Zechariah’s Fourth Vision

3 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before^[a] the angel of Yahweh; and Satan^[b] was standing on his right to accuse him. ² But Yahweh said to Satan,^[c] “Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan!^[d] Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! Is this not a stick snatched from the fire?” ³ And Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before^[e] the angel. ⁴ And he answered and said to the ones standing before^[f] him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And he said to him, “See, I have taken away your guilt^[g] from you, and will clothe you with rich garments.” ⁵ And I said, “Let them put a clean headband^[h] on his head.” And they put a clean headband on his head, and they clothed him with garments. And the angel of Yahweh was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of Yahweh assured Joshua, saying, ⁷ “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my requirements, then you will judge^[i] my house, and you will also guard my courtyards, and I will give to you passageways^[j] among these that are standing here. ⁸ Listen, please, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions^[k] that are sitting before^[l] you. For the men are a sign that,^[m] look, I am going to bring my servant the Branch.^{[n] 9} For consider, the stone that I set before^[o] Joshua, on one stone are seven eyes.^[p] Look, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’^[q] declares^[r] Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will remove the guilt of that land in a single day. ¹⁰ On that day,’ declares^[s] Yahweh of hosts, ‘you will invite one another^[t] under the vine and under the fig tree.’”

Zechariah’s Fifth Vision

4 And the angel who was talking with me returned, and he wakened me as one who is wakened from his sleep. ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and look, a lampstand all of gold,^[u] and a bowl was on its top, and its seven lamps on it, and seven lips on each of the lamps that are on its top. ³ And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” ⁴ And I answered and said to the angel who was talking to me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel who was talking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ And he answered and said to me, “This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by strength and not by power, but only by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of hosts. ⁷ ‘Who are you O great mountain? Before^[v] Zerubbabel you will become level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

The Two Witnesses

11 And a measuring rod similar in appearance to a staff was given to me, saying, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. ² And leave out the courtyard outside of the temple, and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample the holy city for forty two months. ³ And I will grant authority^[a] to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, dressed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and consumes their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, in this way he must be killed. ⁶ These have the authority to shut the sky, so that it does not rain^[b] during the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over the waters, to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they wish.

⁷ And when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war with them and will conquer them and will kill them. ⁸ And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is called symbolically Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ And those from peoples and tribes and languages and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and they will not allow their dead bodies to be placed in a tomb. ¹⁰ And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them, and will celebrate and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.

¹¹ And after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here,” and they went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ And at that hour a great earthquake took place, and a tenth of the city collapsed, and seven thousand people^[c] were killed by the earthquake, and the rest became terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴ The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly!

The Blowing of the Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵ And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying,

¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God fell down on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying,

¹⁹ And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were lightnings and sounds and thunders and an earthquake and large hail.^[f]

³¹ Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was an important day), asked Pilate that their legs could be broken and they could be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. ³³ But when they^[a] came to Jesus, after they saw he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water came out immediately. ³⁵ And the one who has seen it^[b] has testified, and his testimony is true, and that person knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶ For these things happened in order that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not a bone of his will be broken.”^{[c] 37} And again another scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”^[d]

John the Baptist Begins His Ministry

3 Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” ³ For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying,

⁴ Now John himself had his clothing made from camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they^[b] confessed their sins.