12Return to a stronghold, you prisoners who have hope; today I declare that I will restore double to you. 13For I will bend Judah as my bow; I will fill that bow with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece. I will make you like a warrior’s sword. 14Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will fly like lightning. The Lord God will sound the trumpet and advance with the southern storms. 15The Lord of Armies will defend them. They will consume and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine. They will be as full as the sprinkling basin, like those at the corners of the altar. 16The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people; for they are like jewels in a crown, sparkling over his land. 17How lovely and beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.Chapter 10
1Ask the Lord for rain in the season of spring rain. The Lord makes the rain clouds, and he will give them showers of rain and crops in the field for everyone. 2For the idols speak falsehood, and the diviners see illusions; they relate empty dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd. 3My anger burns against the shepherds, so I will punish the leaders. For the Lord of Armies has tended his flock, the house of Judah; he will make them like his majestic steed in battle. 4The cornerstone will come from Judah. The tent peg will come from them and also the battle bow and every ruler. Together 5they will be like warriors in battle trampling down the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put horsemen to shame. 6I will strengthen the house of Judah and deliver the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had never rejected them. For I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.
7Ephraim will be like a warrior, and their hearts will be glad as if with wine. Their children will see it and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8I will whistle and gather them because I have redeemed them; they will be as numerous as they once were.
9Though I sow them among the nations, they will remember me in the distant lands; they and their children will live and return.
10I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, but it will not be enough for them.
11The Lord will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will come to an end.
Chapter 11
1Open your gates, Lebanon, and fire will consume your cedars. 2Wail, cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the glorious trees are destroyed! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the stately forest has fallen! 3Listen to the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is destroyed. Listen to the roar of young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.
4The Lord my God says this: "Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter.
5Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished. Those who sell them say: Blessed be the Lord because I have become rich! Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them.
6Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land"—this is the Lord’s declaration. "Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand."
7So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the oppressed of the flock. I took two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock.
8In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
9Then I said, "I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is perishing perish; let the rest devour each other’s flesh."
10Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples.
11It was annulled on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord.
12Then I said to them, "If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
13"Throw it to the potter," the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
14Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15The Lord also said to me: "Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, and he will not seek the lost or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.
2"Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah.
3On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her.
4On that day"—this is the Lord’s declaration—"I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness.
5Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Armies, their God.
6On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem.
7The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah.
8On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord, before them.
9On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10"Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.
11On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s house by itself and their women by themselves;
13the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself and their women by themselves;
14all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.
New Living Translation
Chapter 3
1Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. 2And the Lord said to Satan, 'I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.'
3Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel.
4So the angel said to the others standing there, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' And turning to Jeshua he said, 'See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.'
6Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said,
7This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.
8Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.
Chapter 4
1Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep.
2What do you see now?' he asked. I answered, 'I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks.
3And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.'
4Then I asked the angel, 'What are these, my lord? What do they mean?'
6Then he said to me, 'This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
7Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’ '
8Then another message came to me from the Lord:
9Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
11Then I asked the angel, 'What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand,
12and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?'
3Then he said to me, 'This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land.
4And this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I am sending this curse into the house of every thief and into the house of everyone who swears falsely using my name. And my curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it — even its timbers and stones.'
7Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it.
8The angel said, 'The woman’s name is Wickedness,' and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.
Chapter 6
1Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains. 2The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses, 3the third by white horses, and the fourth by powerful dappled-gray horses. 4And what are these, my lord?' I asked the angel who was talking with me.
5The angel replied, 'These are the four spirits of heaven who stand before the Lord of all the earth. They are going out to do his work.
6The chariot with black horses is going north, the chariot with white horses is going west, and the chariot with dappled-gray horses is going south.'
9Then I received another message from the Lord:
10Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah will bring gifts of silver and gold from the Jews exiled in Babylon. As soon as they arrive, meet them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
11Accept their gifts, and make a crown from the silver and gold. Then put the crown on the head of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord.
13Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’
Chapter 7
1On December 7 of the fourth year of King Darius’s reign, another message came to Zechariah from the Lord. 2The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech, along with their attendants, to seek the Lord’s favor. 3They were to ask this question of the prophets and the priests at the Temple of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: 'Should we continue to mourn and fast each summer on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, as we have done for so many years?'
4The Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me this message in reply:
5Say to all your people and your priests, ‘During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting?
6And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves?
7Isn’t this the same message the Lord proclaimed through the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling with people, and the Negev and the foothills of Judah were well populated?’'
8Then this message came to Zechariah from the Lord:
9This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another.
10Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.
11Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing.
12They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.
13Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
14As with a whirlwind, I scattered them among the distant nations, where they lived as strangers. Their land became so desolate that no one even traveled through it. They turned their pleasant land into a desert.'
Chapter 8
1Then another message came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: 2This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!
4This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares.
5And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.
7This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west.
8I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God.
9This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Be strong and finish the task! Ever since the laying of the foundation of the Temple of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you have heard what the prophets have been saying about completing the building.
10Before the work on the Temple began, there were no jobs and no money to hire people or animals. No traveler was safe from the enemy, for there were enemies on all sides. I had turned everyone against each other.
11But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
12For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings.
13Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!
14For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
15But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid.
16But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace.
17Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.'
18Here is another message that came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
19This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.
20This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem.
21The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’
22Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.
2Doom is certain for Hamath, near Damascus, and for the cities of Tyre and Sidon, though they are so clever.
3Tyre has built a strong fortress and has made silver and gold as plentiful as dust in the streets!
4But now the Lord will strip away Tyre’s possessions and hurl its fortifications into the sea, and it will be burned to the ground.
5The city of Ashkelon will see Tyre fall and will be filled with fear. Gaza will shake with terror, as will Ekron, for their hopes will be dashed. Gaza’s king will be killed, and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6Foreigners will occupy the city of Ashdod. I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
7I will grab the bloody meat from their mouths and snatch the detestable sacrifices from their teeth. Then the surviving Philistines will worship our God and become like a clan in Judah. The Philistines of Ekron will join my people, as the ancient Jebusites once did.
8I will guard my Temple and protect it from invading armies. I am watching closely to ensure that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.
9Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey — riding on a donkey’s colt.
10I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon.
12Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.
13Judah is my bow, and Israel is my arrow. Jerusalem is my sword, and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.
14The Lord will appear above his people; his arrows will fly like lightning! The Sovereign Lord will sound the ram’s horn and attack like a whirlwind from the southern desert.
15The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people, and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones. They will shout in battle as though drunk with wine. They will be filled with blood like a bowl, drenched with blood like the corners of the altar.
16On that day the Lord their God will rescue his people, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.
17How wonderful and beautiful they will be! The young men will thrive on abundant grain, and the young women will flourish on new wine.
Chapter 10
1Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture. 2Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.
3'My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle.
4From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers.
5They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the Lord is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen.
6'I will strengthen Judah and save Israel ; I will restore them because of my compassion. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.
7The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine. Their children, too, will see it and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few who are left, they will grow as numerous as they were before.
9Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, they will still remember me in distant lands. They and their children will survive and return again to Israel.
10I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon until there is no more room for them all.
11They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves of the sea will be held back, and the waters of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end.
12By my power I will make my people strong, and by my authority they will go wherever they wish. I, the Lord, have spoken!'
Chapter 11
1Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedar forests. 2Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars; the most majestic ones have fallen. Weep, you oaks of Bashan, for the thick forests have been cut down. 3Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their rich pastures are destroyed. Hear the young lions roaring, for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are ruined.
4This is what the Lord my God says: 'Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter.
5The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the Lord! Now I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for them.
6Likewise, I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,' says the Lord. 'I will let them fall into each other’s hands and into the hands of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not rescue them.'
8I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep, and they hated me, too.
9So I told them, 'I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!'
10Then I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations.
11That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through my actions.
15Then the Lord said to me, 'Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd.
16This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.
Chapter 12
1This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: 'This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. 2I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. 3On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.
4On that day,' says the Lord, 'I will cause every horse to panic and every rider to lose his nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of their enemies.
5And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, their God.’
7The Lord will give victory to the rest of Judah first, before Jerusalem, so that the people of Jerusalem and the royal line of David will not have greater honor than the rest of Judah.
8On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who goes before them!
9For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
11The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the great mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
12All Israel will mourn, each clan by itself, and with the husbands separate from their wives. The clan of David will mourn alone, as will the clan of Nathan,
13the clan of Levi, and the clan of Shimei.
14Each of the surviving clans from Judah will mourn separately, and with the husbands separate from their wives.
English Standard Version
Chapter 3
1Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2And the Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" 3Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." 5And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.
6And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua,
7"Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.
8Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.
9For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
10In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree."
Chapter 4
1And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2And he said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left." 4And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?" 5Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." 6Then he 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. 7Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’"
8Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
10For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth."
11Then I said to him, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?"
12And a second time I answered and said to him, "What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?"
13He said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord."
14Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
Chapter 5
1Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! 2And he said to me, "What do you see?" 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 land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones."
5Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, "Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out."
6And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the basket that is going out." And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land."
7And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket!
8And he said, "This is Wickedness." And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.
9Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
10Then I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they taking the basket?"
11He said to me, "To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base."
Chapter 6
1Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, 3the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses — all of them strong. 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 going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country." 7When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, "Go, patrol the earth." So they patrolled the earth. 8Then he cried to me, "Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country."
9And the word of the Lord came to me:
10"Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.
11Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
13It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."’
14And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
Chapter 7
1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, 3saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, "Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"
4Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me:
5"Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?
6And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?
7Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’"
8And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,
9"Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,
10do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."
11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.
12They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts.
13"As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear," says the Lord of hosts,
14"and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate."
Chapter 8
1And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2"Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness."
9Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
10For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor.
11But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts.
12For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
13And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong."
14For thus says the Lord of hosts: "As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts,
15so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.
16These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;
17do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord."
18And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,
19"Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
20"Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities.
21The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’
22Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.
23Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’"
Chapter 9
1The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place. For the Lord has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel, 2 and on Hamath also, which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. 3Tyre has built herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets. 4But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire. 5 Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited; 6 a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia. 7I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites. 8Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes. 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 11As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. 13For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior 's sword. 14Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south. 15The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar. 16On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.Chapter 10
1Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. 2For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3 "My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. 4From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler — all of them together. 5They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6 "I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. 7Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord. 8 "I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before. 9 Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return. 10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them. 11 He shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up. The pride of Assyria shall be laid low, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. 12 I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name," declares the Lord.Chapter 11
1Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars! 2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled! 3The sound of the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is ruined! The sound of the roar of the lions, for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4Thus said the Lord my God: "Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand."
7So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep.
8In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
9So I said, "I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another."
10And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
11So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord.
12Then I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13Then the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter" — the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
14Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15Then the Lord said to me, "Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
Chapter 12
1The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2"Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’
7"And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah.
8On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them.
9And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
11On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12The land shall mourn, each 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 the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves;
14and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.
New International Version
Chapter 3
1Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"
6The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua:
7"This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.
8" ‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
Chapter 4
1Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep.
2He asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps.
3Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."
8Then the word of the Lord came to me:
9"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
3And he said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.
4The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’ "
7Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman!
8He said, "This is wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.
Chapter 6
1I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2The first chariot had red horses, the second black, 3the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. 4I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these, my lord?"
5The angel answered me, "These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.
6The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south."
9The word of the Lord came to me:
10"Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
11Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak.
12Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.
13It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’
14The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.
15Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God."
Chapter 7
1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, "Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"
4Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me:
5"Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?
6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?
7Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’ "
8And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah:
9"This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
11"But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.
12They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.
13" ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty.
14‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’ "
4This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age.
5The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."
7This is what the Lord Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.
8I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."
9This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty.
10Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor.
11But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past," declares the Lord Almighty.
12"The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.
13Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."
14This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me," says the Lord Almighty,
15"so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.
16These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;
17do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the Lord.
20This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,
21and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’
22And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him."
Chapter 9
1A prophecy: The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak and will come to rest on Damascus— for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel are on the Lord— 2and on Hamath too, which borders on it, and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful. 3Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets. 4But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire. 5Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted. 6A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines. 7I will take the blood from their mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth. Those who are left will belong to our God and become a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. 8But I will encamp at my temple to guard it against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch. 9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. 11As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. 12Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. 13I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword. 14Then the Lord will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, 15and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. 16The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. 17How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.
2The idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
3"My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care for his flock, the people of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle.
4From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler.
5Together they will be like warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.
6"I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before.
9Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return.
10I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them.
11They will pass through the sea of trouble; the surging sea will be subdued and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. Assyria’s pride will be brought down and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.
12I will strengthen them in the Lord and in his name they will live securely," declares the Lord.
Chapter 11
1Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars! 2Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down! 3Listen to the wail of the shepherds; their rich pastures are destroyed! Listen to the roar of the lions; the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
4This is what the Lord my God says: "Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.
5Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.
6For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land," declares the Lord. "I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands."
8In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them
9and said, "I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh."
10Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.
11It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
15Then the Lord said to me, "Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
Chapter 12
1A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the Lord. "I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
7"The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.
8On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them.
9On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
10"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
11On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,
13the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,
14and all the rest of the clans and their wives.
New King James Version
Chapter 3
1Then 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 Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
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.
10 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
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?”
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!” ’ ”
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?”
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.
Chapter 6
1Then 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 Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah.
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.”
Chapter 7
1Now 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 Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”
9“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’
11“But 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.”
4“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem, Each one with his staff in his hand Because of great age.
5The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets.’
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 Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.’
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.
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 Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.’
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 Judah. Do not fear.
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;
17 Let 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.”
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 Jerusalem, And to pray before the Lord.’
Chapter 9
1The burden of the word of the Lord Against the land of Hadrach, And Damascus its resting place (For the eyes of men And all the tribes of Israel Are on the Lord); 2Also against Hamath, which borders on it, And against Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. 3For Tyre built herself a tower, Heaped up silver like the dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. 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; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6“A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 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. 8 I 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 Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. 10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.’ 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 Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man.” 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.Chapter 10
1Ask 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 Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle. 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 Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the Lord their God, And I will hear them. 7 Those 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. 10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, And gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, Until no more room is found for them. 11 He 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 Egypt shall depart. 12“So I will strengthen them in the Lord, And they shall walk up and down in His name,” Says the Lord.Chapter 11
1Open 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 Bashan, For the thick forest has come down. 3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.
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 Judah and Israel.
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.
Chapter 12
1The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. 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 Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’ 6In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.
7“The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.
8In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them.
9It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
11In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
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.
