God in Zechariah

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1. 1:1

   In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:

2. 1:2

   “The LORD was very angry with your fathers.

3. 1:3

   So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’

4. 1:4

   Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD.

5. 1:6

   But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”

6. 1:7

   On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo.

7. 1:10

   Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”

8. 1:11

   And the riders answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and tranquil.”

9. 1:12

   Then the angel of the LORD said, “How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?”

10. 1:13

    So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.

11. 1:14

    Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,

12. 1:16

    Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’

13. 1:17

    Proclaim further that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

14. 1:20

    Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

15. 2:5

    For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”

16. 2:6

    “Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD.

17. 2:8

    For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—

18. 2:9

    I will surely wave My hand over them, so that they will become plunder for their own servants. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me.”

19. 2:10

    “Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.

20. 2:11

    “On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.

21. 2:12

    And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem.

22. 2:13

    Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”

23. 3:1

    Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

24. 3:2

    And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?”

25. 3:5

    Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him, as the angel of the LORD stood by.

26. 3:6

    Then the angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua:

27. 3:7

    “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, then you will govern My house and will also have charge of My courts; and I will give you a place among these who are standing here.

28. 3:9

    See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

29. 3:10

    On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.’”

30. 4:6

    So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.

31. 4:8

    Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

32. 4:9

    “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.

33. 4:10

    For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

34. 4:14

    So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”

35. 5:4

    I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

36. 6:5

    And the angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth from their station before the Lord of all the earth.

37. 6:9

    The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,

38. 6:12

    And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD.

39. 6:13

    Yes, He will build the temple of the LORD; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. And He will be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two.’

40. 6:14

    The crown will reside in the temple of the LORD as a memorial to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the gracious son of Zephaniah.

41. 6:15

    Even those far away will come and build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

42. 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, the month of Chislev.

43. 7:2

    Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD

44. 7:3

    by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

45. 7:4

    Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,

46. 7:7

    Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

47. 7:8

    Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,

48. 7:9

    “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.

49. 7:12

    They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.

50. 7:13

    And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.

51. 8:1

    Again the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying:

52. 8:2

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.”

53. 8:3

    This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

54. 8:4

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.

55. 8:6

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts.

56. 8:7

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west.

57. 8:8

    I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”

58. 8:9

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the temple, the house of the LORD of Hosts.

59. 8:11

    But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

60. 8:14

    For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Hosts,

61. 8:17

    do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.

62. 8:18

    Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,

63. 8:19

    “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”

64. 8:20

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—

65. 8:21

    and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the LORD and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I myself am going.’

66. 8:22

    And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before the LORD.”

67. 8:23

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

68. 9:1

    This is the burden of the word of the LORD against the land of Hadrach and Damascus its resting place—for the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the LORD—

69. 9:4

    Behold, the Lord will impoverish her and cast her wealth into the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.

70. 9:7

    I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

71. 9:14

    Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.

72. 9:15

    The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar.

73. 9:16

    On that day the LORD their God will save them as the flock of His people; for like jewels in a crown they will sparkle over His land.

74. 10:1

    Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.

75. 10:3

    “My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle.

76. 10:5

    They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.

77. 10:6

    I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have 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.

78. 10:7

    Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

79. 10:12

    I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.

80. 11:4

    This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,

81. 11:5

    whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

82. 11:6

    For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king, who will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from their hands.”

83. 11:11

    It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

84. 11:13

    And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

85. 11:15

    And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

86. 12:1

    This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him:

87. 12:4

    On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations.

88. 12:5

    Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: ‘The people of Jerusalem are my strength, for the LORD of Hosts is their God.’

89. 12:7

    The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.

90. 12:8

    On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.

91. 13:2

    And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.

92. 13:3

    And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through.

93. 13:7

    Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.

94. 13:8

    And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it.

95. 13:9

    This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. 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 our God.’”

96. 14:1

    Behold, a day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence.

97. 14:3

    Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.

98. 14:5

    You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.

99. 14:7

    It will be a unique day known only to the LORD, without day or night; but when evening comes, there will be light.

100. 14:9

     On that day the LORD will become King over all the earth—the LORD alone, and His name alone.

101. 14:12

     And this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

102. 14:13

     On that day a great panic from the LORD will come upon them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other.

103. 14:16

     Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

104. 14:17

     And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them.

105. 14:18

     And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter in, then the rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

106. 14:20

     On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar.

107. 14:21

     Indeed, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take some pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Hosts.