Zechariah 1

1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:

[I am] Zechariah, a prophet, the son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo. When Darius [had been the emperor of Persia] for almost two years, during November [of that year], Yahweh gave me this message:

2 “The LORD was very angry with your fathers.

“I was very angry with your ancestors.

3 So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’

So tell this to the people: [I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say, ‘Return to me, and [if you do that], I will [help] you again.

4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD.

Do not be like your ancestors. [Other] prophets, who have now died, [continually] proclaimed to your ancestors that they should stop doing the evil things that they were continually doing. But they refused to pay attention to what I said.

5 Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?

Your ancestors [have died and are now in their graves] [RHQ]. And the prophets did not [RHQ] live forever, [either].

6 But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”

But I punished [IDM] [the people for disobeying] the commands and the decrees which I commanded my servants the prophets [to tell to the people]. Then they (repented/turned away from their evil behavior) and said, ‘The Commander of the armies of angels has done to us what we deserved for our evil behavior, just like he said that he would do.’”

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo.

[Three months later], on February 15, Yahweh gave [another] message to me.

8 I looked out into the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

During the night [I had a vision. In the vision] I saw an [angel] who was on a red horse. He was in a narrow valley among some myrtle trees. Behind him were [angels on] red, brown, and white horses.

9 “What are these, my lord?” I asked. And the angel who was speaking with me replied, “I will show you what they are.”

I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Sir, who are those [angels on the horses]?” He replied, “I will show you who they are.”

10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”

Then the [angel] who had been under the myrtle trees explained. [He said, ] “They are the [angels] whom Yahweh sent [to (patrol/see what is happening in)] the [entire] world.”

11 And the riders answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and tranquil.”

Then those angels reported to the angel who was [there] among the myrtle trees, “We have traveled throughout the world, and we have found out that [the army of the emperor of Persia has conquered nations] throughout the world, [and that] those nations are now (helpless/unable to resist his army).”

12 Then the angel of the LORD said, “How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?”

Then the angel asked, “Commander of the armies of angels, how long will you continue to not be merciful to Jerusalem and the [other] towns in Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years!”

13 So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.

[So] Yahweh spoke kindly to the angel who had talked to me, saying things that comforted/encouraged him.

14 Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,

Then the angel who had been talking with me said to me, “Proclaim this [to the people of Jerusalem]: The Commander of the armies of angels says that he is very concerned about [the people who live on] Zion [Hill] and [in the other parts of] Jerusalem.

15 but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity.’

But he is very angry with the nations that are [proud and feel] safe. He was only a little bit angry [with the people of Judah], but [he is very angry with the surrounding nations because] they caused [the people of Judah to experience] complete disaster.

16 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’

Therefore, this is what he says: ‘I will again be merciful to [the people of] Jerusalem, and they will rebuild my temple. Men will measure [all the land in] the city [before they start rebuilding the houses].’

17 Proclaim further that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

The Commander of the armies of angels [also] said this: ‘Tell the people that [the people in] my towns [in Judah] will soon be very prosperous again, and I will encourage [the people of] Jerusalem, and their city will again be my chosen [city].’”

18 Then I looked up and saw four horns.

Then I looked up, and I saw in front of me four [animal] horns.

19 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he told me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

I asked the angel who had been speaking to me, “What are those [horns]?” He replied, “Those horns [represent the armies that] forced [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah and Israel to go [to other countries].”

20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

Then Yahweh showed me four (craftsmen/men who make things from metal).

21 “What are these coming to do?” I asked. And He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head; but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations that have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

I asked, “What are those men coming to do?” He replied, “[The armies represented by] those horns caused [the people of] Judah to be scattered, with the result that they suffered greatly. But the craftsmen have come to cause those who attacked [IDM] Judah to be terrified and crushed.”