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Subject: messages from the Lord. These messages from the Lord were given to Zechariah (son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo the prophet) in early November of the second year of the reign of King Darius.

The Lord Almighty was very angry with your fathers. But he will turn again and favor you if only you return to him. Don’t be like your fathers were! The earlier prophets pled in vain with them to turn from all their evil ways.

“Come, return to me,” the Lord God said. But no, they wouldn’t listen; they paid no attention at all.

5-6 Your fathers and their prophets are now long dead, but remember the lesson they learned, that God’s Word endures! It caught up with them and punished them. Then at last they repented.

“We have gotten what we deserved from God,” they said. “He has done just what he warned us he would.”

The following February, still in the second year of the reign of King Darius, another message from the Lord came to Zechariah (son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo the prophet), in a vision in the night: I saw a Man sitting on a red horse that was standing among the myrtle trees beside a river. Behind him were other horses, red and bay and white, each with its rider.[a]

An angel stood beside me, and I asked him, “Sir, what are all those horses for?”

“I’ll tell you,” he replied.

10 Then the rider on the red horse—he was the Angel of the Lord—answered me, “The Lord has sent them to patrol the earth for him.”

11 Then the other riders reported to the Angel of the Lord, “We have patrolled the whole earth, and everywhere there is prosperity and peace.”

12 Upon hearing this, the Angel of the Lord prayed this prayer: “O Lord Almighty, for seventy years your anger has raged against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. How long will it be until you again show mercy to them?”

13 And the Lord answered the angel who stood beside me, speaking words of comfort and assurance.

14 Then the angel said, “Shout out this message from the Lord Almighty: ‘Don’t you think I care about what has happened to Judah and Jerusalem? I am as jealous as a husband for his captive wife. 15 I am very angry with the heathen nations sitting around at ease, for I was only a little displeased with my people, but the nations afflicted them far beyond my intentions.’ 16 Therefore the Lord declares: ‘I have returned to Jerusalem filled with mercy; my Temple will be rebuilt,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and so will all Jerusalem.’ 17 Say it again: ‘The Lord Almighty declares that the cities of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Jerusalem and bless her and live in her.’ ”

18 Then I looked and saw four animal horns!

19 “What are these?” I asked the angel.

He replied, “They represent the four world powers that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

20 Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths.

21 “What have these men come to do?” I asked.

The angel replied, “They have come to take hold of the four horns that scattered Judah so terribly, and to pound them on the anvil and throw them away.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 1:8 each with its rider, implied.

A Call to Return to the Lord

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius,(A) the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah(B) son of Berekiah,(C) the son of Iddo:(D)

“The Lord was very angry(E) with your ancestors. Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return(F) to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’(G) says the Lord Almighty. Do not be like your ancestors,(H) to whom the earlier prophets(I) proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways(J) and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me,(K) declares the Lord.(L) Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not my words(M) and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?(N)

“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve,(O) just as he determined to do.’”(P)

The Man Among the Myrtle Trees

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.(Q)

During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red(R) horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.(S)

I asked, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel(T) who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”(U)

10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.”(V)

11 And they reported to the angel of the Lord(W) who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”(X)

12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long(Y) will you withhold mercy(Z) from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah,(AA) which you have been angry with these seventy(AB) years?” 13 So the Lord spoke(AC) kind and comforting words(AD) to the angel who talked with me.(AE)

14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous(AF) for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure.(AG) I was only a little angry,(AH) but they went too far with the punishment.’(AI)

16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return(AJ) to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line(AK) will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.(AL)

17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort(AM) Zion and choose(AN) Jerusalem.’”(AO)

Four Horns and Four Craftsmen

18 Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. 19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”

He answered me, “These are the horns(AP) that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”

20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are these coming to do?”

He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns(AQ) against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”[a](AR)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 1:21 In Hebrew texts 1:18-21 is numbered 2:1-4.