The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues

15 Then ^(A)I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, ^(B)seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw ^(C)what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those ^(D)who had conquered the beast and its image and ^(E)the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass ^(F)with harps of God in their hands. ³ And they sing ^(G)the song of Moses, ^(H)the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

⁵ After this I looked, and ^(N)the sanctuary of ^(O)the tent^[b] of witness in heaven was opened, ⁶ and out of the sanctuary came ^(P)the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright ^(Q)linen, ^(R)with golden sashes around their chests. ⁷ And one of ^(S)the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven ^(T)golden bowls full of the wrath of God ^(U)who lives forever and ever, ⁸ and ^(V)the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and ^(W)no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

A Vision of Four Chariots

6 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of ^(A)bronze. ² The first chariot had ^(B)red horses, the second ^(C)black horses, ³ the third ^(D)white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.^{[a] 4} Then I answered and said to ^(E)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel answered and said to me, ^(F)“These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after ^(G)presenting themselves before ^(H)the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The chariot with the black horses goes toward ^(I)the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward ^(J)the south country.” ⁷ When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and ^(K)patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, ^(L)patrol the earth.” ^(M)So they patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward ^(N)the north country have set my Spirit at rest in ^(O)the north country.”

The Crown and the Temple

⁹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take from the exiles ^(P)Heldai, Tobijah, and ^(Q)Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of ^(R)Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, ^(S)and set it on the head of ^(T)Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is ^(U)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and ^(V)he shall build the temple of the Lord. ^13 (W)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord ^(X)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there^[b] shall be a ^(Y)priest on his throne, ^(Z)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ ¹⁴ And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as ^(AA)a reminder to ^(AB)Helem,^{[c] (AC)}Tobijah, ^(AD)Jedaiah, and Hen ^(AE)the son of Zephaniah.

^15 (AF)“And those who are far off shall come and ^(AG)help to build the temple of the Lord. ^(AH)And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ^(AI)And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

A Call for Justice and Mercy

7 ^(AJ)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 ^(AK)Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men ^(AL)to entreat the favor of the Lord, ^3 (AM)saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and ^(AN)the prophets, “Should I weep and ^(AO)abstain in ^(AP)the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in ^(AQ)the fifth month and in ^(AR)the seventh, for these ^(AS)seventy years, ^(AT)was it ^(AU)for me that you fasted? ^6 (AV)And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ^7 (AW)Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed ^(AX)by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, ^(AY)with her cities around her, and the ^(AZ)South and the ^(BA)lowland were inhabited?’”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(BB)Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, ^10 (BC)do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, ^(BD)or the poor, and ^(BE)let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” ¹¹ But ^(BF)they refused to pay attention ^(BG)and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.^{[d] 12 (BH)}They made their hearts diamond-hard ^(BI)lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent ^(BJ)by his Spirit through ^(BK)the former prophets. ^(BL)Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. ^13 (BM)“As I^[e] called, and they would not hear, ^(BN)so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, ^14 (BO)“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all ^(BP)the nations that they had not known. ^(BQ)Thus the land they left was desolate, ^(BR)so that no one went to and fro, ^(BS)and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.