Old/New Testament
Introduction
1 In the eighth month of Darius’[a] second year,[b] the Lord’s message came to the prophet Zechariah,[c] son of Berechiah son of Iddo:
2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.[d] 3 Therefore say to the people:[e] The Lord of Heaven’s Armies[f] says, ‘Turn[g] to me,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘and I will turn to you,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said, “Turn now from your evil wickedness.”’ But they would by no means obey me, says the Lord. 5 As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever? 6 But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers?[h] Then they paid attention[i] and confessed, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”
The Introduction to the Visions
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in Darius’ second year,[j] the Lord’s message came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo:
The Content of the First Vision
8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated[k] on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees[l] in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel,[m] and white horses.
The Interpretation of the First Vision
9 Then I asked one nearby, “What are these, sir?” The angelic messenger[n] who replied to me said, “I will show you what these are.” 10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk about[o] on the earth.” 11 The riders then agreed with the angel of the Lord,[p] who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been walking about on the earth, and now everything is at rest and quiet.” 12 The angel of the Lord then asked, “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[q] how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that you have been so angry with for these seventy years?”[r] 13 The Lord then addressed good, comforting words to the angelic messenger who was speaking to me. 14 Turning to me, the messenger then said, “Cry out that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘I am very much moved[s] for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 But I am greatly displeased with the nations that take my grace for granted.[t] I was a little displeased with them, but they have only made things worse for themselves.
The Oracle of Response
16 “‘Therefore,’ this is what the Lord has said, ‘I have become compassionate[u] toward Jerusalem and will rebuild my temple[v] in it,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ‘Once more a surveyor’s measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’ 17 Speak up again with the message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: ‘My cities will once more overflow with prosperity, and once more the Lord will comfort Zion and validate his choice of Jerusalem.’”
Vision Two: The Four Horns
18 (2:1)[w] Once again I looked and this time I saw four horns. 19 So I asked the angelic messenger[x] who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns[y] that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths.[z] 21 I asked, “What are these going to do?” He answered, “These horns are the ones that have scattered Judah so that there is no one to be seen.[aa] But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies[ab] and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.”[ac]
Vision Three: The Surveyor
2 (2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and its length.” 3 At this point the angelic messenger[ad] who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him 4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man[ae] as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls[af] because of the multitude of people and animals there. 5 But I,’ the Lord says, ‘will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem[ag] and the source of glory in her midst.’”
6 “You there![ah] Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven[ai] I have scattered you,” says the Lord. 7 “Escape, Zion, you who live among the Babylonians!”[aj] 8 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “For his own glory[ak] he has sent me to the nations that plundered you—for anyone who touches you touches the pupil[al] of his[am] eye. 9 Yes, look here, I am about to punish them[an] so that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter![ao] For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation,[ap] and they will also be my[aq] people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of[ar] Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again. 13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere,[as] for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”[at]
Vision Four: The Priest
3 Next I saw Joshua the high priest[au] standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan[av] standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord[aw] said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes[ax] as he stood there before the angel. 4 The angel[ay] spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua,[az] “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you[ba] in fine clothing.” 5 Then I spoke up, “Let a clean turban be put on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood nearby. 6 Then the angel of the Lord exhorted Joshua solemnly: 7 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘If you follow[bb] my ways and keep my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple[bc] and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you. 8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you[bd] are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch.[be] 9 As for the stone[bf] I have set before Joshua—on the one stone there are seven eyes.[bg] I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.[bh] 10 In that day,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’”[bi]
Vision Five: The Menorah
4 The angelic messenger[bj] who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied,[bk] “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top. There are seven lamps at the top, with seven[bl] pipes going to the lamps. 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left.”[bm] 4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these,[bn] sir?” 5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.” 6 Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’[bo] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Oracle of Response
7 “What are you, you great mountain?[bp] Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple[bq] capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’[br] because of this.” 8 Moreover, the Lord’s message came to me as follows: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple,[bs] and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes[bt] will joyfully look on the tin tablet[bu] in Zerubbabel’s hand. These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.”
11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?” 12 Before he could reply I asked again, “What are these two extensions[bv] of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?” 13 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones[bw] who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Babylon is Destroyed
18 After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance.[a] 2 He[b] shouted with a powerful voice:
“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!
She[c] has become a lair for demons,
a haunt[d] for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detested beast.[e]
3 For all the nations[f] have fallen[g] from
the wine of her immoral passion,[h]
and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.”[i]
4 Then[j] I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, 5 because her sins have piled[k] up all the way to heaven[l] and God has remembered[m] her crimes.[n] 6 Repay her the same way she repaid others;[o] pay her back double[p] corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her. 7 As much as[q] she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury,[r] to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself,[s] ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’ 8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues[t] in a single day: disease,[u] mourning,[v] and famine, and she will be burned down[w] with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”
9 Then[x] the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury[y] with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up.[z] 10 They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say,
“Woe, woe, O great city,
Babylon the powerful city!
For in a single hour your doom[aa] has come!”
11 Then[ab] the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo[ac] any longer— 12 cargo such as gold, silver,[ad] precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk,[ae] scarlet cloth,[af] all sorts of things made of citron wood,[ag] all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice,[ah] incense, perfumed ointment,[ai] frankincense,[aj] wine, olive oil and costly flour,[ak] wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages,[al] slaves and human lives.[am]
14 (The ripe fruit[an] you greatly desired[ao]
has gone from you,
and all your luxury[ap] and splendor[aq]
have gone from you—
they will never ever be found again!)[ar]
15 The merchants who sold[as] these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep[at] and mourn, 16 saying,
“Woe, woe, O great city—
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing,[au]
and adorned with gold,[av] precious stones, and pearls—
17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!”[aw]
And every ship’s captain,[ax] and all who sail along the coast[ay]—seamen, and all who[az] make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18 and began to shout[ba] when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up,[bb] “Who is like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning,[bc]
“Woe, Woe, O great city—
in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth—
because in a single hour she has been destroyed!”[bd]
20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has pronounced judgment[be] against her on your behalf!)[bf]
21 Then[bg] one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
“With this kind of sudden violent force[bh]
Babylon the great city will be thrown down[bi]
and it will never be found again!
22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,
flute players, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you[bj] again.
No[bk] craftsman[bl] who practices any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the noise of a mill[bm] will never be heard in you again.
23 Even the light from a lamp
will never shine in you again!
The voices of the bridegroom and his bride
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,
because all the nations[bn] were deceived by your magic spells![bo]
24 The[bp] blood of the saints and prophets was found in her,[bq]
along with the blood[br] of all those who had been killed on the earth.”
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