Zechariah 6
1 And I turn back, and lift up my eyes, and look, and behold, four chariots are coming forth from between two of the mountains, and the mountains [are] mountains of bronze.
Then I looked again and I saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains that looked like bronze.
2 In the first chariot [are] red horses, and in the second chariot brown horses,
The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses,
3 and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot strong spotted horses.
the third by white horses, and the fourth by dappled grey horses—all of them strong horses.
4 And I answer and say to the messenger who is speaking with me, “What [are] these, my lord?”
“My lord, what are these?” I asked the angel I was talking to.
5 And the messenger answers and says to me, “These [are] four spirits of the heavens coming forth from presenting themselves before the Lord of the whole earth.
“They are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth,” the angel explained.
6 The brown horses that [are] therein, are coming forth to the land of the north; and the white have come forth to their back part; and the spotted have come forth to the land of the south;
The chariot with the black horses went north, the one with the white horses went west, and the one with the dappled grey horses went south.
7 and the strong ones have come forth, and they seek to go to walk up and down in the earth”; and he says, “Go, walk up and down in the earth”; and they walk up and down in the earth.
When the strong horses came out they were eager to set off to patrol the earth. And he said, “Go and patrol the earth!” So they left and patrolled the earth.
8 And he calls me, and speaks to me, saying, “See, those coming forth to the land of the north have caused My Spirit to rest in the land of the north.”
Then the angel called to me, saying, “Look! Those who went north have achieved what the Lord wanted in the land of the north.”
9 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,
Then the Lord gave me another message:
10 “Take of the captivity (who came from Babylon) from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, and you have come in—you, in that day, indeed, you have come into the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah,
Take the gifts brought by Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, the exiles returning from Babylon, and go immediately to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
11 and you have taken silver and gold, and have made a crown, and have placed [it] on the head of Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest,
Use the silver and the gold they brought to make a crown, and place it on the head of Josiah, son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12 and have spoken to him, saying, Thus spoke YHWH of Hosts, saying, Behold, the Man! A Shoot—[is] His Name, And from His place He shoots up, And He has built the temple of YHWH.
Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: Look! The man who is called the Branch will grow from where he is and will build the Lord's Temple.
13 Indeed, He builds the temple of YHWH, And He carries away splendor, And He has sat and ruled on His throne, And has been a priest on His throne, And a counsel of peace is between both.
He is the one who will build the Lord's Temple, and he will be the one given the honor to rule from both the royal throne and the priestly throne and there will be peace and understanding between the two roles.
14 And the crown is to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of YHWH.
The crown will be kept in the Temple of the Lord as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Joshua the son of Zephaniah.
15 And the far-off come in, and they have built in the temple of YHWH, and you have known that YHWH of Hosts has sent me to you, indeed, it has come to pass, if you certainly listen to the voice of your God YHWH.”
People who live in distant lands will come and build the Temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty sent me to you. This will happen if you listen attentively to what the Lord tells you.
