Zechariah 1

1 The Lord sent a message to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, in the eighth month of the second year of king Darius' reign, saying:

In the eiythe monethe, in the secounde yeer of Darius, the word of the Lord was maad to Sacarie, the sone of Barachie, the sone of Addo,

2 The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.

profete, and seide, The Lord is wrooth on youre fadris with wrathfulnesse.

3 So tell the people this: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.

And thou schalt seie to hem, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis. Be ye conuertid to me, seith the Lord of oostis, and Y schal be conuertid to you, seith the Lord of oostis.

4 You must not be like your forefathers. They were told by previous prophets: Give up your evil ways, and the evil things you do. But they would not listen or pay any attention to me, says the Lord.

Be ye not as youre fadris, to whiche the formere profetis crieden, seiynge, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Be ye conuertid fro youre yuel weies, and youre worste thouytis; and thei herden not, nether token tent to me, seith the Lord of oostis.

5 Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, did they live forever?

Where ben youre fadris and profetis? whether thei schulen lyue with outen ende?

6 But didn't all my instructions and warnings that I ordered my servants the prophets to communicate, didn't all that I said happen to your forefathers? So they repented and said, “What the Lord Almighty planned to do to us was what we deserved because of our ways and our actions. He did what he said he would.”

Netheles my wordis and my lawful thingis, whiche Y comaundide to my seruauntis profetis, whether thei tauyten not youre fadris? And thei weren conuertid, and seiden, As the Lord of oostys thouyte for to do to vs bi oure weies, and bi oure fyndingis he dide to vs.

7 The Lord sent a message to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat) of the second year of king Darius' reign:

In the foure and twentithe dai of the enleuenthe monethe Sabath, in the secounde yeer of Darius, the word of the Lord was maad to Sacarie, sone of Barachie, sone of Addo,

8 During the night I saw a man sitting on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees in a narrow valley. Behind him were red, brown, and white horses with their riders.

profete, and seide, Y saiy bi niyt, and lo! a man stiynge on a reed hors; and he stood bitwixe places where mirtis wexen, that weren in the depthe, and aftir hym weren horsis reede, dyuerse, and white.

9 I asked him, “My lord, what are these?” The angel I was talking to replied, “I will show you.”

And Y seide, My lord, who ben these? And an aungel of the Lord seide to me, that spak in me, Y schal schewe to thee what these ben.

10 The man who was there among the myrtle trees said, “These are the ones the Lord has sent out to patrol the earth.”

And the man that stood bitwix places where mirtis wexen, answeride, and seide, These it ben, whiche the Lord sente, that thei walke thorouy erthe.

11 The riders reported to the angel of the Lord who was among the myrtle trees, “We have been patrolling the earth and saw that the whole earth has been pacified.”

And thei answeriden to the aungel of the Lord, that stood bitwixe places where mirtis wexen, and seiden, We han walkid thorouy erthe, and lo! al erthe is enhabitid, and restith.

12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah which you have been angry with for the past seventy years?”

And the aungel of the Lord answeride, and seide, Lord of oostis, hou long schalt thou not haue merci on Jerusalem, and citees of Juda, to whiche thou art wrooth? This now is the seuentithe yeer.

13 So the Lord replied to the angel I was talking to with kind and comforting words.

And the Lord answeride to the aungel, that spak in me, goode wordis, and wordis of coumfort.

14 Then the angel I was talking with told me, This is what you are to announce. The Lord Almighty says this: I am jealously protective of Jerusalem and Mount Zion,

And the aungel that spak in me, seide to me, Crie thou, seiynge, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Y louyde Jerusalem and Sion in greet feruour;

15 and I am extremely angry with the arrogant nations who think they are secure. I was only a little angry with my people, but they made the punishment far worse.

and in greet wraththe Y schal be wroth on riche folkis; for Y was wrooth a litil, forsothe thei helpiden in to yuel.

16 Therefore this is what the Lord says: I have returned to be merciful to Jerusalem. My Temple shall be rebuilt there, as well as the city, declares the Lord Almighty.

Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Y schal turne ayen to Jerusalem in mercies. Myn hous schal be bildid in it, seith the Lord of oostis; and a plomet schal be streiyt out on Jerusalem.

17 Announce this as well, says the Lord Almighty: Prosperity will flood out of my cities. I the Lord will comfort Zion, and Jerusalem will be my chosen city.

Yit crie thou, seiynge, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Yit my citees schulen flete with goodis, and yit the Lord schal coumforte Sion, and yit he schal chese Jerusalem.

18 Then I looked and saw four animal horns.

And Y reiside myn iyen, and Y saiy, and lo! foure hornes.

19 “What are these?” I asked the angel I was talking to. “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem,” he replied.

And Y seide to the aungel that spak in me, What ben these? And he seide to me, These ben hornes, that wyndewiden Juda, and Israel, and Jerusalem.

20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.

And the Lord schewide to me foure smythis.

21 “What are these men coming to do?” I asked. The angel replied, “The four horns—these nations—scattered Judah, humbling the people so that they could not lift up their heads. These craftsmen have to come to terrify these nations, and to destroy them—those who used their power against the land of Judah, scattering the people.”

And Y seide, What comen these for to do? Which spak, seiynge, These ben the hornes, that wyndewiden Juda bi alle men, and no man of hem reiside his heed; and these camen for to make hem aferd, that thei caste doun the hornes of hethene men, which reisiden horn on the lond of Juda, for to scatere it.