< Zechariah 1 >
1 In the eight moneth of the second yeere of Darius, came the worde of the Lord vnto Zechariah the sonne of Berechiah, the sonne of Iddo, the Prophet, saying,
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius' reign, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
2 The Lord hath bene sore displeased with your fathers.
“Yahweh was exceedingly angry with your fathers!
3 Therefore say thou vnto them, Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Turne ye vnto me, saith the Lord of hostes, and I will turne vnto you, saith the Lord of hostes.
Say to them, 'Yahweh of hosts says this: Turn to me!—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts— and I will return to you, says Yahweh of hosts.
4 Be ye not as your fathers, vnto whome the former prophets haue cried, saying, Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Turne you nowe from your euill wayes, and from your wicked workes: but they would not heare, nor hearken vnto me, saith the Lord.
Do not be like your fathers to whom the prophets cried out previously, saying, “Yahweh of hosts says this: Turn from your evil ways and wicked practices!” But they would not hear and did not pay attention to me—this is Yahweh's declaration.'
5 your fathers, where are they? and doe the Prophets liue for euer?
Your fathers, where are they? Where are the prophets, are they here forever?
6 But did not my wordes and my statutes, which I commanded by my seruants ye Prophets, take holde of your fathers? and they returned, and sayd, As the Lord of hostes hath determined to doe vnto vs, according to our owne wayes, and according to our workes, so hath hee dealt with vs.
But my words and my decrees that I commanded my servants the prophets, have they not overtaken your fathers? So they repented and said, 'Just as Yahweh of hosts planned to do to us what our ways and actions deserved, so he has dealt with us.'”
7 Vpon the foure and twentieth day of the eleuenth moneth, which is the moneth Shebat, in the second yeere of Darius, came the worde of the Lord vnto Zechariah the sonne of Berechiah, the sonne of Iddo the Prophet, saying,
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius' reign, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding vpon a red horse, and hee stood among the mirre trees, that were in a bottome, and behinde him were there red horses speckeled and white.
“I saw in the night, and, look! a man was riding on a red horse, and he was among the myrtle trees that are in the valley; and behind him there were red, reddish-brown, and white horses.”
9 Then sayd I, O my Lord, what are these? And the Angel that talked with me, sayde vnto me, I wil shew thee what these be.
I said, “What are these things, Lord?” Then the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what these things are.”
10 And the man that stood among the mirre trees, answered, and sayd, These are they whome the Lord hath sent to go through the world.
Then the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those Yahweh has sent out to roam throughout the earth.”
11 And they answered the Angel of the Lord, that stood among the mirre trees, and sayd, We haue gone thorowe the world: and beholde, all the world sitteth still, and is at rest.
They answered the angel of Yahweh who stood among the myrtle trees; they said to him, “We have been roaming throughout the earth; see, all the earth sits still and is at rest.”
12 Then the Angel of the Lord answered and sayd, O Lord of hostes, howe long wilt thou be vnmercifull to Ierusalem, and to the cities of Iudah, with whom thou hast bene displeased now these threescore and ten yeeres?
Then the angel of Yahweh answered and said, “Yahweh of hosts, how long will you show no compassion to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?”
13 And the Lord answered the Angel that talked with me, with good wordes and comfortable wordes.
Yahweh answered the angel who had talked with me, with good words, words of comfort.
14 So the Angel that communed with me, said vnto me, Crie thou, and speake, Thus saith the Lord of hostes, I am ielous ouer Ierusalem and Zion with a great zeale,
So the angel who had talked with me said to me, “Call out and say, 'Yahweh of hosts says this: I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great passion!
15 And am greatly angrie against the carelesse heathen: for I was angrie but a litle, and they helped forward the affliction.
I am very angry with the nations that are at ease. When I was only a little angry with them, they made the disaster worse.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord, I wil returne vnto Ierusalem with tender mercie: mine house shall be builded in it, saith the Lord of hostes, and a line shall be stretched vpon Ierusalem.
Therefore Yahweh of hosts says this: I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies. My house will be built within her —this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts—and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem!'
17 Cry yet, and speake, Thus saith the Lord of hostes, My cities shall yet be broken with plentie: the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet chuse Ierusalem.
Again call out, saying, 'Yahweh of hosts says this: My cities will once again overflow with goodness, and Yahweh will again comfort Zion, and he will once again choose Jerusalem.'”
18 Then lift I vp mine eyes and sawe, and beholde, foure hornes.
Then I lifted up my eyes and saw four horns!
19 And I said vnto the Angel that talked with me, What be these? And hee answered me, These are the hornes which haue scattered Iudah, Israel, and Ierusalem.
I spoke to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 And the Lord shewed me foure carpenters.
Then Yahweh showed me four craftsmen.
21 Then said I, What come these to doe? And he answered, and said, These are the hornes, which haue scattered Iudah, so that a man durst not lift vp his head: but these are come to fray them, and to cast out the hornes of the Gentiles, which lift vp their horne ouer the land of Iudah, to scatter it.
I said, “What are these people coming to do?” He answered, and said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no man would lift up his head. But the blacksmiths have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations that lifted up a horn against the land of Judah to scatter her.”