Zechariah 5-6

English Standard Version

A Vision of a Flying Scroll

5 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying ^(A)scroll! ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying ^(B)scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”^{[a] 3} Then he said to me, “This is ^(C)the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who ^(D)steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who ^(E)swears falsely^[b] shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. ⁴ I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of ^(F)him who swears falsely by my name. And ^(G)it shall remain in his house and ^(H)consume it, both timber and stones.”

A Vision of a Woman in a Basket

^5 (I)Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, ^(J)“Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” ⁶ And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is ^(K)the basket^[c] that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity^[d] in all the land.” ⁷ And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! ⁸ And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down ^(L)the leaden weight on its opening.

⁹ Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! ^(M)The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. ¹⁰ Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” ¹¹ He said to me, “To the ^(N)land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

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 ^(O)bronze. ² The first chariot had ^(P)red horses, the second ^(Q)black horses, ³ the third ^(R)white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.^{[e] 4} Then I answered and said to ^(S)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel answered and said to me, ^(T)“These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after ^(U)presenting themselves before ^(V)the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The chariot with the black horses goes toward ^(W)the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward ^(X)the south country.” ⁷ When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and ^(Y)patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, ^(Z)patrol the earth.” ^(AA)So they patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward ^(AB)the north country have set my Spirit at rest in ^(AC)the north country.”

The Crown and the Temple

⁹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take from the exiles ^(AD)Heldai, Tobijah, and ^(AE)Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of ^(AF)Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, ^(AG)and set it on the head of ^(AH)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 ^(AI)the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and ^(AJ)he shall build the temple of the Lord. ^13 (AK)It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord ^(AL)and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there^[f] shall be a ^(AM)priest on his throne, ^(AN)and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ ¹⁴ And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as ^(AO)a reminder to ^(AP)Helem,^{[g] (AQ)}Tobijah, ^(AR)Jedaiah, and Hen ^(AS)the son of Zephaniah.

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