Zechariah 8 – The Voice

The word of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, came, this time bringing a series of five short messages about hope.

Eternal One: First, I have a jealous desire to be among My people in Zion. I want it more than anything. I am burning with angry jealousy for her and her welfare.

Second, I will return to Zion and live in the heart of Jerusalem. So it will then be known far and wide as the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will be called Holy Mountain.

Third, elderly men and women will sit in Jerusalem’s streets with staffs in hand because of their old age. The city streets will bustle with boys and girls playing outside on the roads and in the squares.

Ultimately, God’s purpose is redeeming His fallen creation. He initiated His plan of redemption by calling and equipping the children of Abraham to be a light to the nations. Zechariah foresees a day when Jerusalem is the center of the world; when people of every race, creed, and color journey to it; and when the Jews show the rest of the world the way to the one True God.

After chapter 8, the Book of Zechariah changes—its tone, its character, its focus. Chapters 1–8 have been about the people and times immediately after the exile ended, a period when Persia ruled the world. Chapters 9–14 seem removed from that world, its people, and its interests—but just how far removed is uncertain. It is possible that these last chapters were not written by Zechariah, and the debate about who wrote them and when they were written has raged since Jesus died. In 27:9-10 of his Gospel, Matthew identifies the author as Jeremiah, a forerunner of Zechariah. More recent scholarship has further confused the matter because the setting in chapter 9 could describe any time in Jerusalem between Hezekiah’s rule before the exile and the Maccabean revolts 400 years later. This inability to positively identify the author and the audience, along with the lack of historical, contextual markers in the text itself, make these words universally applicable. They may even describe the end time when God judges the nations.

Fourth, this may come as a surprise to the remnant of these people, eking out an existence during these harsh days, but what is surprising to you is not for Me.

Fifth, I will rescue My people from far and wide, from east to west across the land, and I will bring them home to live in peace in Jerusalem where they will be My people once more. I will be truthful and just to them as their God.

Here is an encouragement from the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

Eternal One: To those of you who have been listening recently to My words through the prophets, who were working for Me when the foundation of the house of the Eternal One was being laid just decades ago, keep yourselves strong so that the temple walls may now be built. Before then no one could earn a living in Jerusalem or in exile. Neither men nor their animals could find work. No one could move about safely for fear of his enemies because I had turned every man against each other. However, that was the past. I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, promise I will not treat the remnant of My people as I once did. What you witness now will be very different—a new day when seeds of peace will be sown in fertile soil. The seeds will grow into sheaves of wheat, and the vines will produce luscious grapes. The ground will yield its crops, and pleasant dew will again fall from the heavens. And I will give these things to My remnant as their inheritance. Because you, people of Judah and Israel, were once the objects of scorn among the nations, I will rescue you and you will become a blessing. Don’t be afraid, and keep yourselves strong.

When your ancestors angered Me, I was determined to bring disaster to your generation as well as theirs, and I refused to change My plan. All the same, I have now determined to do good for Jerusalem and the people of Judah. Don’t be afraid. Here are the things you must do: Speak truth to each other. Pursue justice in your courts. Render decisions that reflect truth and bring peace to the community. Do not conspire to bring harm against one another. Do not make promises you don’t intend to keep. I hate all these things.

So said the Eternal.

The word of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, came to me with three brief messages about a happy future for His people and the entire world.

Eternal One: From now on, the fasting times of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be happy occasions and times of celebration for the people of Judah. So you should love truth and pursue peace.

Many people from many cities will come streaming to My holy city. The citizens from one of these cities will approach the citizens of another and say, “You must come with me. Let’s journey to Jerusalem to seek the blessings of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, and ask for His favor directly. I am certainly going.”

That is why many people and powerful nations will come together as one to Jerusalem to seek the blessings of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, and ask for His favor directly.

Eternal One: A day is coming when 10 men, people from every nation speaking every language will grab the cloak of a Jew and beg him, “Let us come with you because we have heard the True God is among you and we want Him to save us, too.”

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Zechariah 7 – International Children’s Bible

It was the fourth year of King Darius’s rule. It was on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Kislev. The Lord spoke his word to Zechariah. The city of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech and their men to ask the Lord a question. They went to the prophets and priests. They were at the Temple of the Lord of heaven’s armies. The men said, “For years the fifth month of each year has been a special time for us. We have shown our sadness and gone without food in this month. Should we continue to do this?”

The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me. He said, “Tell the priests and the people in the country this: ‘For 70 years you went without food and cried in the fifth and seventh months. But that was not really for me. And when you ate and drank, it was really for yourselves. The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing. Jerusalem and the surrounding towns were at peace and wealthy then. People lived in the southern area and the western mountain slopes.’”

And the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah again: “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘Do what is right and fair. Be kind and merciful to each other. Don’t hurt widows and orphans, foreigners or the poor. Don’t even think of doing evil to somebody else.’

“But they refused to pay attention. They were stubborn and would not listen. They made their hearts as hard as rock. They would not listen to the teachings of the Lord of heaven’s armies. And they would not hear his words through the earlier prophets. So the Lord of heaven’s armies became very angry.

“The Lord of heaven’s armies says, ‘When I called to them, they would not listen. So when they called to me, I would not listen. I scattered them like a hurricane to other countries. These were countries they did not know. This good land was left so ruined that no one could live there.’”

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Zechariah 6 – New American Standard Bible

Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong spotted horses. So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going out to the north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the south country.” When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth. And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then He called out to me and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you shall go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

Also take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, ‘The Lord of armies says this: “Behold, there is a Man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the majesty and sit and rule on His throne. So He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. Those who are far away will come and build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the Lord your God.

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Zechariah 5 – New International Reader’s Version

I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.

“What do you see?” the angel asked me.

“A scroll flying in the air,” I replied. “It’s 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”

He said to me, “A curse sent by the Lord is written on it. It is going out over the whole land. Every thief will be driven out of the land. That is what it says on one side of the scroll. Everyone who lies when promising to tell the truth will also be driven out. That is what it says on the other side. The Lord who rules over all announces, ‘I will send the curse out. It will enter the house of the thief. It will also enter the house of anyone who lies when making a promise in my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely. It will pull down its beams and stones.’ ”

Then the angel who was talking with me came forward. He said to me, “Look at what is coming.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“A basket,” he replied. “The sins of the people all through the land are in it.”

Then the basket’s cover was lifted up. It was made out of lead. A woman was sitting in the basket! The angel said, “She stands for everything that is evil.” Then he pushed her down into the basket. He put the lead cover back over it.

I looked up and saw two other women. They had wings like the wings of a stork. A wind sent by the Lord carried them along. They lifted the basket up between heaven and earth.

“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.

He replied, “To the country of Babylon. A temple will be built for it. When the temple is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

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Zechariah 8 – English Standard Version

And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says 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 seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

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Zechariah 7 – English Standard Version

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

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Zechariah 6 – English Standard Version

Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”

And the word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of 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 the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.

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

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Zechariah 5 – English Standard Version

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

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

Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! 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 land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

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Zechariah 4 – New International Version

Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

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 Almighty.

“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”

Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I said.

So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”

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Zechariah 3 – Easy-to-Read Version

The angel showed me Joshua the high priest, standing in front of the angel of the Lord and Satan was standing by Joshua’s right side. Satan was there to accuse Joshua of doing wrong. Then the angel of the Lord said, “The Lord says that you are wrong, and he will continue to correct you! The Lord has chosen Jerusalem to be his special city. He saved that city—it was like a burning stick pulled from the fire.”

Joshua was wearing a dirty robe as he stood in front of the angel. Then the angel said to the other angels standing near him, “Take those dirty clothes off Joshua.” Then the angel spoke to Joshua. He said, “Now, I have taken away your guilt, and I am giving you a new change of clothes.”

Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put the clean turban on him and also put clean clothes on him while the Lord’s angel stood there. Then the Lord’s angel said this to Joshua:

This is what the Lord All-Powerful said:
“Live the way I tell you,
    and do everything I say.
And you will be in charge of my Temple.
    You will take care of its courtyard.
You will be free to go anywhere in my Temple,
    just as these angels standing here.
Listen, Joshua, you who are the high priest,
    and listen, you fellow priests seated before him.
You are all examples to show what will happen when I bring my special servant.
    He is called, the Branch.
Look, I put a special stone in front of Joshua.
    There are seven sides on that stone.
I will carve a special message on it.
    This will show that in one day, I will remove the guilt from this land.”

The Lord All-Powerful says,
“At that time people will sit and talk
    with their friends and neighbors.
They will invite each other to sit
    under the fig trees and grapevines.”

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