CHAPTER 1
In the eighth
month
of the second
year
of the reign of Darius,
the word
of the LORD
came
to
the prophet
Zechariah
son
of Berechiah,
the son
of Iddo,
saying:
So tell the people
that this is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
‘Return
to Me,’
declares
the LORD
of Hosts,
‘and I will return
to you,’
says
the LORD
of Hosts.
Do not
be
like your forefathers,
to whom
the former
prophets
proclaimed:
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
‘Turn
now
from your evil
ways
and your evil
deeds.’
But they did not
listen
or pay attention
to Me,
declares
the LORD.
But
did not
My words
and My statutes,
which
I commanded
My servants
the prophets,
overtake
your forefathers?
They repented
and said,
‘Just as
the LORD
of Hosts
purposed
to do
to us
according to our ways
and deeds,
so
He has done
to us.'"
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 Berechiah,
the son
of Iddo.
I looked out
into the night
and saw
a man
riding
on
a red
horse
that
stood
among
the myrtle trees
in the hollow.
Behind him
were red,
sorrel,
and white
horses.
“What
are these,
my lord?”
I asked.
And the angel
who was speaking
with me
replied,
“I
will show
you what
they are.”
Then the man
standing
among
the myrtle trees
explained,
“They
are the ones
the LORD
has sent
to patrol
the earth.”
And the riders answered
the Angel
of the LORD
who stood
among
the myrtle trees,
“We have patrolled
the earth,
and behold,
all
the earth
is at rest
and tranquil.”
Then the Angel
of the LORD
said,
“How long,
O LORD
of Hosts,
will You
withhold mercy
from Jerusalem
and the cities
of Judah,
with which
You have been angry
these
seventy
years?”
Then the angel
who was speaking
with me said,
“Proclaim
this word:
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
‘I am very
jealous
for Jerusalem
and Zion,
but I
am fiercely angry
with
the nations
that are at ease.
For
I
was a little
angry,
but they
have increased
the calamity.’
Therefore,
this is what
the LORD
says:
‘I will return
to Jerusalem
with mercy,
and there
My house
will be rebuilt,
declares
the LORD
of Hosts,
and a measuring line
will be stretched out
over
Jerusalem.’
Proclaim
further:
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
‘My cities
will again
overflow
with prosperity;
the LORD
will again
comfort
Zion
and
choose
Jerusalem.’”
So I asked
the angel
who was speaking
with me,
“What
are these?”
And he told
me,
“These
are the horns
that
scattered
Judah,
Israel,
and Jerusalem.”
“What
are these
coming
to do?”
I asked.
And He replied,
“These
are the horns
that
scattered
Judah
so that
no
one
could raise
his head;
but the craftsmen
have come
to terrify
them
and throw down
these horns
of the nations
that lifted up
their horns
against
the land
of Judah
to scatter it.”