Zechariah 6
1 And once again I lifted mine eyes, and looked, and lo! four chariots, coming forward from between two mountains, —now, the mountains, were mountains of copper.
Then I looked again and I saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains that looked like bronze.
2 In the first chariot, were red horses, —and, in the second chariot, black horses;
The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses,
3 and, in the third chariot, white horses, —and, in the fourth chariot, horses spotted, deep red.
the third by white horses, and the fourth by dappled grey horses—all of them strong horses.
4 Then began I, and said, unto the messenger who was speaking with me, —What are these, my lord?
“My lord, what are these?” I asked the angel I was talking to.
5 And the messenger answered, and said unto me, —These, are the four winds of the heavens, coming forward after each hath presented itself near the Lord of all the earth.
“They are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth,” the angel explained.
6 They in whose chariot are the black horses, are going forth into the land of the North, and, the white, have gone forth after them, —and, the spotted, have gone forth into the land of the South;
The chariot with the black horses went north, the one with the white horses went west, and the one with the dappled grey horses went south.
7 and, the deep red, have come forward and sought to go their way, that they might journey to and fro in the land, so he said, Go your way, journey to and fro in the land, —and they journeyed to and fro in the land.
When the strong horses came out they were eager to set off to patrol the earth. And he said, “Go and patrol the earth!” So they left and patrolled the earth.
8 Then made he outcry beside me, and spake unto me, saying, —See, these who are going forth into the land of the North, have settled my spirit in the land of the North.
Then the angel called to me, saying, “Look! Those who went north have achieved what the Lord wanted in the land of the north.”
9 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:
Then the Lord gave me another message:
10 Take of them of the exile, of Heldai, and of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, —then shalt, thou thyself, enter, on that day, yea thou shalt enter the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah, [with them] who have come in out of Babylon;
Take the gifts brought by Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, the exiles returning from Babylon, and go immediately to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
11 yea thou shalt take silver and gold, and make a crown, —and set [it] upon the head of Jehoshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest;
Use the silver and the gold they brought to make a crown, and place it on the head of Josiah, son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12 then shalt thou speak unto him, saying, Thus, speaketh Yahweh of hosts, saying, —Lo! a man! Bud, is his name, and, out of his own place, shall he bud forth, and shall build the temple of Yahweh;
Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: Look! The man who is called the Branch will grow from where he is and will build the Lord's Temple.
13 Yea, he, shall build the temple of Yahweh, and, he, shall bear the honour, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, —and shall become a priest upon his throne, and, the counsel of peace, shall be between the two of them.
He is the one who will build the Lord's Temple, and he will be the one given the honor to rule from both the royal throne and the priestly throne and there will be peace and understanding between the two roles.
14 But, the crown, shall belong to Heldai and to Tobiah and to Jedaiah, and to Hen son of Zephaniah, —for a memorial in the temple of Yahweh.
The crown will be kept in the Temple of the Lord as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Joshua the son of Zephaniah.
15 And, they who are afar off, shall come in and shall build at the temple of Yahweh, so shall yea know that, Yahweh of hosts, hath sent me unto you, —and it shall come to pass if ye will, indeed hearken, unto the voice of Yahweh your God.
People who live in distant lands will come and build the Temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty sent me to you. This will happen if you listen attentively to what the Lord tells you.
