The Lord Calls His People Back

1 In the eighth month [^COctober/November on our calendar; the Hebrew month of Cheshvan] of the second year Darius was king [^C520 bc; Darius was king of Persia 522–486 bc], the ·Lord spoke his word [^Lword of the Lord came] to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, who was the son of Iddo [^Ca priestly family; Neh. 12:4, 16]. The Lord said, ² “The Lord was very angry with your ·ancestors [fathers]. ³ So tell the people: This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says: ‘Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts]. ⁴ Don’t be like your ·ancestors [fathers]. ·In the past the [The former/earlier] prophets said to them: This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says: ‘·Stop [Turn from] your evil ways and evil actions.’ But they wouldn’t listen or pay attention to me, says the Lord. ⁵ Your ·ancestors [fathers] ·are dead [^Lwhere are they…?], and those prophets ·didn’t [^Ldo they…?] live forever. ⁶ I commanded my words and ·laws [statutes] to my servants the prophets, and ·they preached to [or they came true to; ^Ldid they not overtake…?] your ·ancestors [fathers], who returned to me. They said, ‘The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] did as he ·said he would [determined to do]. He punished us for ·the way we lived and for what we did [^Lour ways and deeds].’”

The Vision of the Horses

⁷ It was on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month [^CFebruary 15, 519 bc], which is the month of Shebat, in Darius’s second year as king [v. 1]. The ·Lord spoke his word [^Lword of the Lord came] to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, who was the son of Iddo.

⁸ During the night I had a vision. I saw a man ·riding [or sitting on] a red horse. He was standing among some myrtle trees in a ravine, with red, brown, and white horses behind him [Rev. 6].

⁹ I asked, “What are these, ·sir [or my lord]?”

The ·angel [messenger] who was talking with me answered, “I’ll show you what they are.”

¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord ·sent [^Lsent to walk/patrol] through all the earth.”

¹¹ Then they spoke to the ·Lord’s angel [or angel of the Lord; ^Can OT figure closely identified with the Lord himself; Gen. 16:11; 22:11–12], who was standing among the myrtle trees. They said, “We have ·gone [walked; patrolled] through all the earth, and [^Llook; ^Tbehold] everything is calm and quiet.”

¹² Then the ·Lord’s angel [angel of the Lord; v. 11] asked, “Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], how long will ·it be before you show [^Lyou withhold] mercy to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? You have been angry with them for seventy years now.” ¹³ So the Lord answered the ·angel [messenger] who was talking with me, and his words were comforting and good.

¹⁴ Then the ·angel [messenger] who was talking to me said to me, “Announce this: This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says: ‘I ·have a strong love [am very jealous/zealous; Nah. 1:2] for Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And I am very angry with the nations that feel so ·safe [secure; at ease]. I was only a little angry at them, but they ·made things worse [added to/increased the calamity/disaster].’

¹⁶ “So this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy. My ·Temple [^Lhouse] will be rebuilt,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], ‘and the measuring line will be ·used to rebuild [^Lstretched out over] Jerusalem.’

¹⁷ “Also announce: This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says: ‘My towns will ·be rich again [^Loverflow with prosperity]. The Lord will comfort Jerusalem again, and I will again choose Jerusalem.’”

The Vision of the Horns

¹⁸ Then I looked up and saw four ·animal horns [^Lhorns; ^Canimal horns symbolized strength]. ¹⁹ I asked the ·angel [messenger] who was talking with me, “What are these?”

He said, “These are the horns that scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

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

He answered, “They have come to ·scare [terrify] and throw down the horns. These horns scattered the people of Judah so that no one could even lift up his head. These horns stand for the nations that ·attacked [^Llifted up their horns against] the people of Judah and scattered them.”