Zechariah 1
1
1The 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:#1:1. There are quotes within quotes at the beginning of Zechariah, and if they were all identified then the result would be an unwieldy set of quote marks within quote marks—in fact there would be five degrees of quotations. Consequently here (and in most of the Minor Prophets) quote marks have generally not been used except where they help identify other speakers.
2The Lord was very angry#1:2. “Angry.” In many of the prophetic books of the Old Testament God is spoken of as being angry. But it should be noted that this is a description of God's opposition and intense hostility to evil and rebellion, rather than anger as experienced by human beings which is very self-referenced, emotionally-based, and even irrational. God's anger is a rational response to wickedness, and is based on his desire to save and heal, rather than to exact retributive vengeance. His focus is on making sure people understand the terrible danger they are in by pursuing evil. with your forefathers. 3So tell the people this: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.#1:3. Literally, “The Lord Almighty says, Return to me, declares the Lord Almighty, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.” The repetition has been removed for easier reading. 4You 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. 5Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, did they live forever? 6But didn't all my instructions and warnings#1:6 Literally, “regulations.” 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.”
7The 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:
8During 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.#1:8. “With their riders.” Implied, see verse 11. 9I asked him, “My lord, what are these?” The angel I was talking to replied, “I will show you.” 10The man who was there among the myrtle trees said, “These are the ones the Lord has sent out to patrol the earth.” 11The riders#1:11. Implied. 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.#1:11. “Pacified.” In the context this “peace” has more to do with being forced into submission and defeat than a time of harmony and tranquility. It could be compared to the imposed “Pax Romana” of later times in which the Romans asserted their control over the nations they had defeated militarily and brought “peace.””
12Then 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?”
13So the Lord replied to the angel I was talking to with kind and comforting words.
14Then the angel I was talking with told me, “This is what you are to announce. The Lord Almighty says this: I am jealously protective#1:14. “Jealously protective”: To be justly concerned over loved ones. of Jerusalem and Mount Zion, 15and I am extremely angry with the arrogant nations who think they are secure. I was only a little angry with my people,#1:15. “With my people” implied. but they made the punishment far worse.#1:15. In other words God had allowed the heathen nations to punish his people because of their sins, but these nations went too far in their attacks.
16Therefore 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,#1:16. “As well as the city”: literally, “a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.” declares the Lord Almighty.
17Announce 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.”
18Then I looked and saw four animal horns.#1:18. Horns in prophetic writings are symbolic of powers. 19“What are these?” I asked the angel I was talking to.
“These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem,” he replied.
20Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.#1:20. Probably blacksmiths or metal-workers. 21“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.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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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