Zechariah 1

1 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,

In the eighth month in the second year of Darius, this message of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo:

2 The Lord has been very angry with your fathers:

The Lord was furious with your ancestors.

3 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.

So tell the people this message of the Lord of hosts: ‘Return to me,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will return to you’ says the Lord of hosts.

4 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.

‘Do not be like your ancestors to whom the former prophets cried, “The Lord of hosts says to turn now from your evil ways, and from your evil deeds”. They did not heed nor listen to me,’ says the Lord.

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

‘Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

6 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.

But did not my words and my statutes with which I charged my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? And they repented and said, “Just as the Lord of hosts planned to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our deeds, so he has dealt with us.”’

7 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,

In the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, this message of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo:

8 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.

I saw in the night a man on a red horse, among the myrtle trees that were in the valley-bottom. Behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white.

9 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.

Then said I, ‘My Lord, what are these?’ And the messenger who was talking with me said, ‘I will show you what they are.’

10 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.

And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘They are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’

11 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.

And the riders answered the messenger of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, ‘We have gone up and down through the world and behold, all the earth is still and at peace.’

12 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?

Then the messenger of the Lord said, ‘Lord of hosts, how long will you have no pity for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah with which you have been angry for seventy years?’

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

And the Lord answered the messenger who was talking with me with kind and comforting words.

14 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.

So the messenger who was talking with me said to me, ‘Proclaim now that the Lord of hosts says: I am deeply concerned for Jerusalem.

15 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.

But I am deeply angry with the arrogant, complacent nations. I was only a little angry with Israel but they made the suffering worse.

16 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.

Therefore, says the Lord, I am turning to show mercy to Jerusalem. My temple will be rebuilt in it, says the Lord of hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.

17 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.

Proclaim again: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities will again overflow with prosperity and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’

18 And lifting up my eyes I saw four horns.

Now I looked up and saw four horns.

19 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.

I said to the messenger who was talking with me, ‘What are these?’ He answered, ‘These are the horns which scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.’

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

Then the Lord showed me four smiths.

21 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.

I said, ‘What are these coming to do?’ He answered, ‘The horns scattered Judah, so that no one dared lift their head. But the smiths have come to terrify them, to crush the horns of the nations which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter its people.’