Zechariah 1

1 [I am] Zechariah, a prophet, the son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo. When Darius [had been the emperor of Persia] for almost two years, during November [of that year], Yahweh gave me this message:

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 “I was very angry with your ancestors.

The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.

3 So tell this to the people: [I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say, ‘Return to me, and [if you do that], I will [help] you again.

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

4 Do not be like your ancestors. [Other] prophets, who have now died, [continually] proclaimed to your ancestors that they should stop doing the evil things that they were continually doing. But they refused to pay attention to what I said.

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 ancestors [have died and are now in their graves] [RHQ]. And the prophets did not [RHQ] live forever, [either].

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

6 But I punished [IDM] [the people for disobeying] the commands and the decrees which I commanded my servants the prophets [to tell to the people]. Then they (repented/turned away from their evil behavior) and said, ‘The Commander of the armies of angels has done to us what we deserved for our evil behavior, just like he said that he would do.’”

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 [Three months later], on February 15, Yahweh gave [another] message to me.

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 During the night [I had a vision. In the vision] I saw an [angel] who was on a red horse. He was in a narrow valley among some myrtle trees. Behind him were [angels on] red, brown, 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 I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Sir, who are those [angels on the horses]?” He replied, “I will show you who they are.”

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

10 Then the [angel] who had been under the myrtle trees explained. [He said, ] “They are the [angels] whom Yahweh sent [to (patrol/see what is happening in)] the [entire] world.”

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 those angels reported to the angel who was [there] among the myrtle trees, “We have traveled throughout the world, and we have found out that [the army of the emperor of Persia has conquered nations] throughout the world, [and that] those nations are now (helpless/unable to resist his army).”

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 angel asked, “Commander of the armies of angels, how long will you continue to not be merciful to Jerusalem and the [other] towns in Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 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 [So] Yahweh spoke kindly to the angel who had talked to me, saying things that comforted/encouraged him.

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

14 Then the angel who had been talking with me said to me, “Proclaim this [to the people of Jerusalem]: The Commander of the armies of angels says that he is very concerned about [the people who live on] Zion [Hill] and [in the other parts of] Jerusalem.

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 But he is very angry with the nations that are [proud and feel] safe. He was only a little bit angry [with the people of Judah], but [he is very angry with the surrounding nations because] they caused [the people of Judah to experience] complete disaster.

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, this is what he says: ‘I will again be merciful to [the people of] Jerusalem, and they will rebuild my temple. Men will measure [all the land in] the city [before they start rebuilding the houses].’

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 The Commander of the armies of angels [also] said this: ‘Tell the people that [the people in] my towns [in Judah] will soon be very prosperous again, and I will encourage [the people of] Jerusalem, and their city will again be my chosen [city].’”

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 I looked up, and I saw in front of me four [animal] horns.

Then I looked and saw four animal horns.

19 I asked the angel who had been speaking to me, “What are those [horns]?” He replied, “Those horns [represent the armies that] forced [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah and Israel to go [to other countries].”

“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 showed me four (craftsmen/men who make things from metal).

Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.

21 I asked, “What are those men coming to do?” He replied, “[The armies represented by] those horns caused [the people of] Judah to be scattered, with the result that they suffered greatly. But the craftsmen have come to cause those who attacked [IDM] Judah to be terrified and crushed.”

“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.”