Zechariah 1-7

Zechariah 1

¹In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

²The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.

³Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Return unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

⁴Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

⁵Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

⁶But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? and they turned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

⁷Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

⁸I saw in the night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white.

⁹Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.

¹⁰And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.

¹¹And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

¹²Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

¹³And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words, even comfortable words.

¹⁴So the angel that talked with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

¹⁵And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

¹⁶Therefore thus saith the LORD: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem.

¹⁷Cry yet again, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

¹⁸And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

¹⁹And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

²⁰And the LORD shewed me four smiths.

²¹Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.

Zechariah 2

¹And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.

²Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.

³And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,

⁴and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and cattle therein.

⁵For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.

⁶Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.

⁷Ho Zion, escape, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.

⁸For thus saith the LORD of hosts: After glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

⁹For, behold, I will shake mine hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.

¹⁰Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.

¹¹And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

¹²And the LORD shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

¹³Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD: for he is waked up out of his holy habitation.

Zechariah 3

¹And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary.

²And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

³Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

⁴And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel.

⁵And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the LORD stood by.

⁶And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,

⁷Thus saith the LORD of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou also shalt judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee a place of access among these that stand by.

⁸Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men which are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.

⁹For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

¹⁰In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

Zechariah 4

¹And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.

²And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof:

³and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

⁴And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

⁵Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

⁶Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

⁷Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the head stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.

⁸Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

⁹The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.

¹⁰For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, even these seven, which are the eyes of the LORD; they run to and fro through the whole earth.

¹¹Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?

¹²And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden oil out of themselves?

¹³And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

¹⁴Then said he, These are the two sons of oil, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

Zechariah 5

¹Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying roll.

²And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

³Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be purged out on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be purged out on the other side according to it.

⁴I will cause it to go forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

⁵Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.

⁶And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance in all the land:

⁷(and behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead:) and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah.

⁸And he said, This is Wickedness; and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah: and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

⁹Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings; now they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.

¹⁰Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?

¹¹And he said unto me, To build her an house in the land of Shinar: and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place.

Zechariah 6

¹And again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.

²In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

³and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled bay horses.

⁴Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?

⁵And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four winds of heaven, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶The chariot wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grisled went forth toward the south country.

⁷And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.

⁸Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, they that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

⁹And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

¹⁰Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah; and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, whither they are come from Babylon;

¹¹yea, take of them silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest;

¹²and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

¹³even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

¹⁴And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.

¹⁵And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Zechariah 7

¹And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev.

²Now they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favour of the LORD,

³and to speak unto the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

⁴Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

⁵Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

⁶And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

⁷Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?

⁸And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

⁹Thus hath the LORD of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassion every man to his brother:

¹⁰and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

¹¹But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

¹²Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by his spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore came there great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

¹³And it came to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear; so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said the LORD of hosts;

¹⁴but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.