Zechariah 1

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the LORD’s word came to the prophet Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, 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 was very displeased with your fathers.

The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.

3 Therefore tell them, the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to me,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the LORD of Hosts.

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

4 Don’t you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: The LORD of Hosts says, ‘Return now from your evil ways and from your evil doings;’ but they didn’t hear nor listen to me, says 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, do they live forever?

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, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts determined to do to us, according to our ways and according to our practices, so he has 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 twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the LORD’s word came to the prophet Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, 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 had a vision in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood amongst the myrtle trees that were in a ravine; and behind him there were 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 Then I asked, ‘My lord, what are these?’” The angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”

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

10 The man who stood amongst the myrtle trees answered, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to go back and forth 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 They reported to the LORD’s angel who stood amongst the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked back and forth through the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and in peace.”

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 LORD’s angel replied, “O LORD of Hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have 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 The LORD answered the angel who talked with me with kind and comforting words.

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

14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘The LORD of Hosts says: “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 I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, but they added to 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 Therefore the LORD says: “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and a line shall be stretched out 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 further, saying, ‘The LORD of Hosts says: “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion, and will again choose 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 I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns.

Then I looked and saw four animal horns.

19 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” He answered 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 The LORD showed me four craftsmen.

Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.

21 Then I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter 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.”