Zechariah 1

1 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,

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

2 “Yahweh was exceedingly angry with your fathers!

The Lord has been very angry with your fathers:

3 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.

And you are to say to them, These are the words of the Lord of armies: Come back to me, says the Lord of armies, and I will come back to you.

4 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.'

Be not like your fathers, to whom the voice of the earlier prophets came, saying, Be turned now from your evil ways and from your evil doings: but they did not give ear to me or take note, says the Lord.

5 Your fathers, where are they? Where are the prophets, are they here forever?

Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they go on living for ever?

6 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.'”

But my words and my orders, which I gave to my servants the prophets, have they not overtaken your fathers? and turning back they said, As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us, in reward for our ways and our doings, so has he done.

7 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,

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

8 “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.”

I saw in the night a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley, and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours.

9 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.”

Then I said, O my lord, what are these? And the angel who was talking to me said to me, I will make clear to you what they are.

10 Then the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those Yahweh has sent out to roam throughout the earth.”

And the man who was between the mountains, answering me, said, These are those whom the Lord has sent to go up and down through the earth.

11 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.”

And the man who was between the mountains, answering, said to the angel of the Lord, We have gone up and down through the earth, and all the earth is quiet and at rest.

12 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?”

Then the angel of the Lord, answering, said, O Lord of armies, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and on the towns of Judah against which your wrath has been burning for seventy years?

13 Yahweh answered the angel who had talked with me, with good words, words of comfort.

And the Lord gave an answer in good and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me.

14 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!

And the angel who was talking to me said to me, Let your voice be loud and say, These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am greatly moved about the fate of Jerusalem and of Zion.

15 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.

And I am very angry with the nations who are living untroubled: for when I was only a little angry, they made the evil worse.

16 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!'

So this is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Jerusalem with mercies; my house is to be put up in her, says the Lord of armies, and a line is to be stretched out over Jerusalem.

17 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.'”

And again let your voice be loud and say, This is what the Lord of armies has said: My towns will again be overflowing with good things, and again the Lord will give comfort to Zion and take Jerusalem for himself.

18 Then I lifted up my eyes and saw four horns!

And lifting up my eyes I saw four horns.

19 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.”

And I said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have sent Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem in flight.

20 Then Yahweh showed me four craftsmen.

And the Lord gave me a vision of four metal-workers.

21 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.”

Then I said, What have these come to do? And he said, These are the horns which sent Judah in flight, and kept him from lifting up his head: but these men have come to send fear on them and to put down the nations who are lifting up their horns against the land of Judah to send it in flight.