Zechariah
Zechariah 1:1** ](verseid:38.1.1) In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,
Zechariah 1:2** ](verseid:38.1.2) “The LORD was very angry with your fathers.
Zechariah 1:3** ](verseid:38.1.3) “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 1:4** ](verseid:38.1.4) “Do 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 deeds.”’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 1:5** ](verseid:38.1.5) “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
Zechariah 1:6** ](verseid:38.1.6) “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
A Vision of a Horseman
Zechariah 1:7** ](verseid:38.1.7) On 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:
Zechariah 1:8** ](verseid:38.1.8) I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.
Zechariah 1:9** ](verseid:38.1.9) Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”
Zechariah 1:10** ](verseid:38.1.10) And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”
Zechariah 1:11** ](verseid:38.1.11) So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Zechariah 1:12** ](verseid:38.1.12) Then the angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?”
Zechariah 1:13** ](verseid:38.1.13) The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words.
Zechariah 1:14** ](verseid:38.1.14) So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.
Zechariah 1:15** ](verseid:38.1.15) “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.”
Zechariah 1:16** ](verseid:38.1.16) ‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’
Zechariah 1:17** ](verseid:38.1.17) “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”
A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen
Zechariah 1:18** ](verseid:38.1.18) Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns.
Zechariah 1:19** ](verseid:38.1.19) So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Zechariah 1:20** ](verseid:38.1.20) Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
Zechariah 1:21** ](verseid:38.1.21) I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up theirhorns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
Zechariah 2:1** ](verseid:38.2.1) Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
Zechariah 2:2** ](verseid:38.2.2) So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.”
Zechariah 2:3** ](verseid:38.2.3) And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him,
Zechariah 2:4** ](verseid:38.2.4) and said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it.
Zechariah 2:5** ](verseid:38.2.5) ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
Zechariah 2:6** ](verseid:38.2.6) “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 2:7** ](verseid:38.2.7) “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”
Zechariah 2:8** ](verseid:38.2.8) For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.
Zechariah 2:9** ](verseid:38.2.9) “For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
Zechariah 2:10** ](verseid:38.2.10) “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 2:11** ](verseid:38.2.11) “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
Zechariah 2:12** ](verseid:38.2.12) “The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.
Zechariah 2:13** ](verseid:38.2.13) “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Zechariah 3:1** ](verseid:38.3.1) Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
Zechariah 3:2** ](verseid:38.3.2) The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Zechariah 3:3** ](verseid:38.3.3) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.
Zechariah 3:4** ](verseid:38.3.4) He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
Zechariah 3:5** ](verseid:38.3.5) Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.
Zechariah 3:6** ](verseid:38.3.6) And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,
Zechariah 3:7** ](verseid:38.3.7) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.
Zechariah 3:8** ](verseid:38.3.8) ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch.
Zechariah 3:9** ](verseid:38.3.9) ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
Zechariah 3:10** ](verseid:38.3.10) ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Zechariah 4:1** ](verseid:38.4.1) Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.
Zechariah 4:2** ](verseid:38.4.2) He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;
Zechariah 4:3** ](verseid:38.4.3) also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
Zechariah 4:4** ](verseid:38.4.4) Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?”
Zechariah 4:5** ](verseid:38.4.5) So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Zechariah 4:6** ](verseid:38.4.6) Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 4:7** ](verseid:38.4.7) ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
Zechariah 4:8** ](verseid:38.4.8) Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Zechariah 4:9** ](verseid:38.4.9) “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
Zechariah 4:10** ](verseid:38.4.10) “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.”
Zechariah 4:11** ](verseid:38.4.11) Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”
Zechariah 4:12** ](verseid:38.4.12) And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”
Zechariah 4:13** ](verseid:38.4.13) So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Zechariah 4:14** ](verseid:38.4.14) Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Zechariah 5:1** ](verseid:38.5.1) Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.
Zechariah 5:2** ](verseid:38.5.2) And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
Zechariah 5:3** ](verseid:38.5.3) Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.
Zechariah 5:4** ](verseid:38.5.4) “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
A Vision of a Woman in a Basket
Zechariah 5:5** ](verseid:38.5.5) Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”
Zechariah 5:6** ](verseid:38.5.6) I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land
Zechariah 5:7** ](verseid:38.5.7) (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”
Zechariah 5:8** ](verseid:38.5.8) Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.
Zechariah 5:9** ](verseid:38.5.9) Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.
Zechariah 5:10** ](verseid:38.5.10) I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”
Zechariah 5:11** ](verseid:38.5.11) Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
Zechariah 6:1** ](verseid:38.6.1) Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.
Zechariah 6:2** ](verseid:38.6.2) With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,
Zechariah 6:3** ](verseid:38.6.3) with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.
Zechariah 6:4** ](verseid:38.6.4) Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
Zechariah 6:5** ](verseid:38.6.5) The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,
Zechariah 6:6** ](verseid:38.6.6) with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country.
Zechariah 6:7** ](verseid:38.6.7) “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.
Zechariah 6:8** ](verseid:38.6.8) Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”
The Crown and the Temple
Zechariah 6:9** ](verseid:38.6.9) The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,
Zechariah 6:10** ](verseid:38.6.10) “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.
Zechariah 6:11** ](verseid:38.6.11) “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
Zechariah 6:12** ](verseid:38.6.12) “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD.
Zechariah 6:13** ](verseid:38.6.13) “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’
Zechariah 6:14** ](verseid:38.6.14) “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
Zechariah 6:15** ](verseid:38.6.15) “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
Zechariah 7:1** ](verseid:38.7.1) In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which isChislev.
Zechariah 7:2** ](verseid:38.7.2) Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD,
Zechariah 7:3** ](verseid:38.7.3) speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”
Zechariah 7:4** ](verseid:38.7.4) Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zechariah 7:5** ](verseid:38.7.5) “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
Zechariah 7:6** ](verseid:38.7.6) ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?
Zechariah 7:7** ](verseid:38.7.7) ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Zechariah 7:8** ](verseid:38.7.8) Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying,
Zechariah 7:9** ](verseid:38.7.9) “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother;
Zechariah 7:10** ](verseid:38.7.10) and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’
Zechariah 7:11** ](verseid:38.7.11) “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing.
Zechariah 7:12** ](verseid:38.7.12) “They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 7:13** ](verseid:38.7.13) “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts;
Zechariah 7:14** ](verseid:38.7.14) “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Zechariah 8:1** ](verseid:38.8.1) Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
Zechariah 8:2** ](verseid:38.8.2) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’
Zechariah 8:3** ](verseid:38.8.3) “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be calledthe Holy Mountain.’
Zechariah 8:4** ](verseid:38.8.4) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age.
Zechariah 8:5** ](verseid:38.8.5) ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’
Zechariah 8:6** ](verseid:38.8.6) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 8:7** ](verseid:38.8.7) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west;
Zechariah 8:8** ](verseid:38.8.8) and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’
Zechariah 8:9** ](verseid:38.8.9) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.
Zechariah 8:10** ](verseid:38.8.10) ‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.
Zechariah 8:11** ](verseid:38.8.11) ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 8:12** ](verseid:38.8.12) ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
Zechariah 8:13** ](verseid:38.8.13) ‘It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
Zechariah 8:14** ](verseid:38.8.14) “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I have not relented,
Zechariah 8:15** ](verseid:38.8.15) so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
Zechariah 8:16** ](verseid:38.8.16) ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
Zechariah 8:17** ](verseid:38.8.17) ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.”
Zechariah 8:18** ](verseid:38.8.18) Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zechariah 8:19** ](verseid:38.8.19) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’
Zechariah 8:20** ](verseid:38.8.20) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities.
Zechariah 8:21** ](verseid:38.8.21) ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.”
Zechariah 8:22** ](verseid:38.8.22) ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’
Zechariah 8:23** ](verseid:38.8.23) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
Zechariah 9:1** ](verseid:38.9.1) The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD),
Zechariah 9:2** ](verseid:38.9.2) And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
Zechariah 9:3** ](verseid:38.9.3) For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets.
Zechariah 9:4** ](verseid:38.9.4) Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire.
Zechariah 9:5** ](verseid:38.9.5) Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
Zechariah 9:6** ](verseid:38.9.6) And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
Zechariah 9:7** ](verseid:38.9.7) And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite.
Zechariah 9:8** ](verseid:38.9.8) But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
Zechariah 9:9** ](verseid:38.9.9) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:10** ](verseid:38.9.10) I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Zechariah 9:11** ](verseid:38.9.11) As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Zechariah 9:12** ](verseid:38.9.12) Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.
Zechariah 9:13** ](verseid:38.9.13) For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
The Lord Will Save His People
Zechariah 9:14** ](verseid:38.9.14) Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south.
Zechariah 9:15** ](verseid:38.9.15) The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificialbasin, Drenched like the corners of the altar.
Zechariah 9:16** ](verseid:38.9.16) And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land.
Zechariah 9:17** ](verseid:38.9.17) For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
Zechariah 10:1** ](verseid:38.10.1) Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain—The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.
Zechariah 10:2** ](verseid:38.10.2) For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
Zechariah 10:3** ](verseid:38.10.3) “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
Zechariah 10:4** ](verseid:38.10.4) “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, allof them together.
Zechariah 10:5** ](verseid:38.10.5) “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemyin the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame.
Zechariah 10:6** ](verseid:38.10.6) “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
Zechariah 10:7** ](verseid:38.10.7) “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.
Zechariah 10:8** ](verseid:38.10.8) “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before.
Zechariah 10:9** ](verseid:38.10.9) “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back.
Zechariah 10:10** ](verseid:38.10.10) “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them.
Zechariah 10:11** ](verseid:38.10.11) “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart.
Zechariah 10:12** ](verseid:38.10.12) “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 11:1** ](verseid:38.11.1) Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars.
Zechariah 11:2** ](verseid:38.11.2) Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down.
Zechariah 11:3** ](verseid:38.11.3) There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
Zechariah 11:4** ](verseid:38.11.4) Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomedto slaughter.
Zechariah 11:5** ](verseid:38.11.5) “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.
Zechariah 11:6** ](verseid:38.11.6) “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.”
Zechariah 11:7** ](verseid:38.11.7) So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock.
Zechariah 11:8** ](verseid:38.11.8) Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.
Zechariah 11:9** ](verseid:38.11.9) Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”
Zechariah 11:10** ](verseid:38.11.10) I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
Zechariah 11:11** ](verseid:38.11.11) So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.
Zechariah 11:12** ](verseid:38.11.12) I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
Zechariah 11:13** ](verseid:38.11.13) Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, thatmagnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Zechariah 11:14** ](verseid:38.11.14) Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Zechariah 11:15** ](verseid:38.11.15) The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
Zechariah 11:16** ](verseid:38.11.16) “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
Zechariah 11:17** ](verseid:38.11.17) “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
Zechariah 12:1** ](verseid:38.12.1) The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him,
Zechariah 12:2** ](verseid:38.12.2) “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
Zechariah 12:3** ](verseid:38.12.3) “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.
Zechariah 12:4** ](verseid:38.12.4) “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
Zechariah 12:5** ](verseid:38.12.5) “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’
Zechariah 12:6** ](verseid:38.12.6) “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:7** ](verseid:38.12.7) “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah.
Zechariah 12:8** ](verseid:38.12.8) “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.
Zechariah 12:9** ](verseid:38.12.9) “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Him Whom They Have Pierced
Zechariah 12:10** ](verseid:38.12.10) “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:11** ](verseid:38.12.11) “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
Zechariah 12:12** ](verseid:38.12.12) “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;
Zechariah 12:13** ](verseid:38.12.13) the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;
Zechariah 12:14** ](verseid:38.12.14) all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.
Zechariah 13:1** ](verseid:38.13.1) “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.
Idolatry Cut Off
Zechariah 13:2** ](verseid:38.13.2) “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
Zechariah 13:3** ](verseid:38.13.3) “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies.
Zechariah 13:4** ](verseid:38.13.4) “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;
Zechariah 13:5** ](verseid:38.13.5) but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’
Zechariah 13:6** ](verseid:38.13.6) “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’
The Shepherd Struck
Zechariah 13:7** ](verseid:38.13.7) “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
Zechariah 13:8** ](verseid:38.13.8) “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it.
Zechariah 13:9** ](verseid:38.13.9) “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
Zechariah 14:1** ](verseid:38.14.1) Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
Zechariah 14:2** ](verseid:38.14.2) For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
Zechariah 14:3** ](verseid:38.14.3) Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
Zechariah 14:4** ](verseid:38.14.4) In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
Zechariah 14:5** ](verseid:38.14.5) You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
Zechariah 14:6** ](verseid:38.14.6) In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle.
Zechariah 14:7** ](verseid:38.14.7) For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
Zechariah 14:8** ](verseid:38.14.8) And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
Zechariah 14:9** ](verseid:38.14.9) And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Zechariah 14:10** ](verseid:38.14.10) All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.
Zechariah 14:11** ](verseid:38.14.11) People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
Zechariah 14:12** ](verseid:38.14.12) Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.
Zechariah 14:13** ](verseid:38.14.13) It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another.
Zechariah 14:14** ](verseid:38.14.14) Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.
Zechariah 14:15** ](verseid:38.14.15) So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.
Zechariah 14:16** ](verseid:38.14.16) Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:17** ](verseid:38.14.17) And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
Zechariah 14:18** ](verseid:38.14.18) If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:19** ](verseid:38.14.19) This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:20** ](verseid:38.14.20) In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar.
Zechariah 14:21** ](verseid:38.14.21) Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
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Zechariah
Zechariah 1:1** ](verseid:38.1.1) In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,
Zechariah 1:2** ](verseid:38.1.2) “The LORD was very angry with your fathers.
Zechariah 1:3** ](verseid:38.1.3) “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 1:4** ](verseid:38.1.4) “Do 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 deeds.”’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 1:5** ](verseid:38.1.5) “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
Zechariah 1:6** ](verseid:38.1.6) “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
Zechariah 1:7** ](verseid:38.1.7) On 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:
Zechariah 1:8** ](verseid:38.1.8) I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.
Zechariah 1:9** ](verseid:38.1.9) Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”
Zechariah 1:10** ](verseid:38.1.10) And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”
Zechariah 1:11** ](verseid:38.1.11) So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Zechariah 1:12** ](verseid:38.1.12) Then the angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?”
Zechariah 1:13** ](verseid:38.1.13) The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words.
Zechariah 1:14** ](verseid:38.1.14) So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.
Zechariah 1:15** ](verseid:38.1.15) “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.”
Zechariah 1:16** ](verseid:38.1.16) ‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’
Zechariah 1:17** ](verseid:38.1.17) “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”
Zechariah 1:18** ](verseid:38.1.18) Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns.
Zechariah 1:19** ](verseid:38.1.19) So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Zechariah 1:20** ](verseid:38.1.20) Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
Zechariah 1:21** ](verseid:38.1.21) I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up theirhorns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
Zechariah 2:1** ](verseid:38.2.1) Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
Zechariah 2:2** ](verseid:38.2.2) So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.”
Zechariah 2:3** ](verseid:38.2.3) And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him,
Zechariah 2:4** ](verseid:38.2.4) and said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it.
Zechariah 2:5** ](verseid:38.2.5) ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
Zechariah 2:6** ](verseid:38.2.6) “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 2:7** ](verseid:38.2.7) “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”
Zechariah 2:8** ](verseid:38.2.8) For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.
Zechariah 2:9** ](verseid:38.2.9) “For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
Zechariah 2:10** ](verseid:38.2.10) “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 2:11** ](verseid:38.2.11) “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
Zechariah 2:12** ](verseid:38.2.12) “The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.
Zechariah 2:13** ](verseid:38.2.13) “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Zechariah 3:1** ](verseid:38.3.1) Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
Zechariah 3:2** ](verseid:38.3.2) The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Zechariah 3:3** ](verseid:38.3.3) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.
Zechariah 3:4** ](verseid:38.3.4) He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
Zechariah 3:5** ](verseid:38.3.5) Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.
Zechariah 3:6** ](verseid:38.3.6) And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,
Zechariah 3:7** ](verseid:38.3.7) “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.
Zechariah 3:8** ](verseid:38.3.8) ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch.
Zechariah 3:9** ](verseid:38.3.9) ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
Zechariah 3:10** ](verseid:38.3.10) ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Zechariah 4:1** ](verseid:38.4.1) Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.
Zechariah 4:2** ](verseid:38.4.2) He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;
Zechariah 4:3** ](verseid:38.4.3) also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
Zechariah 4:4** ](verseid:38.4.4) Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?”
Zechariah 4:5** ](verseid:38.4.5) So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Zechariah 4:6** ](verseid:38.4.6) Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 4:7** ](verseid:38.4.7) ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
Zechariah 4:8** ](verseid:38.4.8) Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Zechariah 4:9** ](verseid:38.4.9) “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
Zechariah 4:10** ](verseid:38.4.10) “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.”
Zechariah 4:11** ](verseid:38.4.11) Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”
Zechariah 4:12** ](verseid:38.4.12) And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”
Zechariah 4:13** ](verseid:38.4.13) So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Zechariah 4:14** ](verseid:38.4.14) Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Zechariah 5:1** ](verseid:38.5.1) Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.
Zechariah 5:2** ](verseid:38.5.2) And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
Zechariah 5:3** ](verseid:38.5.3) Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.
Zechariah 5:4** ](verseid:38.5.4) “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
Zechariah 5:5** ](verseid:38.5.5) Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”
Zechariah 5:6** ](verseid:38.5.6) I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land
Zechariah 5:7** ](verseid:38.5.7) (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”
Zechariah 5:8** ](verseid:38.5.8) Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.
Zechariah 5:9** ](verseid:38.5.9) Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.
Zechariah 5:10** ](verseid:38.5.10) I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”
Zechariah 5:11** ](verseid:38.5.11) Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
Zechariah 6:1** ](verseid:38.6.1) Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.
Zechariah 6:2** ](verseid:38.6.2) With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,
Zechariah 6:3** ](verseid:38.6.3) with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.
Zechariah 6:4** ](verseid:38.6.4) Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
Zechariah 6:5** ](verseid:38.6.5) The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,
Zechariah 6:6** ](verseid:38.6.6) with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country.
Zechariah 6:7** ](verseid:38.6.7) “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.
Zechariah 6:8** ](verseid:38.6.8) Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”
Zechariah 6:9** ](verseid:38.6.9) The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,
Zechariah 6:10** ](verseid:38.6.10) “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.
Zechariah 6:11** ](verseid:38.6.11) “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
Zechariah 6:12** ](verseid:38.6.12) “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD.
Zechariah 6:13** ](verseid:38.6.13) “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’
Zechariah 6:14 “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
Zechariah 6:15 “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
Message #3 - Zechariah 7-8
- 1-3 Should we cry?
- 4-7 What is your motivation?
- 8-14 Disobedience brings discipline
Zechariah 7:1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.
MES | NOMBRE | MES ACTUAL~ | FIESTA |
---|---|---|---|
1st | ABID, or NISAN | Abril | Pascua |
2nd | Ziv, or Lyar | Mayo | |
3rd | SIVAN | Junio | Pentecostes |
4th | Tammuz | Julio | |
5th | Ab | Agosto | |
6th | Elul | Septiembre | |
7th | ETHANIM | Octubre | Tabernaculos |
8th | Vul | Noviembre | |
9th | CHISLEV | Diciembre | Dedicación |
10th | Tebeth | Enero | |
11th | Shebar | Febrero | |
12th | ADAR | Marzo | Purim |
Zechariah 7:2 Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD,
Zechariah 7:3 speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”
The people were morning the effect rather than the cause of the destruction of the temple. It was an empty ritual, nothing more.
The tenth day of the fifth month was kept a fast, being the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer 52:12-14 ). They ask, Should the fast be continued, now that the temple and city are being restored? 2 Kings 25:8-9
Zechariah 7:4 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zechariah 7:5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? (on months, see 8:19)
seventy - Jer 29:10
for Me - Hos 9:4
Zechariah 7:6 ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? Luk 5:33
Zechariah 7:7 ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’” Isa 55:6-7
Zechariah 7:8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying,
Zechariah 7:9 “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother;
True justice - John 7:24, Jer 21:12
Compassion - Hos 12:6
Zechariah 7:10 and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ Isa 1:17
Zechariah 7:11 “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. Zechariah 7:12 *“They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from *
the LORD of hosts. Neh 9:17, Jer 5:3
Zechariah 7:13 “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts; Matt 13:15, Mal 2:2,
Isa 65:2 “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,
Zechariah 7:14 “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.” Eze 36:19,
Zechariah 8:1-17 Prediction of Jerusalem’s restoration#
God will return one day to Zion. God has a glorious future for the Temple and Jerusalem then - it’s a good thing to be motivated for in the present.
Zechariah 8:1 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
Zechariah 8:2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ 2 Cor 11:2, Exo 20:5
Zechariah 8:2b with great wrath - God is jealous for Jerusalem and angry with the nations. Zech 1:14-15
A note about Israel vs Church#
Israel will undergo wrath or indignation (the tribulation) which will in turn be used to bring Israel to believe. The Church (those justified) will be delivered from God’s wrath (The tribulation) Rom 5:9, 1 Thes 1:10, 1 Thes 5:9,
Zechariah 8:3 “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ Zech 14:20-21, Eze 48:35, Jer 33:16
I will dwell vs I will return - Zech 2:10-11, Zech 8:3
Zechariah 8:3 CIty of truth - city of truth or fidelidy
Zechariah 8:4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. 1 Sam 2:31, Jer 31:13, 24
Zechariah 8:5 ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ Jer 31:27
Zechariah 8:6 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 8:7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west;
Zechariah 8:8 and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’
Zechariah 8:9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.
Zechariah 8:10 ‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.
Zechariah 8:11 ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 8:12 ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
Zechariah 8:13 ‘It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
Zechariah 8:14 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I have not relented,
Zechariah 8:15 so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
Zechariah 8:16 ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
Zechariah 8:16b Speak truth…judge with truth… God had said this to the previous generations as well. Zech 7:9-10,
and to us! Eph 4:25,
Therefore… Eph 4:25 -> So… 4:17 -> Therefore… 4:1 -> 3:14
Eph 5:9 - fruit of light is goodness, righteousness and truth
Zechariah 8:16c in your gates - where courts of justice were held. Deut. 21:19
Zechariah 8:17 ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.” Rom 7:7
Zechariah 8:18 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zechariah 8:19 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’
fourth - Jerusalem was destroyed
fifth - Temple was burned
Seventh -
Tenth - 10/10 siege began during Zedekiah
Jer 31:12-13
Sadness to joy - Est 8:17, Est 9:22
Col 1:9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Col 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Col 1:11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Zechariah 8:20 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities.
Zechariah 8:21 ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.”
Zechariah 8:22 ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ Rev 15:4
Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
In Conclusion#
The people from Betel had come to ask whether they should continue fasting and lamenting the destruction of the temple. The temple had been destroyed because Israel had not trusted God. Their motives were clearly misplaced. They were lamenting the consequences of their actions rather their actions themselves. It was empty rote.
God has purposed one day to do good to Israel but first Israel is to be in a state of belief in the land. God will change their sorrow to joy. Fasting to gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore they are to love truth and peace in the present. They are to trust God in the present knowing the promises of better days to come.
Zechariah 9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD),
Zechariah 9:2 And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
Zechariah 9:3 For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets.
Zechariah 9:4 Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire.
Zechariah 9:5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
Zechariah 9:6 And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
Zechariah 9:7** ](verseid:38.9.7) And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite.
Zechariah 9:8** ](verseid:38.9.8) But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.
Zechariah 9:9** ](verseid:38.9.9) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:10** ](verseid:38.9.10) I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Zechariah 9:11** ](verseid:38.9.11) As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Zechariah 9:12** ](verseid:38.9.12) Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.
Zechariah 9:13** ](verseid:38.9.13) For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
Zechariah 9:14** ](verseid:38.9.14) Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south.
Zechariah 9:15** ](verseid:38.9.15) The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificialbasin, Drenched like the corners of the altar.
Zechariah 9:16** ](verseid:38.9.16) And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land.
Zechariah 9:17** ](verseid:38.9.17) For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
Zechariah 10:1** ](verseid:38.10.1) Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain—The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.
Zechariah 10:2** ](verseid:38.10.2) For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
Zechariah 10:3** ](verseid:38.10.3) “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
Zechariah 10:4** ](verseid:38.10.4) “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, allof them together.
Zechariah 10:5** ](verseid:38.10.5) “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemyin the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame.
Zechariah 10:6** ](verseid:38.10.6) “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
Zechariah 10:7** ](verseid:38.10.7) “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.
Zechariah 10:8** ](verseid:38.10.8) “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before.
Zechariah 10:9** ](verseid:38.10.9) “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back.
Zechariah 10:10** ](verseid:38.10.10) “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them.
Zechariah 10:11** ](verseid:38.10.11) “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart.
Zechariah 10:12** ](verseid:38.10.12) “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 11:1** ](verseid:38.11.1) Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars.
Zechariah 11:2** ](verseid:38.11.2) Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down.
Zechariah 11:3** ](verseid:38.11.3) There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
Zechariah 11:4** ](verseid:38.11.4) Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomedto slaughter.
Zechariah 11:5** ](verseid:38.11.5) “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.
Zechariah 11:6** ](verseid:38.11.6) “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.”
Zechariah 11:7** ](verseid:38.11.7) So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock.
Zechariah 11:8** ](verseid:38.11.8) Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.
Zechariah 11:9** ](verseid:38.11.9) Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”
Zechariah 11:10** ](verseid:38.11.10) I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
Zechariah 11:11** ](verseid:38.11.11) So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.
Zechariah 11:12** ](verseid:38.11.12) I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
Zechariah 11:13** ](verseid:38.11.13) Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, thatmagnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Zechariah 11:14** ](verseid:38.11.14) Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Zechariah 11:15** ](verseid:38.11.15) The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
Zechariah 11:16** ](verseid:38.11.16) “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
Zechariah 11:17** ](verseid:38.11.17) “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
Zechariah 12:1** ](verseid:38.12.1) The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him,
Zechariah 12:2** ](verseid:38.12.2) “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
Zechariah 12:3** ](verseid:38.12.3) “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.
Zechariah 12:4** ](verseid:38.12.4) “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
Zechariah 12:5** ](verseid:38.12.5) “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’
Zechariah 12:6** ](verseid:38.12.6) “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:7** ](verseid:38.12.7) “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah.
Zechariah 12:8** ](verseid:38.12.8) “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.
Zechariah 12:9** ](verseid:38.12.9) “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:10** ](verseid:38.12.10) “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:11** ](verseid:38.12.11) “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
Zechariah 12:12** ](verseid:38.12.12) “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;
Zechariah 12:13** ](verseid:38.12.13) the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;
Zechariah 12:14** ](verseid:38.12.14) all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.
Zechariah 13:1** ](verseid:38.13.1) “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.
Zechariah 13:2** ](verseid:38.13.2) “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
Zechariah 13:3** ](verseid:38.13.3) “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies.
Zechariah 13:4** ](verseid:38.13.4) “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;
Zechariah 13:5** ](verseid:38.13.5) but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’
Zechariah 13:6** ](verseid:38.13.6) “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’
Zechariah 13:7** ](verseid:38.13.7) “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
Zechariah 13:8** ](verseid:38.13.8) “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it.
Zechariah 13:9** ](verseid:38.13.9) “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
Zechariah 14:1** ](verseid:38.14.1) Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
Zechariah 14:2** ](verseid:38.14.2) For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
Zechariah 14:3** ](verseid:38.14.3) Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
Zechariah 14:4** ](verseid:38.14.4) In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
Zechariah 14:5** ](verseid:38.14.5) You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
Zechariah 14:6** ](verseid:38.14.6) In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle.
Zechariah 14:7** ](verseid:38.14.7) For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
Zechariah 14:8** ](verseid:38.14.8) And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
Zechariah 14:9** ](verseid:38.14.9) And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Zechariah 14:10** ](verseid:38.14.10) All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.
Zechariah 14:11** ](verseid:38.14.11) People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
Zechariah 14:12** ](verseid:38.14.12) Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.
Zechariah 14:13** ](verseid:38.14.13) It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another.
Zechariah 14:14** ](verseid:38.14.14) Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.
Zechariah 14:15** ](verseid:38.14.15) So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.
Zechariah 14:16** ](verseid:38.14.16) Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:17** ](verseid:38.14.17) And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
Zechariah 14:18** ](verseid:38.14.18) If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:19** ](verseid:38.14.19) This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:20** ](verseid:38.14.20) In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar.
Zechariah 14:21** ](verseid:38.14.21) Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
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Zechariah
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying, “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “Do 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 deeds.”’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD. “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’” On 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.” So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.” Then the angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?” The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” ‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’” Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up theirhorns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.” Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.” And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, and said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD. “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. “For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me. “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. “The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.” Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’” Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’” Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.” Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.” Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.” Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening. Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.” Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.” The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon. “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God. In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?” Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’” Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. “They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts; “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.” Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be calledthe Holy Mountain.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built. ‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another. ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. ‘It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’ “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I have not relented, so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear! ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.” Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire. Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited. And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword. Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificialbasin, Drenched like the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain—The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, allof them together. “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemyin the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomedto slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD. I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, thatmagnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.” The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
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Zechariah
(Chronology)
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying, “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “Do 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 deeds.”’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD. “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
On 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.
Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.” So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Then the angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?” The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” ‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up theirhorns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.” And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, and said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD. “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. “For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me. “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. “The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’” Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.”
Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”
Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.
Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.” The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon. “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. “They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts; “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts *will be called *the Holy Mountain.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built. ‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another. ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. ‘It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’ “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I have not relented, so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear! ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire. Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited. And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword. Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificialbasin, Drenched like the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain—The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, allof them together. “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemyin the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD. I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.” The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
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Zechariah possible: Israel’s Messiah to the World (Phrased)
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying, “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “Do 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 deeds.”’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD. “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
On 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.
Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.” So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Then the angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?” The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” ‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up theirhorns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
Then I lifted up my eyes
and looked,
and behold,
there was a man
with a measuring line in his hand.
So I said, “Where are you going?”
And he said to me,
“To measure Jerusalem,
to see how wide it is
and how long it is.”
And behold, the angel
who was speaking with me was going out,
and another angel was coming out to meet him,
and said to him,
“Run, speak to that young man,
saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls
because of the multitude of men and cattle within it.
‘For I,’ declares the LORD,
‘will be a wall of fire around her,
and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
“Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD,
“for I have dispersed you
as the four winds of the heavens,”
declares the LORD.
“Ho, Zion!
Escape,
you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”
For thus says the LORD of hosts,
“After glory He has sent me
against the nations
which plunder you,
for he who touches you,
touches the apple of His eye.
“For behold,
I will wave My hand over them
so that they will be plunder for their slaves.
Then you will know
that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
“Sing for joy and be glad,
O daughter of Zion;
for behold I am coming
and I will dwell in your midst,”
declares the LORD.
“Many nations will join themselves
to the LORD
in that day
and will become My people.
Then I will dwell in your midst,
and you will know
that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
“The LORD will possess Judah
as His portion in the holy land,
and will again choose Jerusalem.
“Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD;
for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you— indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’” Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel— these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.”
Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”
Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.
Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.” The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon. “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. “They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts; “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion,
yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’
“Thus says the LORD,
‘I will return to Zion
and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth,
and the mountain of the LORD of hosts
*will be called *the Holy Mountain.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Old men and old women will again sit
in the streets of Jerusalem,
each man with his staff in his hand
because of age.
‘And the streets of the city
will be filled with boys and girls
playing in its streets.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘If it is too difficult
in the sight of the remnant of this people
in those days,
will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to save My people
from the land of the east
and from the land of the west;
and I will bring them back
and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem;
and they shall be My people,
and I will be their God
in truth and righteousness.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Let your hands be strong,
you who are listening
in these days
to these words
from the mouth of the prophets,
those who spoke
in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid,
to the end that the temple might be built.
‘For before those days there was no wage
for man or any wage for animal;
and for him
who went out
or came in
there was no peace
because of his enemies,
and I set all men one against another.
‘But now I will not treat the remnant
of this people
as in the former days,
’ declares the LORD of hosts.
‘For there will be peace
for the seed:
the vine will yield its fruit,
the land will yield its produce
and the heavens will give their dew;
and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
‘It will come about
that just as you were a curse
among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
so I will save you
that you may become a blessing.
Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
“For thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you
when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
says the LORD of hosts,
‘and I have not relented,
so I have again purposed
in these days
to do good to Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear!
‘These are the things which you should do:
speak the truth to one another;
judge with truth and judgment
for peace in your gates.
‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart
against another,
and do not love perjury;
for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire. Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited. And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword. Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificialbasin, Drenched like the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain— The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, allof them together. “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD. I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.” The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
=========================
Zechariah#
possible title: Israel’s Messiah to the Nations#
(Phrased + Indented)#
• Why study the book of Zechariah? • It reveals behind the scenes Spiritual warfare • It reveals Israel’s future kingdom and the nations under it. • Because God remembers his promises (Meaning of Zechariah). • IT is because of the prophecy of this book and teh book of Haggai that the temple was rebuilt. Ezra 4:5 After 70 years God raised up a man named Cyrus to open the door to Juda’s return to the land. This return happened in three waves. The first wave was led by a man named Zerubabel. This first return is the time at which the prophecy of Zechariah is given. Upon Juda’s return to Jerusalem they first rebuilt the altar of the Lord and reestablished sacrifices. Also, the Temple was to be rebuilt with donations of material and money (Ezra 3:1–7) but up to the point where Zechariah’s prophecy begins, only the foundation has been laid. Opposition from the Samaritans has delayed the work about 18 years.
Message #1 - God’s call to return#
In the eighth month
of the second year of Darius, Cyrus was the first Persian king to allow Judah to return. After about 15 years, Darius I, the persian succeeded Cyrus and reigned from 29 September 522 B.C. to October 486 B.C. This places the writing of Zechariah in 520 B.C..
Perhaps Scripture dates the writing of the book in reference to a Gentile king because Daniel's "times of the Gentiles" is now underway. No Jewish king is reigning. Jerusalem is being trampled underfoot of Gentile nations. Daniel 9:24-27, Luke 21:24
the word of the LORD came
to Zechariah the prophet, Zechariah is a young prophet. He never saw the first temple as he was a baby when he come from Babylon. Some scholars ascribe Psalm 137 and 138 to Zechariah.
the son of Berechiah, evidently Zechariah's father. Perhaps he died young as he is not mentioned in Ezra.
the son of Iddo Iddo is Zechariah's grandfather. He is listed among the priests who returned from Babylon. Nehemiah 12:1, 4
saying,
“The LORD was very angry
with your fathers. the fathers are those who were deported to Babylon
“Therefore say to them, (the people who have returned)
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,
This is most important to notice. Who is the LORD of hosts?
THE LORD OF HOSTS: (Heb: Yahweh Sabaoth Tza-va (צבא) or Almighty of armies used 235 times in the Bible). Tza-va (צבא) is the word for army – and what today refers to the Israeli Defence Force. Tza-va-ot (צבאות) is the plural. Multiple armies of which are included the angelic beings.
Genesis 2:1 mentions the hosts being created. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host.” (Nehemiah 9:6). and all the host them, of the heavens and the earth; the host of heavens are the sun, moon, and stars, often so called in Scripture, and also the angels;
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,, Acts 7:42, Psa 33:6,
Host can be stars Her 8:2
For behold, He Who forms mountains & creates the wind & declares to man what are His thoughts, He Who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, the LORD God of hosts (Sabaoth) is His name. Amos 4:13)
So, God is first seen here as the creator of the hosts. In Samuel 1, Elkanah and family are seen going yearly to Shiloh to sacrifice. Hannah is the first person to mention this name, asking the Lord of Hosts to give her a son. Later (1 Samuel 17:45) David invokes this name of God when going before Goliath. 2Sa 5:10 David became greater and greater, for the LORD God of hosts was with him. 1Ch 11:9 David became greater and greater, for the LORD of hosts was with him. [2Sa 6:18](verseid:10.6.18) When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.2Sa 7:27 "For You, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You.
LOH AS KING: Psalm 24:10 Who is this King of glory?The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah Isa 9:7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Zec 14:9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.'
The LORD of Hosts is mentioned 52 times in Zechariah. This is central to the message this prophet has. Revelation 19:11-20
hosts: 1Ki 22:19 Micaiah said, "Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. His hosts are many. Isa 28:5 In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; 2 Kings 6:17, Isaiah 29:6, Isaiah 13:14
Psa 84:1-12....How blessed is the man who trusts in You!
HOSTS AS ARMIES: Ex 7:4 Lord of hosts as the leading General of Israel's army. “If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 1:9). (2Ki 6:15) "Do not fear, for (term of explanation) those who are with us are more than those who are with them." (2Ki 6:16, cp 1Jn 4:4-note). Isa 13:4 A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The LORD of hosts is mustering the army for battle. Isa 19:16 In that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. [Isa 1:24](verseid:23.1.24) Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, "Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My foes.Isa 2:12 For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased.Isa 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Nah 2:13 "Behold, I am against you," declares the LORD of hosts. "I will burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard." Isa 1:24, Mal 4:1 "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." Mal 4:2 "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. Mal 4:3 "You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says the LORD of hosts. PSalm 103:20-21, Matt 13:41, Matt 24:30-31,
LOH as REDEEMER: Our Redeemer, the LORD of HOSTS is His NAME, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 47:4), Isa 19:20 It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. Isa 44:6 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. Isa 47:4 Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. Jer 50:34 "Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring rest to the earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon. Mal 3:17 "They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." Zech 14:16, Isa 44:6, Rev 22:13 Psa 59:5
LOH as HOLY: Is 6:3 ..."Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD (Jehovah) of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." Jer 32:18,
Although one might disagree on what "host" refers to in a given verse, the important truth is that Jehovah is LORD over ALL HOSTS, whether they are the host (armies) on earth, the stars or the angels (good or bad).Isa 5:16 But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
"All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the HOST of HEAVEN & among the inhabitants of earth & no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?" Da 4:35
Lord of hosts as Holy: But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. Isa 8:14. Jer 11:20,
Isa 37:16 "O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned *above* the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth is his name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us; The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth; Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.
(Martin Luther)`
“Return to Me,”
declares the LORD of hosts, The Lord of hosts declares Israel to return, not merely to the land but to himself. One might think this call is unnecessary. They are back in the land, they have rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation for the temple. It's appears as though things are going well apart from the opposition from the Samaritans. Perhaps Zechariah's message should be rather, rebuild the temple no matter the obstacles, just get it done! Yet, God is saying that in order for things to be good with Him, they must first of all return to Him by faith. This, perhaps was totally overlooked and presumed due to the current circumstances. SO, when a little trial comes their way, they are found discouraged. Instead of where they ought to have been, simple trusting the Lord of hosts to battle for them to get done what He had commanded. Haggai 1:9-11
“that I may return to you,”
says the LORD of hosts. It is a great thing to have the Lord of hosts with you. The rebuilding of the temple symbolized God's presence among the people. Haggai's prophecy is to return to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Here God is telling Israel to return to a relationship with Him, not mere ritual or externals, but a return of heart back to the Lord of Hosts.
“Do not be like your fathers, 2 Chr 30:7
to whom the former prophets proclaimed,
saying,
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Return now from your evil ways
and from your evil deeds.”’
But they did not listen
or give heed to Me,”
declares the LORD.
“Your fathers, where are they? The fathers had been killed by the Babylonians and died or remained in Babylon.
And the prophets,
do they live forever? Some prophets were killed by the very people they prophecied to.
“But did not My words and My statutes,
which I commanded My servants
the prophets,
overtake your fathers? Though people want to shut the prophets up, God sees it all and is patient with the people and still sends more prophets. 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, Matt 23:35 God's commands are still the same, even today
Then they repented and said, the word for repent (SHUB) is better translated here returned as it's referring to a physical return from Babylon to the promised land.
As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us
in accordance with our ways
and our deeds,
so He has dealt with us.’”’” Scripture states that 42,360 people returned to Judah, accompanied by 7,337 slaves and two hundred singers (Ezra 2:64–65), including members of the ten northern tribes taken into captivity by Assyria in 722 B.C. (Ezra 2:70). Though these returned physically, overall, they did not turn to God. Jer 7:4 "Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, 'This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.' Jer 7:8
A NOTE ABOUT REPENTANCE: The word repentance in the Bible is used in different ways and it has caused a lot of confusion, especially regarding the correct response to the Gospel. In 1384, John Wycliffe produced the first hand written English Bible. Wycliffe used Jersome's Latin Bible as his sole source, which unfortunately had several grave mistranslations. One such mistranslation was the Greek word METANOIA (to change one's thinking or perspective) to a word which means to do acts of penance, to be penitent. The first English Bible had a tremendous influence on the English language and the term repentance (feel sorry, be penitent) replaced the original metanoia (change your mind). We can understand then why the Hebrew word SHUB (to turn back, return) here is translated to repent when it was much clearer to translate it, 'return'. Physically they returned yet spiritually they did not.
They simply accepted being wrong and that God would have to punish them. This is the wrong attitude to have. Confession of sin has no judiciary value before God unless it first is brought by a turning by faith to God. Sin must be paid for not merely recognized. That is why Christ came and died on a cross. His death is the payment for sin not merely the pronouncement of sin. When a person turns to God, it is by faith that the person of Christ has paid fully for his sin debt and no other means or work is necessary to be right with God. Israel needed to come to God by faith, not merely saying they did wrong and accepting God's punishment.
The purpose of this message was because God was warning the returning Jews from Babylon that the reason their fathers were sent away in the first place was because they did not listen and trust Him.
Isa 29:13-16 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned *by rote,* Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed." Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are *done* in a dark place, And they say, "Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?" You turn *things* around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, "He did not make me"; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
God wanted this generation to not make the same mistake as their fathers. They could be deceived into thinking that because they were returning to the land, their punishment had purged them clean and had made them right with God. They would be prone to think the blessing of their return was a demonstration that God was pleased with them. God had sent them away from the land 70 years so that they would change their minds and walk with Him by faith.
"Return to me and I will return to you" - God
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”. (James 4:8 nkjv)
Message #2 - Eight Visions#
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, There are no Hebrew names given for months. Moses gave the law to the second generation on the first day of the 11th month. Deut 1:3
which is the month Shebat, Shebat is the aquired Babylonian name for the eleventh month. This is the time of year when winter is on its way out in Israel.
in the second year of Darius,
the word of the LORD came
to Zechariah
the prophet,
the son of Berechiah,
the son of Iddo, this is three months after receiving the first message. This time, Zechariah received a message from the Lord in the form of eight visions in one night.
The man on the Red Horse#
as follows:
I saw at night, Zechariah received this message in a vision at night. This was not a dream. He literally saw these things and describes what he saw in terms he and his audience understood.
and behold,
a man was riding later we will see that this man, also called the Angel of the Lord is none other than Christ himself.
on a red horse, generally speaking red symbolizes blood as a result of war. This rider may have been riding in battle. Zechariah states it is a man, not an angelic being. This man is none other than Jesus Christ. Revelation 6:4, Rev 19:19-21
and he was standing
among the myrtle trees The rider on the red horse was riding but is now standing among the myrtle trees. He is no longer riding but standing under the shade of myrtle trees.
Nehemiah 8:15 implies that myrtle trees possibly grew in or near Jerusalem. They are certainly all through modern Palestine. MOst pictures of myrtle trees show it as a shrub about 8-10 feet tall but given the right conditions and with plenty of water, it grows to a considerable size.
Myrtle trees are seen as a good thing in Hebrew culture. In fact Esther’s Hebrew name (Hadassah) is myrtle in Hebrew. Esther 2:7
The pomegranate is also in the myrtle family
which were in the ravine, Jer 7:30-34 "For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight," declares the LORD, "they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. "They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind. "Therefore, behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place. "The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away."Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.Nehemiah, Isaiah and Zechariah mention myrtle trees. Nehemiah mentions myrtle branches during the celebration of the feast of tabernacles/booths. Isaiah states that during the milenial reign when everything is restored, God will turn briars (result of man's sin) into myrtle trees. Isaiah 41:19, Isaiah 55:13,
with red,
sorrel
and white
horses behind him. Red, sorrel and white horses behind him
Then I said,
“My lord, what are these?”
And the angel
who was speaking with me
said to me,
“I will show you what these are.” not who but what
And the man
who was standing
among the myrtle trees
answered and said, the man on the red horse himself explains...
“These are those
whom the LORD has sent
to patrol the earth.” It is difficult to pinpoint when this ocurrs. We know from Job 1:6-7 that Satan also roams to and fro over the earth. This angel patrol seems to be roaming over the earth.Zech 6:7,
So they answered the angel of the LORD
who was standing
among the myrtle trees
and said,
“We have patrolled the earth,
and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Then the angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?”
The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.”
peace is a good thing but not at the cost of injustice. Israel is not in her land, she has been disbursed. Here the angel of the Lord is calling out for justice.
‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”
Four Horns & Four Craftsmen#
Then I lifted up my eyes
and looked, and behold,
there were four horns.
So I said to the angel
who was speaking with me,
“What are these?”
And he answered me,
“These are the horns
which have scattered
Judah,
Israel
and Jerusalem.”
Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
I said, “What are these coming to do?”
And he said,
“These are the horns
which have scattered Judah
so that no man lifts up his head;
but these craftsmen have come
to terrify them,
to throw down
the horns of the nations
who have lifted up theirhorns
against the land of Judah
in order to scatter it.”
Then I lifted up my eyes
and looked,
and behold,
there was a man
with a measuring line in his hand.
So I said,
“Where are you going?”
And he said to me,
“To measure Jerusalem,
to see how wide it is
and how long it is.”
And behold, the angel
who was speaking with me
was going out,
and another angel
was coming out to meet him,
and said to him,
“Run, speak to that young man,
saying,
‘Jerusalem will be inhabited
without walls
because of the multitude of men
and cattle within it.
‘For I,’
declares the LORD,
‘will be a wall of fire around her,
and I will be the glory
in her midst.’”
“Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,”
declares the LORD,
“for I have dispersed you
as the four winds of the heavens,”
declares the LORD.
“Ho, Zion!
Escape,
you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”
For thus says the LORD of hosts,
“After glory He has sent me
against the nations
which plunder you,
for he who touches you,
touches the apple of His eye.
“For behold,
I will wave My hand over them
so that they will be plunder
for their slaves.
Then you will know
that the LORD of hosts
has sent Me.
“Sing for joy and be glad,
O daughter of Zion;
for behold I am coming
and I will dwell in your midst,”
declares the LORD.
“Many nations will join themselves
to the LORD
in that day
and will become My people.
Then I will dwell in your midst,
and you will know
that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
“The LORD will possess Judah
as His portion in the holy land,
and will again choose Jerusalem.
“Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD;
for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Joshua the high priest and his friends#
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you— indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
A Lampstand of gold#
Then the angel
who was speaking with me
returned and roused me,
as a man who is awakened from his sleep.
He said to me,
“What do you see?”
And I said,
“I see, and behold,
a lampstand all of gold
with its bowl on the top of it,
and its seven lamps on it
with seven spouts
belonging to each of the lamps
which are on the top of it;
also two olive trees by it,
one on the right side of the bowl
and the other on its left side.”
Then I said to the angel
who was speaking with me saying,
“What are these, my lord?”
So the angel
who was speaking with me
answered and said to me,
“Do you not know what these are?”
And I said,
“No, my lord.”
Then he said to me,
“This is the word of the LORD
to Zerubbabel saying, who is Zerubabel? Zerubbabel was a descendant of King David and an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Mt. 1:6, 12). His name probably means “seed of Babylon”; but his Persian name was Sheshbazzar, suggesting he may have been in the service of the king (Ezra 1:8—5:14). Yet Zerubbabel left all the comforts of Babylon behind to take on this challenge.
‘Not by might nor by power,
but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.
‘What are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain;
and he will bring forth the top stone
with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
Also the word of the LORD came to me,
saying,
“The hands of Zerubbabel
have laid the foundation of this house,
and his hands will finish it.
Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
“For who has despised the day of small things?
But these seven will be glad
when they see the plumb line
in the hand of Zerubbabel—
these are the eyes of the LORD
which range to and fro
throughout the earth.”
Then I said to him,
“What are these two olive trees
on the right of the lampstand
and on its left?”
And I answered the second time and said to him,
“What are the two olive branches
which are beside the two golden pipes,
which empty the golden oil from themselves?”
So he answered me, saying,
“Do you not know what these are?”
And I said,
“No, my lord.”
Then he said,
“These are the two anointed ones
who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
A Flying Scroll#
Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
Ephah going forth#
Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.
Two Women#
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
Four Chariots#
Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.” The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon. “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
Message #3 -#
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?” Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah
saying,
“Thus has the LORD of hosts said,
‘Dispense true justice
and practice kindness
and compassion each to his brother;
and do not oppress
the widow
or the orphan,
the stranger
or the poor;
and do not devise evil in your hearts
against one another.’
“But they refused to pay attention
and turned a stubborn shoulder
and stopped their ears from hearing.
“They made their hearts like flint
so that they could not hear the law
and the words
which the LORD of hosts had sent
by His Spirit
through the former prophets;
therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.
“And just as He called and they would not listen,
so they called and I would not listen,”
says the LORD of hosts;
“but I scattered them
with a storm wind
among all the nations
whom they have not known.
Thus the land is desolated behind them
so that no one went back and forth,
for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion,
yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’
“Thus says the LORD,
‘I will return to Zion
and will dwell
in the midst of Jerusalem.
Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth,
and the mountain of the LORD of hosts
*will be called *the Holy Mountain.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Old men and old women will again sit
in the streets of Jerusalem,
each man with his staff in his hand
because of age.
‘And the streets of the city
will be filled with boys and girls
playing in its streets.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘If it is too difficult
in the sight of the remnant of this people
in those days,
will it also be too difficult in My sight?’
declares the LORD of hosts.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to save My people
from the land of the east
and from the land of the west;
and I will bring them back
and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem;
and they shall be My people,
and I will be their God
in truth and righteousness.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Let your hands be strong,
you who are listening
in these days
to these words
from the mouth of the prophets,
those who spoke
in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid,
to the end that the temple might be built.
‘For before those days there was no wage
for man or any wage for animal;
and for him
who went out
or came in
there was no peace
because of his enemies,
and I set all men one against another.
‘But now I will not treat the remnant
of this people
as in the former days,
’ declares the LORD of hosts.
‘For there will be peace
for the seed:
the vine will yield its fruit,
the land will yield its produce
and the heavens will give their dew;
and I will cause the remnant
of this people to inherit all these things.
‘It will come about
that just as you were a curse
among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
so I will save you
that you may become a blessing.
Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
“For thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you
when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
says the LORD of hosts,
‘and I have not relented,
so I have again purposed
in these days
to do good to Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear!
‘These are the things which you should do:
speak the truth to one another;
judge with truth and judgment
for peace in your gates.
‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart
against another,
and do not love perjury;
for all these are what I hate,’
declares the LORD.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
IV Message #4 - The Two Burdens#
Burden #1 - The First Coming#
The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire. Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited. And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword. Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain— The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, all of them together. “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD. I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
Burden #2 - The Second Coming#
The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.
So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.
Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
=========================
Zechariah#
possible: Israel’s Messiah to the Nations (Phrased + Indented + Comments)
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying, “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “Do 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 deeds.”’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD. “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
On 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.” So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Then the angel of the LORD said,
"O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion
for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah,
with which You have been indignant these seventy years?"
The LORD answered the angel
who was speaking with me
with gracious words,
comforting words.
So the angel
who was speaking with me
said to me,
"Proclaim, saying,
'Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"I am exceedingly jealous
for Jerusalem and Zion.
"But I am very angry with the nations
who are at ease;
for while I was only a little angry,
they furthered the disaster."
'Therefore thus says the LORD,
"I will return to Jerusalem
with compassion;
My house will be built in it,"
declares the LORD of hosts,
"and a measuring line
will be stretched
over Jerusalem."'
"Again, proclaim, saying,
'Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"My cities will again overflow
with prosperity,
and the LORD will again
comfort Zion
and again choose Jerusalem."'"
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up theirhorns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
Then I lifted up my eyes
and looked,
and behold,
there was a man
with a measuring line in his hand.
So I said, “Where are you going?”
And he said to me,
“To measure Jerusalem,
to see how wide it is
and how long it is.”
And behold, the angel
who was speaking with me
was going out,
and another angel
was coming out to meet him,
and said to him,
“Run, speak to that young man,
saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls
because of the multitude of men and cattle within it.
‘For I,’ declares the LORD,
‘will be a wall of fire around her,
and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
“Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,”
declares the LORD,
“for I have dispersed you
as the four winds of the heavens,”
declares the LORD.
“Ho, Zion!
Escape,
you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”
For thus says the LORD of hosts,
“After glory He has sent me
against the nations
which plunder you,
for he who touches you,
touches the apple of His eye.
“For behold,
I will wave My hand over them
so that they will be plunder for their slaves.
Then you will know
that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
“Sing for joy and be glad,
O daughter of Zion;
for behold I am coming
and I will dwell in your midst,”
declares the LORD.
“Many nations will join themselves
to the LORD
in that day
and will become My people.
Then I will dwell in your midst,
and you will know
that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
“The LORD will possess Judah
as His portion in the holy land,
and will again choose Jerusalem.
“Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD;
for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Then he showed me Joshua
the high priest
standing before the angel of the LORD,
and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
The LORD said to Satan,
"The LORD rebuke you, Satan!
Indeed, the LORD
who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!
Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"
Now Joshua was clothed
with filthy garments
and standing before the angel.
He spoke and said to those
who were standing before him,
saying, "Remove the filthy garments from him."
Again he said to him, "See, I have taken your iniquity away
from you and will clothe you with festal robes."
Then I said,
"Let them put a clean turban on his head."
So they put a clean turban
on his head
and clothed him with garments,
while the angel of the LORD was standing by.
And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua,
saying,
"Thus says the LORD of hosts,
'If you will walk in My ways
and if you will perform My service,
then you will also govern My house
and also have charge of My courts,
and I will grant you free access among these
who are standing *here.*
'Now listen, Joshua the high priest,
you and your friends
who are sitting in front of you—
indeed they are men who are a symbol,
for behold, I am going to bring in My servant
the Branch.
'For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua;
on one stone are seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,'
declares the LORD of hosts,
'and I will remove the iniquity
of that land in one day.
'In that day,'
declares the LORD of hosts,
'every one of you will invite his neighbor
to *sit* under *his* vine
and under *his* fig tree.'"
Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’” Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel— these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.” Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.” The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon. “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.” Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?” Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah
saying,
“Thus has the LORD of hosts said,
‘Dispense true justice
and practice kindness
and compassion each to his brother;
and do not oppress
the widow
or the orphan,
the stranger
or the poor;
and do not devise evil in your hearts
against one another.’
“But they refused to pay attention
and turned a stubborn shoulder
and stopped their ears from hearing.
“They made their hearts like flint
so that they could not hear the law
and the words
which the LORD of hosts had sent
by His Spirit
through the former prophets;
therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.
“And just as He called and they would not listen,
so they called and I would not listen,”
says the LORD of hosts;
“but I scattered them
with a storm wind
among all the nations
whom they have not known.
Thus the land is desolated behind them
so that no one went back and forth,
for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion,
yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’
“Thus says the LORD,
‘I will return to Zion
and will dwell
in the midst of Jerusalem.
Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth,
and the mountain of the LORD of hosts
*will be called *the Holy Mountain.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Old men and old women will again sit
in the streets of Jerusalem,
each man with his staff in his hand
because of age.
‘And the streets of the city
will be filled with boys and girls
playing in its streets.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘If it is too difficult
in the sight of the remnant of this people
in those days,
will it also be too difficult in My sight?’
declares the LORD of hosts.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to save My people
from the land of the east
and from the land of the west;
and I will bring them back
and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem;
and they shall be My people,
and I will be their God
in truth and righteousness.’
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Let your hands be strong,
you who are listening
in these days
to these words
from the mouth of the prophets,
those who spoke
in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid,
to the end that the temple might be built.
‘For before those days there was no wage
for man or any wage for animal;
and for him
who went out
or came in
there was no peace
because of his enemies,
and I set all men one against another.
‘But now I will not treat the remnant
of this people
as in the former days,
’ declares the LORD of hosts.
‘For there will be peace
for the seed:
the vine will yield its fruit,
the land will yield its produce
and the heavens will give their dew;
and I will cause the remnant
of this people to inherit all these things.
‘It will come about
that just as you were a curse
among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
so I will save you
that you may become a blessing.
Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
“For thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you
when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
says the LORD of hosts,
‘and I have not relented,
so I have again purposed
in these days
to do good to Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear!
‘These are the things which you should do:
speak the truth to one another;
judge with truth and judgment
for peace in your gates.
‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart
against another,
and do not love perjury;
for all these are what I hate,’
declares the LORD.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire. Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited. And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword. Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain— The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, all of them together. “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD. I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea;
Zechariah 14:8-11 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. (9) And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one... People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. Isaiah 11:9-10 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. (10) Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Isaiah 60:18-20 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. (19) The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. (20) Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
it will be in summer
as well as in winter. what does this mean? does it happen in summer and winter simultaneously? Probably not since Jerusalem is the center? This is probably referring to the amount of time...lingering on from summer and going into the winter.
And the LORD will be king
over all the earth;
in that day
the LORD will be the only one,
and His name the only one.
All the land will be changed
into a plain
from Geba
to Rimmon
south of Jerusalem;
but Jerusalem will rise
and remain on its site
from Benjamin’s Gate
as far as the place
of the First Gate
to the Corner Gate,
and from the Tower of Hananel
to the king’s wine presses.
People will live in it,
and there will no longer be a curse,
for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
Now this will be the plague
with which the LORD
will strike all the peoples
who have gone to war
against Jerusalem;
their flesh will rot
while they stand on their feet,
and their eyes will rot
in their sockets,
and their tongue will rot
in their mouth.
It will come about in that day
that a great panic
from the LORD
will fall on them; against those who have gone against Jerusalem
and they will seize one another’s hand,
and the hand of one will be lifted
against the hand of another.
Judah also will fight at Jerusalem;
and the wealth of all the surrounding nations
will be gathered,
gold
and silver
and garments
in great abundance.
So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.
Then it will come about
that any
who are left of all the nations
that went against Jerusalem
will go up from year to year
to worship
the King,
the LORD of hosts,
and to celebrate
the Feast of Booths.
And it will be that
whichever of the families
of the earth
does not go up to Jerusalem
to worship
the King,
the LORD of hosts,
there will be no rain on them.
If the family of Egypt
does not go up or enter,
then no rain will fall on them;
it will be the plague
with which the LORD
smites the nations
who do not go up
to celebrate
the Feast of Booths.
This will be the punishment
of Egypt,
and the punishment
of all the nations
who do not go up
to celebrate the Feast of Booths. When God gave the law, he commanded that Israel should live in tents or booths during the feast on the seventh month (Tishri). Nehemiah 8:14
For seven days, starting the fifteenth day of the seventh month Israel was to have a feast. During this time, they were to dwell in tents or booths. Leviticus 23:16, 34 This was a feast of celebration after the harvest was gathered. Deuteronomy 16:13
This feast is mentioned in Zechariah 3 times and only near the end of chapter 14. Zechariah 14:16, 18-19
The feast of booths/tabernacles was celebrated after the harvest. During the Millenial reign of Christ, not only will Israel but all of the nations will come to celebrate the great havest of souls. This may be the connection with the 70 bulls that were sacrificed and symbolized the 70 Gentiles nations of Genesis 10. Numbers 29:12-34
In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day. ‘What a strange last statement to make before finishing up the fulfillment of God’s promises. Surely this had to be hopeful news, but why? Why are the Canaanites singled out?
===========================
Zechariah#
(Chronology + Conversation)
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,
“The LORD was very angry with your fathers. “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “Do 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 deeds.”’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD. “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
On 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.
Then I said,
“My lord, what are these?”
And the angel who was speaking with me said to me,
“I will show you what these are.”
And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said,
“These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”
So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said,
“We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Then the angel of the LORD said,
“O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?”
The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said to me,
“Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” ‘Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ “Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. So I said to the angel who was speaking with me,
“What are these?”
And he answered me,
“These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I said,
“What are these coming to do?”
And he said,
“These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up theirhorns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said,
“Where are you going?”
And he said to me,
“To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.”
And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, and said to him,
“Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD. “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. “For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me. “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. “The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan,
“The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying,
“Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
Then I said,
“Let them put a clean turban on his head.”
So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me,
“What do you see?”
And I said,
“I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying,
“What are these, my lord?”
So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me,
“Do you not know what these are?”
And I said,
“No, my lord.”
Then he said to me,
“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.”
Then I said to him,
“What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he said,
“These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me,
“What do you see?”
And I answered,
“I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
Then he said to me,
“This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me,
“Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”
I said,
“What is it?”
And he said,
“This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!”
And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.
I said to the angel who was speaking with me,
“Where are they taking the ephah?”
Then he said to me,
“To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.
Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me,
“What are these, my lord?”
The angel replied to me,
“These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. “When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.
Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying,
“See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”
The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,
“Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon. “Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set iton the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. " Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.”
Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying,
“Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
“Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying,
“Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. “They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts; “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built. ‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another. ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. ‘It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’ “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I have not relented, so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear! ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire. Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited. And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword. Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink andbe boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificialbasin, Drenched like the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain—The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, allof them together. “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemyin the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD. I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
Then the LORD said to me,
“Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.”
So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
The LORD said to me,
“Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him,
“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
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Zechariah#
(Chronology + Conversation)
ZACARíAS | |
---|---|
1. Título | Zekar-yah |
2. Autor | Zacarías, hijo de Berequias, sacerdote, miembro de la sinagoga, nacido durante el exilio, jóven. Contemporaneos: Hageo, Sumo sacerdote Josué, gobernador Zorobabel |
3. Fecha | 520 AC - 518 AC (Capítulos 9-14 ~ 470 AC) |
4. Audiencia | Zorobabel (4:6-9), Josué (3:1, 6:9-15), Judios que habían retornado de Babilonia (7:4-7) |
5. Lugar | Jerusalén (1:14-16, 3:1-4:9, 6:9-15, 8:9) |
6. Estructura | Introducción, 8 visiones, Instrucciones especiales, 2 cargas |
7. Mensaje | Dios es por Israel. El futuro reinado mesianico trae esperanza y gozo a una gente desanimada. Judá debe retornar y confiar a Dios. |
8. Propósito | Retornar al Señor, animar |
9. Temas | 1ra y 2nda venidas, templo, Israel es escogido de Dios, Escatologia de Israel, Pacto, angel del Señor, el renuevo, el siervo, la roca con 7 ojos, el sumo sacerdote, la piedra angular, |
10.Género | histórico, didáctico y profético. Introductorio -> Simbólico -> didáctico -> profético |
4 Temples of Israel#
a. Solomon (kings y Chronicles) b. Zerubbabel (Ezr 5:1-2, John 2:20) c. Antichrist (Dan 9:27, Mat 24:15, Rev 11:1-2) d. Milenial (Eze 40-48) - Zech. 6:12
Message #1 - God says, “Return to ME!”
- *(Year 2, month 8 of Darius)*
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, 520BC. dates are given based on the ruling gentile king. There is no king of Israel or Judah at this time. Zerubbabel is governor. The line of David is off the throne, and the Times of the Gentiles are in progress. (Luke 21:24, Rom 11:25). The eighth month was called Bul (1 Kings 6:38) but after exile evidently Marcheshvan - "rainy" (Josephus).
the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, “The second year of Darius” is the same year in which Haggai prophesied. Haggai was given a prophecy in September (to begin rebuilding temple), October (Hag 2), and December, but none in November. So this man Zechariah was given a prophecy in November, the month Haggai missed. Two months before this message, they had began to rebuild the temple. One month before, they were discouraged. Haggai gave them an encouraging message of hope (Hag 2). - Zechariah is mentioned as head of the family (Neh 12:4++). This means in 520 Zechariah was probably a young man. Zechariah was a prophet - this was his rank.
the son of Berechiah, (Zechariah 1:1, Zechariah 1:7) - Yahweh blesses
We don’t know much about Berechiah, the __fa__ther of Zechariah.
a. Jesus menciona a un profeta martirizado llamado Zaracías hijo de Berequías en Mat 23:35. Lucas no lo menciona. Luc 11:51, 2 Cró 24:20-22. Es dificil saber con certeza.#
i. Opción 1: Berequias significa lo mismo que Jehoiada.#
ii. Opción 2: Berequías era el padre mientras que Jehoiada era su abuelo.#
iii. Opción 3: Jesus era testigo del asesinato de Zacarías al igual que Abel.#
- Matthew was familiar with Zechariah. In fact he quotes it three times. The fact that Jesus mentions Zechariah of Berechiah as a martyr would have surprised Matthew and therefore he noted it. Zechariah 9:9, 11:13, 13:7#
iv. Option 4: Error in transcription’#
the son of Iddo saying, (Zechariah 1:1, Zechariah 1:7) - grandfather of Zechariah. One of the priests/levites who returned from Babylon (Neh 12:4, Neh 12:16)
“The LORD was very angry with your fathers. "
70 years exile is proof. Zechariah makes it clear, the reason they were in captivity was because they had displeased the Lord.
Therefore say to them,
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,
LORD of hosts - 52x in Zechariah. The way it is used it “implies the boundless resources at His command for His people's good"- fausset. He is rich in mercy (Eph 2:4). He is rich in power (Matt 28:18). This is some false prophet. This is a message from the Lord of hosts himself. This is crucial to the importance of the message. APP: What does God have to say about this/that?
“Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts,
invitation to a spiritual return at the time of a physical return. In the midst of physical returning, God invites Judah into a relationship, not religious rote.
“that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.
This is clearly Zechariah emphasizing God's continual offer of forgiveness. The Lord of hosts would return to be theirs upon their return to HIM, not to the land! Q: were the people thinking all was well because they were back in the land? Once they rebuilt the temple, would they think God had returned to them? Was their religion what God looked for?
“Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying,
former prophets: Hosea. Joel. Amos. Isaiah. Jeremiah. This is important to the message of Zechariah - God spoke to the people through the prophets of old. The people did not listen, therefore they were wrong and God was angered. They were exiled. Zechariah is appealing to the people...look what happened when God (through the prophets of old) was not listened to. Now listen to God as He speaks through me.
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,
It's not Zechariah's word, it's the Lord of host
“Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”’
This can be better understood in the light of what Haggai says in Hag 2:10-14. Two ways to understand men of old: through the lens of religion and the dogmas they enforced and try to replicate the formula to produce the same results. The other lens is to understand what God was doing at a specific time through failed people and simple learn from the past within it's specific time. How can that apply to us today? The latter is the correct lens.
But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD.
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? "
The fathers were dead. The prophets were dead and their message died with them. Did God keep speaking the same message (through the same prophets) forever? NO! God was patient but not passive.
But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers?
The anticipated answer is, YES!
Then they repented and said,
they repented: (SHUB - return) this is not the same meaning as METANOIA in NT. This means simply to return. Religious or otherwise. It is often assumed SHUB is the same as METANOIA. They are not. Acts 26:20 shows METANOIA is not return.
‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
Jeremiah 23:20 **"The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it.** Mal 3:7"From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?'
SUMMARY NOTE: |
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Were Haggai and Zechariah effective? Did the people listen? Ezra says thanks to them the temple was rebuilt: "Ezr 6:14 And the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia." |
Message #2 - Zechariah received a series of visions
- *(Year 2, month 11 [Shebat] of Darius)* In a series of eight night visions, God explains His involvement with His people.
Vision | Meaning |
---|---|
1 Horsemen | (1:7-17): Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt. The nations watched (near fulfillment) |
2 Horns and craftsmen | (1:18-21): The four empires will be terrified by four craftsmen (near) |
3 Measuring Line | (2:1-13): Jerusalem measured=restored (near) |
4 High Priest | (3:1-10): Judah rejects God, yet ultimately God will restore them (near) |
5 Olive Trees | (4:1-14): God empowers his people through His Spirit (near) |
6 The Flying Scroll | (5:1-4): (far) |
7 The Ephah | (5:5-11): (far) |
8 Four Chariots | (6:1-15): Gentiles judged / Christ’s reign (far) |
Vision #1 - The Horseman
God watches the nations. God will rebuild Jerusalem and the temple
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month,
which is the month Shebat, the month is named this time. Is there a reason?
in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:
I saw at night, a vision at night
and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, No explanation is given as tot he colours of the horses. a red horse, is it death, war?
and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, Myrtle trees are seen as blessing from God in Isaiah 55:1-13. God will turn briars into myrtle trees. The fact that this rider is standing among myrtle trees in the ravine speaks of blessing.
with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. red horse, sorrel (brown), white horses
Then I said,
“My lord, what are these?”
An angel was also there
And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, This angel is similar to Gabriel who came to explain the meaning of the visions
“I will show you what these are.”
The interpreting angel says, "i will show you. I will explain to you"
And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, now the man on the red horse speaks
“These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”
Are there always those patroling the earth? Is this a one-time event?
So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, they? The red horse and white horses? Angel of the Lord, man on the red horse, man standing among the myrtle trees. Same person?
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD: (6x in Zechariah). This “man among the myrtle trees” was the Angel of the Lord (vv. 11–13), the second Person of the Godhead, who in Old Testament times made temporary preincarnate appearances on earth. As the Angel of the Lord, the Son of God appeared to
Hagar (Gen. 16:7–14),
Abraham (18; 22:11–18),
Jacob (31:11, 13),
Moses (Ex. 3),
Gideon (Judg. 6:11–23),
Samson’s parents (Judg. 13).
“We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
These horsemen answer to the angel of the Lord. When is the earth peaceful and quiet? In relation to what? Evidently in relation to the defense/prosperity of Jerusalem. The nations were at ease.This is wrong since the Jews are not in the land.
Then the angel of the LORD said,
“O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?”
The Angel of the Lord answers to God the Father. In this case he intercedes for the people..."how long?". The events of the vision take place after the 70 years in exile. The expectation is the reconquering (compassion) of the land.
For centuries, “How long?” has been the cry of suffering people, especially the people of Israel (Ps. 74:9–10; 79:5; 80:4; 89:46; Hab. 1:2). “How long?” is even the cry of the martyred saints in heaven (Rev. 6:10). That the Son of God should so identify Himself with the cries of His people reveals His compassion and concern. “In all their distress he too was distressed” (Isa. 63:9 niv).- wiersbe
The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words.Zechariah makes mention of the mercy in the Lord's words. This is the nature of all prophecy. IT is to bring hope and comfort to the reader.
So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, this is the interpreting angel.
“Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,
this was to be what Zechariah was to tell the people. "NOTICE: proclaim...the message God gave him"
“I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.
Jerusalem and Zion are distinguished here. Possibly the city vs the holy mountain Psa 2:6, Isa 10:32, Mic 3:12, Mic 4:1-2
“But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.”
The Lord said this would happen and had even promised to punish the Chaldeans for their harsh treatment of the Jews. HAB 2:8
‘Therefore thus says the LORD,
“I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’
what is a measuring line? You can't measure something that isn't there. My house (temple #2) will be built. Zechariah 4:10
“Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”
The Lord of hosts is promising to bring overflowing prosperity to the cities of Judah, especially Jerusalem
Vision #2 - Four Horns
God concerns himself with the four gentile nations who have risen against Israel and Judah
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, horns are generally empires or powers
“What are these?”
And he answered me,
“These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
four horns, IF ISRAEL and if this deals with the period up to that time, then (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Medo-Persia?). If 4 horns of Daniel and after 70x7 then it deals with the 4 horns from the times of the Gentiles starting with Babylon. A key interpretive phrase is "have scattered..."Does this deal with Zechariah's past or from Zechariah's vision's past?
Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I said, Zechariah was shown 4 craftsmen. What are craftsmen? 1. Blacksmiths 2. Carpenters 3. Masons 4. Warriors 5. Jewelers. 2 Kings 22:6 distinguishes craftsmen from masons. 2 kings 24:16 mentions "1000 craftsmen...strong and fit for war". 2 Chr 24:12 mentions craftsmen who were hired to rebuild the temple. Isa 40:19-20 connects craftsmen to idol makers. Isa 54:16 God makes the smith (craftsmen) to form the weapons out of iron. Nebuchadnezzar took all the crafstmen to Babylon. Eze 21:31 seems to refer to craftsmen as leaders, brutal men skilled in destruction. It does appear at first glance that God wants Zechariah to know the four horns are dealt with so as to not be discouraged.
“What are these coming to do?”
It is good when Zechariah asks questions for us becuase he generally gets an answer. He asks not who are they but what are they coming to do, so Zechariah's curiosity is in regards to their purpose. If 70 years then these 4 craftsmen already came. If 70x7 then the 4 craftsmen could be during the tribulation?
And he said, the interpreting angel
“These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
four craftsmen? What they're doing is answered: To terrify the four horns...to throw them down. Evidently their identity is not important. Their purpose and is.Psa 75:10
Vision #3 - The Man Measuring the Temple
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. Similar scene to Rev 11 except this is in referince to the city not the temple.
So I said,
“Where are you going?”
Not what are you doing, but where are you going? The man seems to be walking away somewhere not evident to Zechariah, perhaps because at the time there was no city to speak of, it was in ruins.
And he said to me,
“To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.”
not measuring the temple as Rev 11 but Jersusalem. What was the state of Jerusalem at the time?"
And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, and said to him, what angel is going to measure with the man? Where is the angel 'coming out' from? Coming out from the city?
A note about the status of Jerusalem at this point in history:
Jerusalem was destoyed: Jeremiah 26;18, 2 Chro 36:17-21, Eze 33:21
Jerusalem will be rebuilt:
Temple will be rebuilt within 4 years (by the sixth year of king Darius): Ezra 6:14-15
under Zerubbabel: 2 Chr 36:22-23, Zechariah 4:9
Jerusalem walls rebuilt: Neh 2:3, Neh 2:17
“Run, speak to that young man, saying,
Zechariah is refered to as young man by the new angel.
‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD. “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”
The Lord will cause Jerusalem to be rebuilt (inhabited).2 Chr 36:22-23, Neh 2
For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.
Genesis 12
“For behold, I will wave My hand over them
THE NATIONS will feel the wave of the hand of God over them
so that they will be plunder for their slaves.
Calamity due to their slaves - the jews.
Then you
Judah
will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
Is Jesus speaking? It's no doubt when it happens. God did it. They would know it.
“Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD.
Emanuel? God with us? John 1:14, Mat 4:13-17. This is true of the first coming but ultimately fullfiled in the second coming. As we see following...
“Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
At first glance this could be refering to Jesus' first coming but it says (after the nations join), then I will dwell...this must then be referring to the second coming when Jesus comes and dwells for 1000 years in their midst. In that day...
“The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, your kingdom come.
“Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Isa 62:1-4
Vision #4 - Joshua the High Priest
Joshua represents religious Israel. Will they receive God's servant when he is sent? Not initially. Matt 23:35
Ultimately though, they will have their dirty clothes removed. They will experience peace when "the Branch" rules
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan,
“The LORD rebuke you, Satan!
the Lord said Satan. This must be Jesus rebuking Satan
Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!
Satan is not after Joshua, but who Joshua represents - Israel
Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, Joshua represents the current state of Israel - clothed in filthy garments?
“Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
This is so essential to the message of grace. It is God who must remove unrighteousness. As the prodigal son, God the father removes the filthy garments, puts on the royal ring and festive robes and celebrates his son. It is the father's doing, not the son's.
Then I said,
“Let them put a clean turban on his head.”
Perhaps the obvious next step, "don't forget the turban!!". Zechariah can't contain his excitement to see the filthy clothes removed and festive ones put on...
So they who, the angels?
put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.
Notice must made to the words of the angel of the Lord here..."IF you will walk...then you will govern my house". The implication is that though the clothing was changed (a state of acceptance) conditions were put as to the condition of experience. governing the temple, charge of the courts and free access is granted only to him who walks in his ways, performing his service.
‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol,
"your friends" in other words, religious leaders - these the priests, pharisees, saducees?
for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch.
clearly a reference to Messiah, Jesus. Jer 23:5, Luke 11:37-54. Eventually the Branch will build the temple. Zechariah 6:12-13
‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes.
THis addition is very interesting..."before Joshua" the stone. The cornerstone. The seven eyes of the Lamb? Rev 5:6
Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts,
inscription on the rock?
‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’
this is Messianic prophecy
declares the LORD of hosts, ’every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
rest in the kingdom due to their iniquity being absolved. Having vines and fig trees ripe with fruit would be a sign of being in a state of blessing with God. Hab 3:17
Vision #5 - The Lampstand
Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, Since the vision was at night, Zechariah needed to be roused to state was he saw.
“What do you see?”
And I said,
“I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it,
a golden lampstand, a bowl and on top the seven candlesticks
and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;
Ex 25:37
also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying,
“What are these, my lord?”
So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me,
“Do you not know what these are?”
And I said,
“No, my lord.”
Then he said to me, particular build-up for the reader to take notice of what is about to be explained
“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying,
a specific message to Zerubbabel...
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.
certainly contrary to those who say, "ease does not produce strength". Grace is what teaches us (Tit 2:11-12 ). WE are to be strenghtened by grace (Eph 6:10, 2 Tim 2:2)
‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain;
nothing is too great the man who has God battling before him. The man who is God's instrument is limitless in power! Unstoppable!
and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
The top stone is the final stone of the building, hence Zerubbabel will finish the temple, but how? Not by might but by God's power! Shouts of grace, grace not Zerubba Zerubba. God's power, God's spirit glorifies God, not our strength but our shouts of Grace, grace, our trust in God our incopetence and utter dependance on God allows His Spirit to work and the evidence to show forth...God did it!
Vision #6 - Two Annointed Ones
Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
Clearly obvious that God is fighting for them but through 'his hands'. Zerubbabel is being used to point people to God.
“For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—
a plumb line is used for building.
these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.”
the seven eyes will see and be glad...Rev 5:6
Then I said to him,
“What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”
First he asks what are the olive TREES
And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”
Now he asks what are the olive BRANCHES. the two witnesses from Revelation?
So he answered me, saying,
“Do you not know what these are?”
And I said,
“No, my lord.”
Then he said,
“These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Lord of the whole earth - a reference to Christ. Rev 11:4
Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. And he said to me,
“What do you see?”
And I answered,
“I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
the scroll that Christ opens in Rev 5?
Then he said to me,
“This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land;
tribulation?
surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.
“I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name;
the justice of God - he will make it go forth.
and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
total consumption
Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me,
“Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”
I said,
“What is it?”
And he said,
“This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!”
is this the harlot Babylon?
And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening. Rev 17-18?
Vision #7 - Two Winged Women serve ‘her’ to build a temple in Shinar
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.
I said to the angel who was speaking with me,
“Where are they taking the ephah?”
Then he said to me,
“To build a temple for her
the harlot Babylon
in the land of Shinar;
a return to Babel
and when it is parepared,
The temple
she will be set there on her own pedestal.”
a temple will be built in Babylon
Vision #8 - Four Chariots
Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; the two mountains?
and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. Very similar to the 4 horsemen in Revelation
Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me,
“What are these, my lord?”
not where or who but what. Later we are told these respond to the angel of the Lord. Are they angels sent to patrol and appear to Zech as chariots?
The angel replied to me, not the angel of the Lord, but the interpreting angel
“These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,
with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country;
drought? Famine?
and the white ones go forth after them,
false conquest? Antichrist?
while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. ``
“When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.”
And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.
Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying,
“See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”
does this imply repentance or justice served?
The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,
“Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.
“Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. "
why would the high priest wear the crown?
Then say to him,
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ “Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. “Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.”
Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
Message #3
*(year 4, month 9 [Chislev] of Darius)*
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.
Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying,
“Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
“Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? ‘Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying,
“Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’
“But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing.
“They made their hearts like flint
so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets;
therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts;
“but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known.
Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ "
Thus says the LORD,
‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts *will be called *the Holy Mountain.’ "
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’ "
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the LORD of hosts. "
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people,
and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’ "
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Let your hands be strong,
by His spirit
you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets,
those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.
‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.
‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
‘It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’ "
For thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘Just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I have not relented, so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
‘These are the things which you should do:
speak the truth to one another;
judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.”
Burden #1
Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘The fast of the fourth,
the fast of the fifth,
the fast of the seventh and
the fast of the tenth months
will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah;
so love truth and peace.’ "
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” '
So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts
in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ "
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
The burden of the word of the LORD is against
the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), And Hamath also, which borders on it;
Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire.
Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
Gaza too will writhe in great pain;
Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth.
Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite.
But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar.
And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain—The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
“My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
“From them will come the cornerstone,
From them the tent peg,
From them the bow of battle,
From them every ruler, all of them together. “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame.
“I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
“Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. "
When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. "
I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’
And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; "
but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.”
So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock.
And I took for myself two staffs:
the one I called Favor and
the other I called Union;
so I pastured the flock.
Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.
Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”
I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces,
to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.
I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!”
So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
Then the LORD said to me,
“Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.”
So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
The LORD said to me,
“Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land
who will not care for the perishing,
seek the scattered,
heal the broken,
or sustain the one standing,
but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. "
Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock!
A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye!
His arm will be totally withered
And his right eye will be blind.”
Burden #2
The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel.
Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him,
“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. "
It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples;
all who lift it will be severely injured.
And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. "
In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ "
In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. "
In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. "
And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. "
In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves. "
In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. "
It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. “And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. "
Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. “It will come about in all the land,” Declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth;
in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.
It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them.
And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
Zechariah - background
- Title: Zekar-yah = God remembers
- On December 18, 520 BC, Zechariah began his ministry. Zechariah 1:1.
- Zechariah is a post-exilic book
- Pre-exilic - Habakkuk, Zephaniah
- Exilic- Daniel, Ezekiel
- Post-exilic - Zechariah, Haggai,
- Zechariah 1:1 – Zechariah, which means Yahweh remembers, prophesied at the same time as Haggai to encourage Israel to finish rebuilding the Temple.
- The structure of the book can be remembered by the formula 8-4-2.
- Zechariah 1-6 – Eight Visions
- Zechariah 7-8 – Four Messages
- Zechariah 9-14 – Two Burdens
- The New Testament quotes or alludes to Zechariah at least 40 times.
- Zechariah (520-490 BC)
a. General Information
- Author: Zechariah. Was a levite who was born in Babylon (Neh 12:1, 16). He was the son of Berekiah and the grandson of Iddo the priest (Zechariah 1:1 ; cf. 12:4, 16; Ezra 5:1; 6:14 ), therefore, although the name was a common one, it is possible that he was a priest.
- Zechariah was a prophet.
- Zechariah was probably young (Zechariah 2:4). He is also stated as the head of the family (Neh 6:14) at 520BC which at the time of the writing makes him a young man.
- Audience: Returned Remnant
- Purpose: To encourage the returned remnant to rebuild the temple by focusing on the future hope of Messiah
- Key Term: Messiah
- Easy division of the book
- Chapters 1-6 – Eight visions
- Chapters 7-8 – Four Messages
- Chapters 9-14 – Two Burdens
- Passages that you should know
- Zechariah 1:3 – Return to the Lord!
- Zechariah 1:8-14; 6:1-8 – Angelic patrols
- Zechariah 14:9 – The Lord will be king over all the earth.
- Key Observations
- Remember the structure of the book by the formula 8-4-2.
- To have a correct understanding of God’s prophetic program, we must understand the message of the Book of Zechariah.
Grouping the Prophets
Option 1: Major vs Minor (4 vs 12)
Option 2: Pre-exilic (before 586 BC), exilic (586-538 BC), post-exilic ()
- Pre-exilic 1. North - pre 722 - Hosea, Amos, Jonah 2. South - Joel, Obadiah, Micah, Isaiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2. Exilic 1. Ezekiel 2. Daniel 3. Post-exilic 1. Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
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Zechariah
Introduction#
DATA ABOUT THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH | |
---|---|
1. Title | Zekar-yah |
2. Author | Zacarías, hijo de Berequias, sacerdote, miembro de la sinagoga, nacido durante el exilio, jóven. Contemporaneos: Hageo, Sumo sacerdote Josué, gobernador Zorobabel |
3. Date | 520 AC - 518 AC (Ch 9-14 ~ 470 BC) |
4. Audience | Zorobabel (4:6-9), Josué (3:1, 6:9-15), Jews that had returned from captivity in Babylon (7:4-7) |
5. Place | Jerusalem (1:14-16, 3:1-4:9, 6:9-15, 8:9) |
6. Structure | Introducción, 8 visiones, Instrucciones especiales, 2 cargas |
7. Message | Dios es por Israel. El futuro reinado mesianico trae esperanza y gozo a una gente desanimada. Judá debe retornar y confiar a Dios. |
8. Purpose | Retornar al Señor, animar |
9. Themes | 1ra y 2nda venidas, templo, Israel es escogido de Dios, Escatologia de Israel, Pacto, angel del Señor, el renuevo, el siervo, la roca con 7 ojos, el sumo sacerdote, la piedra angular, |
10.Genre | histórico, didáctico y profético. Introductorio -> Simbólico -> didáctico -> profético |
Important dates to remember
931 BC - The nation of Israel is divided
722 BC - Israel to the north is overtaken by the Assyrians
605 BC - Judah is taken captive
536 BC - The first return lead by Zerrubbabel to rebuild temple
457 BC - Second return led by Ezra to restore the law
444 BC - Third return under Nehemiah to rebuild walls of Jerusalem
4 Temples of Israel#
a. Solomon (kings y Chronicles) b. Zerubbabel (Ezr 5:1-2, John 2:20) c. Antichrist (Dan 9:27, Mat 24:15, Rev 11:1-2) d. Milenial (Eze 40-48, Zech. 6:12)
Zechariah 1:1-6 - Message #1 - “Return to me!”#
A. Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius… This king is not the Darius the Mede we meet during Daniel’s time (538-536 BC). This king, Darius I, is a successor to Cyrus the Persian. He ruled from 522-486 BC. Ezra 4-6#
1. The year is 520 BC. Medo-Persia is in power. Zerubbabel has been placed as governor over Judah.#
2. Some dates to help understand where we are in Israel’s history.#
1. 722 BC - The Assyrians conquer Israel#
2. 700 BC - Isaiah prophesied that a king named Cyrus would be instrumental in returning the people and rebuilding Jerusalem. Isa 44:28, Isa 45:13#
3. 605 BC - The EXILE begins. The Babylonians conquer Judah.#
4. 586 BC - The temple is destroyed#
5. 538 BC - Cyrus makes a decree to set the exiles free and to return to rebuild the temple. Ezra 1:1-4, 6:3#
6. 536 BC - The foundation for the temple begins#
i. After the foundation for the temple was laid, the Samaritans began to make trouble to discourage any rebuilding. Ezr 4:1-6:28,#
ii. The Samaritan woman and Jesus have a conversation surrounding this issue many centuries later. John 4:19-24#
7. 520 BC - Darius I reaffirmed Cyrus’s decree yet the temple remained in ruins. Ezra 6:1-12, Hag 1:4#
a. The rebuilding of the temple begins. Haggai and Zechariah begin their ministry.#
8. 516 BC - the Temple is finished#
9. 457 BC - Artaxerxes I issued a decree to Ezra, giving autonomy to Judah., Ezr 7:12-26#
10. 444 BC - Artaxerxes I issued a decree to Nehemiah to rebuild Jersualem. Neh 2:1-8#
a. The times of the gentiles is set in progress. , Dan 9:24-27, Luk 21:24, Rom 11:25#
3. Haggai began prophecying on this same year as well.#
a. Due to setbacks caused by the Samarians, about 17 years had passed since Cyrus’s decree to return to the land and restore the temple. The temple remains in ruins. Ezr 4-6#
Zechariah 1:1b the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet,#
1. What Zechariah spoke is not of his own initiative or deduction. It was God’s word. Heb 1:1, 2 Tim 3:16-17#
2. Haggai prophesied in September, October and December but nothing in November. Zechariah’s prophecy was in November.#
3. Zerubbabel listened and followed what God commanded. Ezra 5:2#
4. Even though there was opposition, God told the people to begin rebuilding the temple. The opposition remained quiet until hearing back from king Darius I regarding the authenticity of the decree issued by Cyrus. Ezra 5:5#
Zechariah 1:1c the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying, Zech 1:1, Zech 1:7#
Not much is told to us about Berechiah except he was the father of Zechariah.#
Jesus mentioned a martyred prophet called Zechariah son of Berechiah in Matthew 23:35. Luke also mentions this but leaves Berechiah’s name out. Luk 11:51#
It’s difficult to know why it is stated this way in Matthew since we don’t know how Zechariah dies and there is another Zechariah (son of Jehoiada) who was a prophet that had lived 300 years earlier that was killed by the people. 2 Chr. 24:20-22#
Option 1: Berechiah means essentially the same as Jehoiada. Since they mean the same, the names were used interchangeably by Jesus#
Option 2: Both Zechariah’s may have had fathers named Berechias and that Jehoiada was actually Zechariah’s grandfather.#
Option 3: Error in transcription#
Option 4: Jesus witnessed Zechariah son of Berechiah’s murder just the same as he did Abel’s. This seems the most plausible option of the 4.#
Matthew was also familiar with Zechariah since he quotes it three times. It would have caught his attention to hear Jesus state it.#
Iddo, was Zechariah’s grandfather. He was a priest. Iddo is listed among those who returned from Babylon. Neh 12:1-4#
En 520 B.C. Zechariah is probably a young man. Zac 2:4#
Zechariah was a prophet. This was his roll.#
Zechariah 1:2 “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. Having been exiled for 70 years is proof of this. 2 Chr 36#
Zechariah 1:3 “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,#
Zechariah was to speak the Lord of hosts’ word to the people, this would include the few older generation that returned, the young and Zerubbabel and Joshua.#
2. “The Lord of hosts” appears no less than 52 times in Zecharias. The way this title of God is used implies the unlimited resources available at his disposition for his people. Hosts is that which goes forth, army, war, warfare. A host is a mass of persons organized usually for battle. The usage of this title implies that God is He who goes before and battles.#
David understood that it was God who fought for them against their enemies when he went before Goliath in the name of the Lord of hosts. 1 Sam 17:45-46#
New Testament Connection:#
Romans 9:29 - “And just as Isaiah foretold, “UNLESS THE LORD OF SABAOTH HAD LEFT TO US A POSTERITY, WE WOULD HAVE BECOME LIKE SODOM, AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH.”” The Lord of Sabaoth here is the same Lord of hosts. It was the Lord of hosts that kept them from the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah’s. Isa 1:9#
James 4:5 - “Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” James reminds the church age believer with Hebrew roots about how the Lord of hosts had told them to act fairly with everyone and trust God for His provision. Mal 3:5, Zech 7:8-10#
Eventually Christ, when He reigns on the earth will take on the name Lord of hosts. Zech 14:16-17#
Zechariah’s message comes from the Lord of hosts himself. This is crucial to see the importance of his message. Thankfully governor Zerubbabel and Joshua the priest didn’t question the source of Zechariah’s message. Ultimately the temple will be rebuilt under Zerubbabel.#
Zechariah 1:3 “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.#
The opposite of return is to forsake. They had forsaken the Lord of hosts and needed to return. The result would be God’s returning to them as the Lord of hosts to defend and fight for His nation.#
Zechariah 1:4a “Do 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 deeds.” They could see their evil ways and God knew their hearts were far removed. Rev 2:1-7#
Evil ways and evil deeds are demonstrable yet a return to God is not merely about ceasing to do evil things but a return to fellowship.#
A return to God is the condition of the heart (internal). The changed ways are the result (external).#
Zechariah 1:4b “But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD. The previous generation did not listen to God, they did not change their minds and continued on even expecting the consequences. Zech 7:11-14#
God invites Judah into a relationship, not mere external, religious rote. Zech 7:4-6, Zech 8:2, Amo 5:21-27, Col 2:23,#
God hates religious rote as a replacement for a relationship. Isa 1:12-14, Jer 4:4#
It is counted as violence to the law. Eze 22:26, Zep 3:4#
In Acts 17:22 Paul says these words about the Athenians on Mars Hill. So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.#
An old commentator rephrased Paul’s words, I perceive that in all things yo are too superstitious. Jer 10:2, Act 28:3-4, Act 17:23#
Zechariah 1:5 “Your fathers, where are they? The great majority of that generation died while in exile. Most did not return. Psa 90:10#
Zechariah 1:5b And the prophets, do they live forever? Now those prophets were gone, their message should have been heeded at the moment it was proclaimed. Delayed obedience is disobedience.#
God had spoken to them then. They should have listened and returned. In a similar fashion today, God’s offer of salvatión is today, not necessarily tomorrow. Jer 26:5, 2 Cor 6:2#
Zechariah 1:6 “But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? …God had made it abundantly known and clear to everyone. They didn’t have an excuse.#
Zechariah 1:6b Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us...the term repented is a bit confusing here.#
The word SHUB “repented” could also be translated as “returned” (KJV). Compare the use of SHUB in Zec 1:3 with Zec 1:6#
If we are to think they repented, then they are being referred to in a positive light. Yet the whole argument to the admonition hinges on the fact that the previous generation did not do what was right.#
The purpose then must be to show the previous generation had returned, accepting their fate as from God for doing wrong but were still not trusting God. This present generation should not take that approach with God, but rather repent.#
The previous generation recognized their error but never changed their way of thinking, they simply accepted their punishment saying God did as He said. Eze 20:43#
A short note about biblical repentance:#
It’s not merely recognizing the wrong you have done. It’s not a focus on the admission of guilt. Mat 27:3-5#
It’s not feeling sorrow for something (even though that is the contemporary meaning in the dictionary). Biblical Repentance and regret are not synonymous words.#
It is true that God’s kindness or godly sorrow may lead to repentance but they are not one in the same thing. Rom 2:4, 2 Cor 7:9#
It’s not ceasing from sin, promising not to sin or changing one’s life from sin. It may help to realize the phrase “repent of your sins” is not found in the Bible. Acts 2:38 says “repent for the forgiveness of sins” which clearly shows sins being forgiven as a promised result of repentance.#
It’s not something you measure to see if it is real, true or authentic repentance. This is a common misconception that plagues Christianity today. The root is repentance which is internal. The results could be outward and might be seen differently in each case but not that they are required by God for the internal to be authentic. Luk 3:8-18,#
Biblical repentance is changing one’s mind towards God, you change your thinking regarding what you are trusting in to trust God. Act 20:21, Acts 11:18, Isa 1:18, Heb 6:1#
F or instance, in the case of an unbeliever, to change ones mind about God’s offer made through the Gospel (that Christ died paying for our sins and rising again) and believe it. Luk 24:45-47, Acts 19:4, Luk 13:1-5#
Or for a believer in error should repent (change his or her thinking) towards God regarding walking according to the flesh or sinful lifestyle for instance. Rev 2:21, Rev 3:3, Rev 3:19, 1 Jn 1:9, Rom 6:1-11, Rom 8:12-13, Gal 5:16#
Conclusion of Message #1#
God invited this generation to return to himself. It was an invitation to a relationship of trust and dependance in God. The previous generation had disobeyed God. They returned physically to the land, they even recognized their error but never changed their minds and placed their faith in God alone. Returning to God is an act of faith (changing one’s mind towards God) not by external works (ie returning to the land, rebuilding the temple).
Zechariah 1:7-6:15 - Message #2 - Zechariah is given 8 visions that show a hopeful future of Israel, Jerusalem and the temple.#
Zechariah received 8 visions in one night. All 8 visions for the most part follow a similar pattern.#
1. Introduction
2. An explanation of what was seen
3. A request for clarification
4. The meaning of the vision
Vision | Meaning |
---|---|
1 Horseman | (1:7-17): Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt. The nations watched |
2 Horns and craftsmen | (1:18-21): The four empires will be terrified by four craftsmen |
3 Measuring Jerusalem | (2:1-13): Jerusalem measured=restored |
4 High Priest | (3:1-10): Judah rejects God, yet ultimately God will restore them |
5 Olive Trees | (4:1-14): God empowers his people through His Spirit |
6 The Flying Scroll | (5:1-4): |
7 The Ephah | (5:5-11): |
8 Four Chariots | (6:1-15): Gentiles judged / Christ’s reign |