Zacharias 1

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of [the reign of] Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying,

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

2 The Lord has been very angry with your fathers.

The Lord has been very angry with your fathers:

3 And you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord Almighty: Turn to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, says the Lord of hosts.

And you are to say to them, These are the words of the Lord of armies: Come back to me, says the Lord of armies, and I will come back to you.

4 And be you not as your fathers, whom the prophets before charged, saying, Thus says the Lord Almighty: Turn you from your evil ways, and from your evil practices: but they listened not, and attended not to listen to me, says the Lord.

Be not like your fathers, to whom the voice of the earlier prophets came, saying, Be turned now from your evil ways and from your evil doings: but they did not give ear to me or take note, says the Lord.

5 Where are your fathers, and the prophets? Will they live for ever?

Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they go on living for ever?

6 But do you receive my words and mine ordinances, all that I command by my Spirit to my servants the prophets, who lived in the days of your fathers; and they answered and said, As the Lord Almighty determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so has he done to us.

But my words and my orders, which I gave to my servants the prophets, have they not overtaken your fathers? and turning back they said, As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us, in reward for our ways and our doings, so has he done.

7 On the twenty-fourth [day] in the eleventh month, this is the month Sabat, in the second year of [the reign of] Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying,

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

8 I saw by night, and behold a man mounted on a red horse, and he stood between the shady mountains; and behind him were red horses, and grey, and piebald, and white.

I saw in the night a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley, and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours.

9 And I said, What are these, [my] lord? And the angel spoke with me said to me, I will show you what these [things] are.

Then I said, O my lord, what are these? And the angel who was talking to me said to me, I will make clear to you what they are.

10 And the man that stood between the mountains answered, and said to me, These are [they] whom the Lord has sent forth to go round the earth.

And the man who was between the mountains, answering me, said, These are those whom the Lord has sent to go up and down through the earth.

11 And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood between the mountains, and said, We have gone round all the earth, and, behold, all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest.

And the man who was between the mountains, answering, said to the angel of the Lord, We have gone up and down through the earth, and all the earth is quiet and at rest.

12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord Almighty, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem, and the cities of Juda, which you has disregarded these seventy years?

Then the angel of the Lord, answering, said, O Lord of armies, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and on the towns of Judah against which your wrath has been burning for seventy years?

13 And the Lord Almighty answered the angel that spoke with me good words and consolatory sayings.

And the Lord gave an answer in good and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me.

14 And the angel that spoke with me said to me, Cry out and say, Thus says the Lord Almighty; I have been jealous for Jerusalem and Sion with great jealousy.

And the angel who was talking to me said to me, Let your voice be loud and say, These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am greatly moved about the fate of Jerusalem and of Zion.

15 And I am very angry with the heathen that combine to attack [her]: forasmuch as I indeed was a little angry, but they combined to attack [her] for evil.

And I am very angry with the nations who are living untroubled: for when I was only a little angry, they made the evil worse.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; and my house shall be rebuilt in her, says the Lord Almighty, and a measuring line shall yet be stretched out over Jerusalem.

So this is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Jerusalem with mercies; my house is to be put up in her, says the Lord of armies, and a line is to be stretched out over Jerusalem.

17 And the angel that spoke with me said to me, Cry yet, and say, Thus says the Lord Almighty; Yet shall cities be spread abroad through prosperity; and the Lord shall yet have mercy upon Sion, and shall choose Jerusalem.

And again let your voice be loud and say, This is what the Lord of armies has said: My towns will again be overflowing with good things, and again the Lord will give comfort to Zion and take Jerusalem for himself.

18 And I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold four horns.

And lifting up my eyes I saw four horns.

19 And I said to the angel that spoke with me, What are these things, [my] lord? And he said to me, These are the horns that have scattered Juda, and Israel, and Jerusalem.

And I said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have sent Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem in flight.

20 And the Lord showed me four artificers.

And the Lord gave me a vision of four metal-workers.

21 And I said, What are these coming to do? And he said, These are the horns that scattered Juda, and they broke Israel in pieces, and none of them lifted up his head: and these are come forth to sharpen them for their hands, [even] the four horns, the nations that lifted up the horn against the land of the Lord to scatter it.

Then I said, What have these come to do? And he said, These are the horns which sent Judah in flight, and kept him from lifting up his head: but these men have come to send fear on them and to put down the nations who are lifting up their horns against the land of Judah to send it in flight.