Chapter 1

This eBook was produced by David Widger with the help of Derek Andrew's text from January 1992 and the work of Bryan Taylor in November 2002.

Book 38 Zechariah

38:001:001 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

38:001:002 The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.

38:001:003 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

38:001:004 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

38:001:005 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

38:001:006 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

38:001:007 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

38:001:008 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.

38:001:009 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.

38:001:010 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.

38:001:011 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

38:001:012 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

38:001:013 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.

38:001:014 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

38:001:015 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

38:001:016 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

38:001:017 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

38:001:018 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

38:001:019 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

38:001:020 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.

38:001:021 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

38:002:001 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.

38:002:002 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.

38:002:003 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,

38:002:004 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:

38:002:005 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

38:002:006 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.

38:002:007 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.

38:002:008 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

38:002:009 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.

38:002:010 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.

38:002:011 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

38:002:012 And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.

38:002:013 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

38:003:001 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

38:003:002 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

38:003:003 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

38:003:004 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

38:003:005 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

38:003:006 And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,

38:003:007 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.

38:003:008 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

38:003:009 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

38:003:010 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

38:004:001 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.

38:004:002 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:

38:004:003 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

38:004:004 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

38:004:005 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

38:004:006 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

38:004:007 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

38:004:008 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

38:004:009 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.

38:004:010 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

38:004:011 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?

38:004:012 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?

38:004:013 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

38:004:014 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.

38:005:001 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.

38:005:002 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

38:005:003 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.

38:005:004 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

38:005:005 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.

38:005:006 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.

38:005:007 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.

38:005:008 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

38:005:009 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.

38:005:010 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?

38:005:011 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

38:006:001 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.

38:006:002 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

38:006:003 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.

38:006:004 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?

38:006:005 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the LORD of all the earth.

38:006:006 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.

38:006:007 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.

38:006:008 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

38:006:009 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

38:006:010 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;

38:006:011 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;

38:006:012 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

38:006:013 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

38:006:014 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.

38:006:015 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.

38:007:001 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

38:007:002 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,

38:007:003 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

38:007:004 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

38:007:005 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

38:007:006 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

38:007:007 Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?

38:007:008 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

38:007:009 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

38:007:010 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

38:007:011 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

38:007:012 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

38:007:013 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:

38:007:014 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

38:008:001 Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,

38:008:002 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

38:008:003 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

38:008:004 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

38:008:005 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

38:008:006 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.

38:008:007 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;

38:008:008 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

38:008:009 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

38:008:010 For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

38:008:011 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.

38:008:012 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

38:008:013 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

38:008:014 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:

38:008:015 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

38:008:016 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

38:008:017 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.

38:008:018 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,

38:008:019 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

38:008:020 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

38:008:021 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.

38:008:022 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

38:008:023 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

38:009:001 The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.

38:009:002 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.

38:009:003 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.

38:009:004 Behold, the LORD will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.

38:009:005 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

38:009:006 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

38:009:007 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.

38:009:008 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.

38:009:009 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

38:009:010 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

38:009:011 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.