Zechariah 1

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechyah, the son of 'Iddo the prophet, saying,

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:

2 The Lord hath been greatly angry with your fathers.

The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.

3 And [now] say thou unto them, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Return ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will return unto you: so hath said the Lord of hosts.

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

4 Be ye not like your fathers, unto whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Do return from your evil ways, and your evil doings; but they did not hear, nor listen unto me, saith the Lord.

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.

5 Your fathers, —where are they! and the prophets, — could they live for ever!

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

6 But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, behold, they did overtake your fathers: and [then] they returned and said, Just as the Lord of hosts had purposed to do unto us, in accordance with our ways, and in accordance with our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

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.”

7 On the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechyahu, the son of 'Iddo the prophet, saying,

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:

8 I saw this night, and behold there was a man riding upon a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle-trees that were in the deep valley; and behind him were red, pale, and white horses.

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.

9 And I said, What are these, O my lord? Then said unto me the angel that spoke with me, I will show thee what these are.

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

10 And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said, These are those whom the Lord hath sent to traverse the earth.

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

11 And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have traversed the earth, and, behold, all the earth is inhabited quietly, and is at rest.

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.”

12 Then commenced the angel of the Lord, and said, O Lord of hosts, how long yet wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast been indignant these seventy years?

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?”

13 And the Lord answered the angel that spoke with me with good words and comforting words.

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

14 And the angel that spoke with me said unto me, Proclaim thou, saying, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

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,

15 And with a great anger will I be angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little angry [with Zion], and they helped forward the mischief.

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.

16 Therefore thus hath said the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem in mercy: my house shall be rebuilt in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and the measuring-line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem.

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.

17 Proclaim yet [farther], saying, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, My cities shall again overflow with prosperity: and the Lord will again comfort Zion, and make choice again of Jerusalem.

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.

18 And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there were four horns.

Then I looked and saw four animal horns.

19 And I said unto the angel who spoke with me, What are these? And he said unto me, These are the horns that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

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

20 And the Lord showed me four carpenters.

Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.

21 Then said I, What are these coming to do? And he said as followeth, These are the horns that have dispersed Judah, to the extent that no man could lift up his head; but these are come to terrify them, to cast off the horns of the nations, that have been lifting up their horn over the land of Judah to disperse it.

“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.”