Zechariah 1
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Yahweh unto Zechariah, son of Berechiah, 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 Yahweh, was sore displeased, with your fathers:
The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.
3 therefore shalt thou say unto them, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Return ye unto me, urgeth Yahweh of hosts, —that I may return unto you, saith Yahweh of hosts.
So tell the people this: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.
4 Do not become like your fathers, unto whom the former prophets, proclaimed, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Return, I pray you, from your wicked ways, and from your wicked practices; but they heard not, nor hearkened unto me, declareth Yahweh.
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, to times age-abiding, do they live?
Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, did they live forever?
6 Howbeit, as for my words and my statutes with which I charged my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? and so they returned and said, Just as Yahweh of hosts planned to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our practices, 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 Upon the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the same, is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Yahweh unto Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, the prophet, as followeth:
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 looked by night, And lo! a man riding upon a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees, in the shade; and, after him, were horses, red, bay, and white.
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 Then said I, What are these, my lord? And the messenger who was speaking with me, said unto me, I, will shew thee what these, are.
I asked him, “My lord, what are these?” The angel I was talking to replied, “I will show you.”
10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle-trees responded, and said, —These, are they whom Yahweh, hath sent, to go to and fro through 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 Then responded they to the messenger of Yahweh, who was standing among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have gone to and fro through the earth, —and lo! all the earth, resteth and is quiet.
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 the messenger of Yahweh responded, and said, O Yahweh of hosts! How long wilt, thou, not have compassion upon Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, —against which thou hast had indignation 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 Yahweh answered the messenger who was speaking with me, in words that were pleasant, —words that were consoling,
So the Lord replied to the angel I was talking to with kind and comforting words.
14 Then the messenger who was speaking with me, said unto me, Proclaim thou, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh 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 displeasure, am I displeased with the careless nations, —in that, when, I, was displeased (for) a little, then, they, helped forward the calamity,
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 Wherefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, I have returned to Jerusalem, with compassions, My house, shall be built therein, declareth Yahweh of hosts, and, a 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 Further, proclaim thou, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Yet, shall my cities overflow with blessing! So will Yahweh yet, have compassion, upon Zion, and yet make choice 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 Then lifted I up mine eyes and looked, —and lo! Four Horns.
Then I looked and saw four animal horns.
19 And I said unto the messenger who was speaking with me, What are these? And he said unto me, These, are the horns which have scattered 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 Then Yahweh shewed me Four Craftsmen.
Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.
21 And I said, What are these coming in to do? And he spake, saying, These, are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head, but these [others] have come in to put them in fear, to cast down the horns of the nations, the which have lifted up the horn against the land of Judah to scatter her.
“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.”
