Zechariah 1

¹In 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,

²"The Lord was very displeased with your fathers.

³Therefore tell them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Return to me,' says the Lord of hosts, 'and I will return to you,' says the Lord of hosts.

⁴Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;' but they did not hear, nor listen to me, says the Lord.

⁵Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

⁶But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did not they overtake your fathers? "Then they repented and said, 'Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.'"

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is 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,

⁸"I had a vision in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in a ravine; and behind him there were red, brown, and white horses.

⁹Then I asked, 'My lord, what are these?'" The angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you what these are."

¹⁰The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, "They are the ones the Lord has sent to go back and forth through the earth."

¹¹They reported to the angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have walked back and forth through the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and in peace."

¹²Then the angel of the Lord replied, "O Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?"

¹³The Lord answered the angel who talked with me with kind and comforting words.

¹⁴So the angel who talked with me said to me, "Proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: "I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

¹⁵I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but only a little angry, but they added to the calamity."

¹⁶Therefore thus says the Lord: "I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it," says the Lord of hosts, "and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem."'

¹⁷"Proclaim further, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: "My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem."'"

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

¹⁹I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these?" He answered me, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

²⁰The Lord showed me four craftsmen.

²¹Then I asked, "What are these coming to do?" He said, "These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it."

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; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁴Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn 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 take hold of your fathers? and they returned 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 Sebat, 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 by 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 were there red horses, speckled, 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 and comfortable words.

¹⁴So the angel that communed 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 heathen 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 upon Jerusalem.

¹⁷Cry yet, 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.

¹⁸Then lifted I 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 carpenters.

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