Zechariah 1
1
The Lord Wants His People to Return to Him
1A message from the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet. Zechariah was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Iddo. It was the eighth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia. Here is what Zechariah said.
2The Lord who rules over all was very angry with your people of long ago. 3And now he says to us, “Return to me. Then I will return to you,” announces the Lord. 4“Do not be like your people of long ago. The earlier prophets gave them my message. I said, ‘Stop doing what is evil. Turn away from your sinful practices.’ But they would not listen to me. They would not pay any attention,” announces the Lord. 5“Where are those people now? And what about my prophets? Do they live forever? 6I commanded my servants the prophets what to say. I told them what I planned to do. But your people refused to obey me. So I had to punish them.
“Then they had a change of heart. They said, ‘The Lord who rules over all has punished us because of how we have lived. He was fair and right to do that. He has done to us just what he decided to do.’ ”
A Vision of a Horseman Among Some Myrtle Trees
7A message from the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet. Zechariah was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Iddo. The message came during the second year that Darius was king. It was the 24th day of the 11th month. That’s the month of Shebat.
8I had a vision at night. I saw a man sitting on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a valley. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9An angel was talking with me. I asked him, “Sir, what are these?”
He answered, “I will show you what they are.”
10Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke. He said, “They are the messengers the Lord has sent out. He told them to go all through the earth.”
11They brought a report to the angel of the Lord. He was standing among the myrtle trees. They said to him, “We have gone all through the earth. We’ve found the whole world enjoying peace and rest.”
12Then the angel of the Lord spoke up. He said, “Lord, you rule over all. How long will you keep from showing your tender love to Jerusalem? How long will you keep it from the towns of Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years.” 13So the Lord replied with kind and comforting words. He spoke them to the angel who talked with me.
14Then the angel said, “Announce this message. Say, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “I am very jealous for my people in Jerusalem and Zion. 15And I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry with my people. But the nations went too far and tried to wipe them out.”
16“ ‘So the Lord says, “I will return to Jerusalem. I will show its people my tender love. My temple will be rebuilt there. Workers will use a measuring line when they rebuild Jerusalem,” announces the Lord.
17“ ‘He says, “My towns will be filled with good things once more. I will comfort Zion. And I will choose Jerusalem again.” ’ ”
A Vision of Four Horns and Four Skilled Workers
18Then I looked up and saw four animal horns. 19I spoke to the angel who was talking with me. “What are these horns?” I asked.
He said, “They are the powerful nations that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
20Then the Lord showed me four skilled workers. 21I asked, “What are they coming to do?”
He answered, “The horns are the powerful nations that scattered the people of Judah. That made Judah helpless. But these four skilled workers have come to terrify the horns. The workers will destroy the power of those nations. Those nations had used their power to scatter Judah’s people.”
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Zechariah 1: NIrV
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Zechariah 1
1
The people change
1In the eighth month in the second year of Darius, the LORD’s word came to Zechariah the prophet, Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson:
2The LORD was terribly angry with your ancestors.
3But you must say to the people,
The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Return to me,
says the LORD of heavenly forces,
and I will return to you, says the LORD of heavenly forces.
4Don’t be like your ancestors to whom the former prophets preached:
The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds.
But they didn’t listen;
they didn’t draw near to me.
5So where are your ancestors?
Do the prophets live forever?
6In fact, didn’t my words and laws,
which I gave to my servants, the prophets,
pursue your ancestors?
And then the people changed their hearts, and they said,
The LORD of heavenly forces has treated us according to
what we have done,#1.6 Or our ways and our actions
exactly as he planned.
First night vision
7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat#1.7 January–February) in the second year of Darius, the LORD’s word came to Zechariah the prophet, Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson:
8Tonight I looked and saw a man riding on a red horse,
which was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley;
and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
9I said, “What are these, sir?”
The messenger speaking with me said,
“I will show you what they are.”
10The man standing among the myrtles responded,
“These are the ones the LORD sent to patrol the earth.”
11Then they responded to the LORD’s messenger,
who was standing among the myrtles,
“We have patrolled the earth. The whole earth is peaceful and quiet.”
12Then the LORD’s messenger, who was speaking with me, said:
“LORD of heavenly forces,
how long will you withhold compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah,
with whom you have been angry these seventy years?”
13The LORD responded to the messenger who was speaking with me
with kind and compassionate words.
14The messenger speaking with me called out,
“This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says:
I care passionately about Jerusalem and Zion.
15And I am exceedingly angry with those carefree nations.
Though I was somewhat angry, they added to the violence.”
16Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion.
My house will be built in it, says the LORD of heavenly forces.
Let a measuring line be stretched over Jerusalem.
17“Call out again,
The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims:
My cities will again overflow with prosperity.
The LORD will again show compassion to Zion
and will again choose Jerusalem.”
Second night vision
18 # 1.18 2:1 in Heb Then I looked up and saw four horns.
19I said to the messenger speaking with me,
“What are these?”
He said to me,
“These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20Then the LORD showed me four metalworkers.
21I said,
“What are they coming to do?”
And he said,
“These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head.
The metalworkers have come to terrify them and to destroy the horns of the nations, those who were attacking the land of Judah with#1.21 Or those lifting their horns toward Judah their horns to scatter it.”
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