Category: Zechariah

Introduction

The Book of Zechariah

has two distinct parts: 1)

Chapters 1–8

Prophecies from the prophet Zechariah, dated at various times in the years from 520 to 518

b.c.

These are largely in the form of visions, and deal with the restoration of Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Temple, the purification of God’s people, and the messianic age to come. 2)

Chapters 9–14

A collection of messages about the expected Messiah and the final judgment.

Outline of Contents

Messages of warning and hope (1.1—8.23)

Judgment on Israel’s neighbors (9.1-8)

Future prosperity and peace (9.9—14.21)

The Lord Calls His People to Return to Him

1 In the eighth month of the second year that Darius was emperor of Persia, theLordgave this message to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo.

2 TheLordAlmighty told Zechariah to say to the people, “I, theLord, was very angry with your ancestors,

3 but now I say to you, ‘Return to me, and I will return to you.

4 Do not be like your ancestors. Long ago the prophets gave them my message, telling them not to live evil, sinful lives any longer. But they would not listen to me or obey me.

5 Your ancestors and those prophets are no longer alive.

6 Through my servants the prophets I gave your ancestors commands and warnings, but they disregarded them and suffered the consequences. Then they repented and acknowledged that I, theLordAlmighty, had punished them as they deserved and as I had determined to do.’”

The Prophet’s Vision of the Horses

7 In the second year that Darius was emperor, on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat), theLordgave me a message in a vision at night.

8 I saw someone riding a red horse. He had stopped among some myrtle trees in a valley, and behind him were other horses—red, dappled, and white.

9 I asked him, “Sir, what do these horses mean?”

He answered, “I will show you what they mean.

10 TheLordsent them to go and inspect the earth.”

11 They reported to the angel: “We have been all over the world and have found that the whole world lies helpless and subdued.”

12 Then the angel said, “AlmightyLord, you have been angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah for seventy years now. How much longer will it be before you show them mercy?”

13 TheLordanswered the angel with comforting words,

14 and the angel told me to proclaim what theLordAlmighty had said: “I have a deep love and concern for Jerusalem, my holy city,

15 and I am very angry with the nations that enjoy quiet and peace. For while I was holding back my anger against my people, those nations made the sufferings of my people worse.

16 So I have come back to Jerusalem to show mercy to the city. My Temple will be restored, and the city will be rebuilt.”

17 The angel also told me to proclaim: “TheLordAlmighty says that his cities will be prosperous again and that he will once again help Jerusalem and claim the city as his own.”

The Vision of the Horns

18 In another vision I saw four ox horns.

19 I asked the angel that had been speaking to me, “What do these horns mean?”

He answered, “They stand for the world powers that have scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

20 Then theLordshowed me four workers with hammers.

21 I asked, “What have they come to do?”

He answered, “They have come to terrify and overthrow the nations that completely crushed the land of Judah and scattered its people.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/1-ef355a643cea58bab9039e840bbe6bc2.mp3?version_id=68—

The Vision of the Measuring Line

1 In another vision I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.

2 “Where are you going?” I asked.

“To measure Jerusalem,” he answered, “to see how long and how wide it is.”

3 Then I saw the angel who had been speaking to me step forward, and another angel came to meet him.

4 The first one said to the other, “Run and tell that young man with the measuring line that there are going to be so many people and so much livestock in Jerusalem that it will be too big to have walls.

5 TheLordhas promised that he himself will be a wall of fire around the city to protect it and that he will live there in all his glory.”

The Exiles Are Called to Come Home

6-7 TheLordsaid to his people, “I scattered you in all directions. But now, you exiles, escape from Babylonia and return to Jerusalem.

8 Anyone who strikes you strikes what is most precious to me.”

So theLordAlmightysent me with this message for the nations that had plundered his people:

9 “TheLordhimself will fight against you, and you will be plundered by the people who were once your servants.”

When this happens, everyone will know that theLordAlmighty sent me.

10 TheLordsaid, “Sing for joy, people of Jerusalem! I am coming to live among you!”

11 At that time many nations will come to theLordand become his people. He will live among you, and you will know that he has sent me to you.

12 Once again Judah will be the special possession of theLordin his sacred land, and Jerusalem will be the city he loves most of all.

13 Be silent, everyone, in the presence of theLord, for he is coming from his holy dwelling place.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/2-0ba51218780399db4862d7bc7e798d4d.mp3?version_id=68—

The Prophet’s Vision of the High Priest

1 In another vision theLordshowed me the High Priest Joshua standing before the angel of theLord. And there beside Joshua stood Satan,ready to bring an accusation against him.

2 The angel of theLordsaid to Satan, “May theLordcondemn you, Satan! May theLord, who loves Jerusalem, condemn you. This man is like a stick snatched from the fire.”

3 Joshua was standing there, wearing filthy clothes.

4 The angel said to his heavenly attendants, “Take away the filthy clothes this man is wearing.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have taken away your sin and will give you new clothes to wear.”

5 He commanded the attendants to puta clean turban on Joshua’s head. They did so, and then they put the new clothes on him while the angel of theLordstood there.

6 Then the angel told Joshua that

7 theLordAlmighty had said: “If you obey my laws and perform the duties I have assigned you, then you will continue to be in charge of my Temple and its courts, and I will hear your prayers, just as I hear the prayers of the angels who are in my presence.

8 Listen then, Joshua, you who are the High Priest; and listen, you fellow priests of his, you that are the sign of a good future: I will reveal my servant, who is called The Branch!

9 I am placing in front of Joshua a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, and in a single day I will take away the sin of this land.

10 When that day comes, each of you will invite your neighbor to come and enjoy peace and security, surrounded by your vineyards and fig trees.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/3-7dd0bc8f36e028bb15b4e87dad3d3990.mp3?version_id=68—

The Vision of the Lampstand

1 The angel who had been speaking to me came again and roused me as if I had been sleeping.

2 “What do you see?” he asked.

“A lampstand made of gold,” I answered. “At the top is a bowl for the oil. On the lampstand are seven lamps, each one with places for seven wicks.

3 There are two olive trees beside the lampstand, one on each side of it.”

4 Then I asked the angel, “What do these things stand for, sir?”

5 “Don’t you know?” he asked me.

“No, I don’t, sir,” I replied.

10b The angel said to me, “The seven lamps are the seven eyes of theLord, which see all over the earth.”

11 Then I asked him, “What do the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand mean?

12 And what is the meaning of the two olive branches beside the two gold pipes from which the olive oil pours?”

13 He asked me, “Don’t you know?”

“No, I don’t, sir,” I answered.

14 Then he said, “These are the two men whom God has chosen and anointed to serve him, the Lord of the whole earth.”

God’s Promise to Zerubbabel

6 The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from theLord: “You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit.

7 Obstacles as great as mountains will disappear before you. You will rebuild the Temple, and as you put the last stone in place, the people will shout, ‘Beautiful, beautiful!’”

8 Another message came to me from theLord.

9 He said, “Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of the Temple, and he will finish the building. When this happens, my people will know that it is I who sent you to them.

10a They are disappointed because so little progress is being made. But they will see Zerubbabel continuing to build the Temple, and they will be glad.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/4-b5381da467359d4402552504d1308eef.mp3?version_id=68—

The Vision of the Flying Scroll

1 I looked again, and this time I saw a scroll flying through the air.

2 The angel asked me what I saw. I answered, “A scroll flying through the air; it is thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.”

3 Then he said to me, “On it is written the curse that is to go out over the whole land. On one side of the scroll it says that every thief will be removed from the land; and on the other side it says that everyone who tells lies under oath will also be taken away.

4 TheLordAlmighty says that he will send this curse out, and it will enter the house of every thief and the house of everyone who tells lies under oath. It will remain in their houses and leave them in ruins.”

The Vision of the Woman in the Basket

5 The angel appeared again and said, “Look! Something else is coming!”

6 “What is it?” I asked.

He replied, “It is a basket, and it stands for the sinof the whole land.”

7 The basket had a lid made of lead. As I watched, the lid was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman!

8 The angel said, “This represents wickedness.” Then he pushed her down into the basket and put the lid back down.

9 I looked up and saw two women flying toward me with powerful wings like those of a stork. They picked up the basket and flew off with it.

10 I asked the angel, “Where are they taking it?”

11 He answered, “To Babylonia, where they will build a temple for it. When the temple is finished, the basket will be placed there to be worshiped.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/5-829838226f8d80e8d5ea10cdc20dca3c.mp3?version_id=68—

The Vision of the Four Chariots

1 I had another vision. This time I saw four chariots coming out from between two bronze mountains.

2 The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses,

3 the third by white horses, and the fourth by dappled horses.

4 Then I asked the angel, “Sir, what do these chariots mean?”

5 He answered, “These are the four winds; they have just come from the presence of the Lord of all the earth.”

6 The chariot pulled by the black horses was going north to Babylonia, the white horses were going to the west, and the dappled horses were going to the country in the south.

7 As the dappled horses came out, they were impatient to go and inspect the earth. The angel said, “Go and inspect the earth!”—and they did.

8 Then the angel cried out to me, “The horses that went north to Babylonia have quieted theLord’s anger.”

The Command to Crown Joshua

9 TheLordgave me this message.

10 He said, “Take the gifts given by the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, and go at once to the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. All of them have returned from exile in Babylonia.

11 Make a crown out of the silver and gold they have given, and put it on the head of the High Priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.

12 Tell him that theLordAlmighty says, ‘The man who is called The Branch will flourish where he is and rebuild theLord’s Temple.

13 He is the one who will build it and receive the honor due a king, and he will rule his people. A priest will stand by his throne, and they will work together in peace and harmony.’

14 The crown will be a memorial in theLord’s Temple in honor of Heldai,Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah.”

15 Men who live far away will come and help to rebuild the Temple of theLord. And when it is rebuilt, you will know that theLordAlmighty sent me to you. This will all happen if you fully obey the commands of theLordyour God.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/6-803c8cf6d7a6bb659517e54140556cf1.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord Condemns Insincere Fasting

1 In the fourth year that Darius was emperor, on the fourth day of the ninth month (the month of Kislev), theLordgave me a message.

2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to the Temple of theLordAlmighty to pray for theLord’s blessing

3 and to ask the priests and the prophets this question: “Should we continue to mourn because of the destruction of the Temple, by fasting in the fifth month as we have done for so many years now?”

4 This is the message of theLordthat came to me.

5 He said, “Tell the people of the land and the priests that when they fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during these seventy years, it was not in honor of me.

6 And when they ate and drank, it was for their own satisfaction.”

7 This is what theLordsaid through the earlier prophets at the time when Jerusalem was prosperous and filled with people and when there were many people living not only in the towns around the city but also in the southern region and in the western foothills.

Disobedience, the Cause of Exile

8 TheLordgave this message to Zechariah:

9 “Long ago I gave these commands to my people: ‘You must see that justice is done, and must show kindness and mercy to one another.

10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners who live among you, or anyone else in need. And do not plan ways of harming one another.’

11 “But my people stubbornly refused to listen. They closed their minds

12 and made their hearts as hard as rock. Because they would not listen to the teaching which I sent through the prophets who lived long ago, I became very angry.

13 Because they did not listen when I spoke, I did not answer when they prayed.

14 Like a storm I swept them away to live in foreign countries. This good land was left a desolate place, with no one living in it.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/7-32edc0e22bb179dde8d54b4911102c58.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord Promises to Restore Jerusalem

1 TheLordAlmighty gave this message to Zechariah:

2 “I have longed to help Jerusalem because of my deep love for her people, a love which has made me angry with her enemies.

3 I will return to Jerusalem, my holy city, and live there. It will be known as the faithful city, and the hill of theLordAlmightywill be called the sacred hill.

4 Once again old men and women, so old that they use canes when they walk, will be sitting in the city squares.

5 And the streets will again be full of boys and girls playing.

6 “This may seem impossible to those of the nation who are now left, but it’s not impossible for me.

7 I will rescue my people from the lands where they have been taken,

8 and will bring them back from east and west to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, ruling over them faithfully and justly.

9 “Have courage! You are now hearing the same words the prophets spoke at the time the foundation was being laid for rebuilding my Temple.

10 Before that time no one could afford to hire either men or animals, and no one was safe from enemies. I turned people against one another.

11 But now I am treating the survivors of this nation differently.

12 They will plant their crops in peace. Their vines will bear grapes, the earth will produce crops, and there will be plenty of rain. I will give all these blessings to the people of my nation who survive.

13 People of Judah and Israel! In the past foreigners have cursed one another by saying, ‘May the same disasters fall on you that fell on Judah and Israel!’ But I will save you, and then those foreigners will say to one another, ‘May you receive the same blessings that came to Judah and Israel!’ So have courage and don’t be afraid.”

14 TheLordAlmighty says, “When your ancestors made me angry, I planned disaster for them and did not change my mind, but carried out my plans.

15 But now I am planning to bless the people of Jerusalem and Judah. So don’t be afraid.

16 These are the things you should do: Speak the truth to one another. In the courts give real justice—the kind that brings peace.

17 Do not plan ways of harming one another. Do not give false testimony under oath. I hate lying, injustice, and violence.”

18 TheLordAlmighty gave this message to Zechariah:

19 “The fasts held in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become festivals of joy and gladness for the people of Judah. You must love truth and peace.”

20 TheLordAlmighty says, “The time is coming when people from manycities will come to Jerusalem.

21 Those from one city will say to those from another, ‘We are going to worship theLordAlmighty and pray for his blessing. Come with us!’

22 Manypeoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship theLordAlmighty and to pray for his blessing.

23 In those days ten foreigners will come to one Jew and say, ‘We want to share in your destiny, because we have heard that God is with you.’”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/8-df7b1ff6d5c93625b5a00dae4a7ee97b.mp3?version_id=68—

Judgment on Neighboring Nations

1 This is theLord’s message:

He has decreed punishment for the land of Hadrach and for the city of Damascus. Not only the tribes of Israel but also the capital of Syria belong to theLord.

2 Hamath, which borders on Hadrach, also belongs to him, and so do the cities of Tyre and Sidon, with all their skill.

3 Tyre has built fortifications for herself and has piled up so much silver and gold that it is as common as dirt!

4 But the Lord will take away everything she has. He will throw her wealth into the sea, and the city will be burned to the ground.

5 The city of Ashkelon will see this and be afraid. The city of Gaza will see it and suffer great pain. So will Ekron, and her hopes will be shattered. Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will be left deserted.

6 People of mixed race will live in Ashdod. TheLordsays, “I will humble all these proud Philistines.

7 They will no longer eat meat with blood in it, or other forbidden food. All the survivors will become part of my people and be like a clan in the tribe of Judah. Ekron will become part of my people, as the Jebusitesdid.

8 I will guard my land and keep armies from passing through it. I will not allow tyrants to oppress my people any more. I have seen how my people have suffered.”

The Future King

9 Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion!

Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem!

Look, your king is coming to you!

He comes triumphant and victorious,

but humble and riding on a donkey—

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 TheLordsays,

“I will remove the war chariots from Israel

and take the horses from Jerusalem;

the bows used in battle will be destroyed.

Your king will make peace among the nations;

he will rule from sea to sea,

from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.”

The Restoration of God’s People

11 TheLordsays,

“Because of my covenant with you

that was sealed by the blood of sacrifices,

I will set your people free—

free from the waterless pit of exile.

12 Return, you exiles who now have hope;

return to your place of safety.

Now I tell you that I will repay you twice over

with blessing for all you have suffered.

13 I will use Judah like a soldier’s bow

and Israel like the arrows.

I will use the men of Zion like a sword,

to fight the men of Greece.”

14 TheLordwill appear above his people;

he will shoot his arrows like lightning.

The SovereignLordwill sound the trumpet;

he will march in the storms from the south.

15 TheLordAlmighty will protect his people,

and they will destroy their enemies.

They will shout in battle like drunk men

and will shed the blood of their enemies;

it will flow like the blood of a sacrifice

poured on the altar from a bowl.

16 When that day comes, theLordwill save his people,

as a shepherd saves his flock from danger.

They will shine in his land

like the jewels of a crown.

17 How good and beautiful the land will be!

The young people will grow strong on its grain and wine.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ZEC/9-23f360d6e597eb712838088e4e4086ef.mp3?version_id=68—