New King James Version (NKJV)

Vision of the Four Chariots

1 Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariotswerecoming from between two mountains, and the mountainsweremountains of bronze.

2 With the first chariotwerered horses, with the second chariotblack horses,

3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strongsteeds.

4 Then I answeredand said to the angel who talked with me, “Whatarethese, my lord?”

5 And the angel answered and said to me,“Thesearefour spirits of heaven, who go out fromtheirstation before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The one with the black horses is going tothe north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.”

7 Then the strongsteedswent out, eager to go, that they mightwalk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth.

8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to MySpirit in the north country.”

The Command to Crown Joshua

9 Then the word of theLordcame to me, saying:

10 “Receivethegiftfrom the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah.

11 Take the silver and gold, makean elaborate crown, and setiton the head ofJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says theLordof hosts, saying:

# “Behold,the Man whose nameistheBRANCH!

From His place He shall branch out,

# And He shall build the temple of theLord;

13 Yes, He shall build the temple of theLord.

# Heshall bear the glory,

And shall sit and rule on His throne;

# SoHe shall be a priest on His throne,

And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’

14 “Now the elaborate crown shall befor a memorial in the temple of theLordfor Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.

15 Eventhose from afar shall come and build the temple of theLord. Then you shall know that theLordof hosts has sent Me to you. Andthisshall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of theLordyour God.”

Obedience Better than Fasting

1 Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to passthatthe word of theLordcame to Zechariah, on the fourthdayof the ninth month, Chislev,

2 whenthepeoplesent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men,tothe house of God, to pray before theLord,

3 andtoask the priests whowerein the house of theLordof hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep inthe fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then the word of theLordof hosts came to me, saying,

5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When youfasted and mourned in the fifthand seventhmonthsduring those seventy years, did you really fastfor Me—for Me?

6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drinkforyourselves?

7 Shouldyounothaveobeyedthe words which theLordproclaimed through theformer prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, andthe South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”

Disobedience Resulted in Captivity

8 Then the word of theLordcame to Zechariah, saying,

9 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

# ‘Execute true justice,

Show mercy and compassion

Everyone to his brother.

10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,

The alien or the poor.

# Let none of you plan evil in his heart

Against his brother.’

11 “But they refused to heed,shrugged their shoulders, andstopped their ears so that they could not hear.

12 Yes, they made theirhearts like flint,refusing to hear the law and the words which theLordof hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets.Thus great wrath came from theLordof hosts.

13 Therefore it happened,thatjust as He proclaimed and they would not hear, sothey called out and I would not listen,” says theLordof hosts.

14 “ButI scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”

Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future

1 Again the word of theLordof hosts came, saying,

2 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

# ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal;

With great fervor I am zealous for her.’

3 “Thus says theLord:

# ‘I will return to Zion,

# Anddwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

# Jerusalemshall be called the City of Truth,

# The Mountain of theLordof hosts,

# The Holy Mountain.’

4 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

# ‘Old men and old women shall again sit

In the streets of Jerusalem,

Each one with his staff in his hand

Because of great age.

5 The streets of the city

# Shall befull of boys and girls

Playing in its streets.’

6 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,

# Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’

Says theLordof hosts.

7 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

# ‘Behold,I will save My people from the land of the east

And from the land of the west;

8 I willbring themback,

And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

# They shall be My people

And I will be their God,

# In truth and righteousness.’

9 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

# ‘Let your hands be strong,

You who have been hearing in these days

# These words by the mouth ofthe prophets,

# Whospokeinthe day the foundation was laid

For the house of theLordof hosts,

That the temple might be built.

10 For before these days

# There were nowages for man nor any hire for beast;

Therewasno peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;

For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.

11 But now Iwillnottreatthe remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says theLordof hosts.

12 ‘Forthe seedshallbeprosperous,

The vine shall give its fruit,

# The ground shall give her increase,

# Andthe heavens shall give their dew—

I will cause the remnant of this people

To possess all these.

13 And it shall come to pass

# Thatjust as you werea curse among the nations,

O house of Judah and house of Israel,

# So I will save you, andyou shall be a blessing.

Do not fear,

Let your hands be strong.’

14 “For thus says theLordof hosts:

# ‘Just as I determined to punish you

When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’

Says theLordof hosts,

# ‘And I would not relent,

15 So again in these days

I am determined to do good

To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

Do not fear.

16 Thesearethe things you shalldo:

# Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;

Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;

17 Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor;

And do not love a false oath.

For all thesearethingsthat I hate,’

Says theLord.”

18 Then the word of theLordof hosts came to me, saying,

19 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

# ‘The fast of the fourthmonth,

# The fast of the fifth,

# The fast of the seventh,

# And the fast of the tenth,

# Shall bejoy and gladness and cheerful feasts

For the house of Judah.

# Therefore love truth and peace.’

20 “Thus says theLordof hosts:

‘Peoples shall yet come,

Inhabitants of many cities;

21 The inhabitants of onecityshall go to another, saying,

# “Let us continue to go and pray before theLord,

And seek theLordof hosts.

I myself will go also.”

22 Yes,many peoples and strong nations

Shall come to seek theLordof hosts in Jerusalem,

And to pray before theLord.’

23 “Thus says theLordof hosts: ‘In those days ten menfrom every language of the nations shallgrasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heardthatGodiswith you.” ’ ”

Israel Defended Against Enemies

1 The burden of the word of theLord

Against the land of Hadrach,

# AndDamascus its resting place

# (Forthe eyes of men

And all the tribes of Israel

Are on theLord);

2 AlsoagainstHamath,whichborders on it,

# AndagainstTyre andSidon, though they are verywise.

3 For Tyre built herself a tower,

Heaped up silver like the dust,

And gold like the mire of the streets.

4 Behold,the Lord will cast her out;

# He will destroyher power in the sea,

And she will be devoured by fire.

5 Ashkelon shall seeitand fear;

Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;

# AndEkron, for He dried up her expectation.

The king shall perish from Gaza,

And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

6 “A mixed race shall settlein Ashdod,

# And I will cut off the pride of thePhilistines.

7 I will take away the blood from his mouth,

And the abominations from between his teeth.

But he who remains, even heshallbefor our God,

And shall be like a leader in Judah,

And Ekron like a Jebusite.

8 I will camp around My house

Because of the army,

Because of him who passes by and him who returns.

No more shall an oppressor pass through them,

For now I have seen with My eyes.

The Coming King

9 “Rejoicegreatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

# Behold,your King is coming to you;

Heisjust and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 Iwill cut off the chariot from Ephraim

And the horse from Jerusalem;

# Thebattle bow shall be cut off.

He shall speak peace to the nations;

# His dominionshallbe‘from sea to sea,

And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

God Will Save His People

11 “As for you also,

Because of the blood of your covenant,

# I will set yourprisoners free from the waterless pit.

12 Return to the stronghold,

# You prisoners of hope.

Even today I declare

# ThatI will restoredouble to you.

13 For I have bent Judah, Mybow,

Fitted the bow with Ephraim,

And raised up your sons, O Zion,

Against your sons, O Greece,

And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”

14 Then theLordwill be seen over them,

# AndHis arrow will go forth like lightning.

The LordGodwill blow the trumpet,

# And gowith whirlwinds from the south.

15 TheLordof hosts willdefend them;

They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.

They shall drinkandroar as if with wine;

They shall be filledwithbloodlike basins,

Like the corners of the altar.

16 TheLordtheir God willsave them in that day,

As the flock of His people.

# Fortheyshallbelikethe jewels of a crown,

# Lifted like a banner over His land—

17 Forhow great is its goodness

# And how great itsbeauty!

# Grain shall make the young men thrive,

And new wine the young women.

Restoration of Judah and Israel

1 AsktheLordforrain

# Inthe time of the latter rain.

TheLordwill make flashing clouds;

He will give them showers of rain,

Grass in the field for everyone.

2 For theidols speak delusion;

# The diviners envisionlies,

And tell false dreams;

# Theycomfort in vain.

# Thereforethepeoplewend their way likesheep;

# They are in troublebecausethereisno shepherd.

3 “My anger is kindled against theshepherds,

# And I will punish the goatherds.

# For theLordof hostswill visit His flock,

The house of Judah,

# Andwill make them as His royal horse in the battle.

4 From him comesthe cornerstone,

# From himthe tent peg,

From him the battle bow,

From him every ruler together.

5 They shall be like mighty men,

# Whotread downtheirenemies

In the mire of the streets in the battle.

They shall fight because theLordis with them,

And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.

6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,

And I will save the house of Joseph.

# I will bring them back,

# Because Ihave mercy on them.

They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;

For IamtheLordtheir God,

# And Iwill hear them.

7 ThoseofEphraim shall be like a mighty man,

# And theirheart shall rejoice as if with wine.

Yes, their children shall seeitand be glad;

Their heart shall rejoice in theLord.

8 I willwhistle for them and gather them,

For I will redeem them;

# And they shall increase as they once increased.

9 “Iwill sow them among the peoples,

# And they shallremember Me in far countries;

They shall live, together with their children,

And they shall return.

10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt,

And gather them from Assyria.

I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,

# Until nomoreroomis found for them.

11 He shall pass through the sea with affliction,

And strike the waves of the sea:

All the depths of the River shall dry up.

# Thenthe pride of Assyria shall be brought down,

# Andthe scepter of Egypt shall depart.

12 “So I will strengthen them in theLord,

# Andthey shall walk up and down in His name,”

Says theLord.

Desolation of Israel

1 Openyour doors, O Lebanon,

That fire may devour your cedars.

2 Wail, O cypress, for thecedar has fallen,

Because the mightytreesare ruined.

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

# For the thick forest has come down.

3 Thereisthe sound of wailingshepherds!

For their glory is in ruins.

Thereisthe sound of roaring lions!

For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

Prophecy of the Shepherds

4 Thus says theLordmy God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,

5 whose owners slaughter them andfeel no guilt; those who sell themsay, ‘Blessed be theLord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds donot pity them.

6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says theLord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliverthemfrom their hand.”

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particularthe poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock.

8 I dismissed the three shepherdsin one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

9 Then I said, “I will not feed you.Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.”

10 And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

11 So it was broken on that day. Thusthe poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that itwasthe word of theLord.

12 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, givememy wages; and if not, refrain.” So theyweighed out for my wages thirtypiecesof silver.

13 And theLordsaid to me, “Throw it to thepotter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirtypiecesof silver and threw them into the house of theLordfor the potter.

14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And theLordsaid to me,“Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.

16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the landwhowill not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves inpieces.

17 “Woeto the worthless shepherd,

Who leaves the flock!

A swordshallbeagainst his arm

And against his right eye;

His arm shall completely wither,

And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”

The Coming Deliverance of Judah

1 The burden of the word of theLordagainst Israel. Thus says theLord,who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, andforms the spirit of man within him:

2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalema cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.

3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalema very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

4 In that day,” says theLord,“I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalemaremy strength in theLordof hosts, their God.’

6 In that day I will make the governors of Judahlike a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.

7 “TheLordwill save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.

8 In that day theLordwill defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of Davidshallbelike God, like the Angel of theLordbefore them.

9 It shall be in that daythatI will seek todestroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning for the Pierced One

10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they willlook on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Himas one mourns forhisonlyson,and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

11 In that day there shall be a greatmourning in Jerusalem,like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

12 And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house ofNathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;

13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves;

14 all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Idolatry Cut Off

1 “In thatdaya fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and foruncleanness.

2 “It shall be in that day,” says theLordof hosts, “thatI willcut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also causethe prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.

3 It shall come to passthatif anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, ‘You shallnot live, because you have spoken lies in the name of theLord.’ And his father and mother who begot himshall thrust him through when he prophesies.

4 “And it shall be in that daythatevery prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not weara robe of coarse hair to deceive.

5 But he will say, ‘Iamno prophet, Iama farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’

6 Andonewill say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Thosewith which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Savior

7 “Awake, O sword, againstMy Shepherd,

# Against the Manwho is My Companion,”

Says theLordof hosts.

# “Strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep will be scattered;

# Then I will turn My hand againstthe little ones.

8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,”

Says theLord,

# “Thattwo-thirds in it shall be cut offanddie,

# Butone–third shall be left in it:

9 I will bring theone–thirdthrough the fire,

# Willrefine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

# They will call on My name,

And I will answer them.

# I will say, ‘ThisisMy people’;

And each one will say, ‘TheLordismy God.’ ”

The Day of the Lord

1 Behold,the day of theLordis coming,

And your spoil will be divided in your midst.

2 ForI will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;

The city shall be taken,

The houses rifled,

And the women ravished.

Half of the city shall go into captivity,

But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then theLordwill go forth

And fight against those nations,

As He fights in the day of battle.

4 And in that day His feet will standon the Mount of Olives,

Which faces Jerusalem on the east.

And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,

From east to west,

# Makinga very large valley;

Half of the mountain shall move toward the north

And half of it toward the south.

5 Then you shall fleethroughMy mountain valley,

For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.

Yes, you shall flee

# As you fled from theearthquake

In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

# Thus theLordmy God will come,

# Andall the saints with You.

6 It shall come to pass in that day

Thatthere will be no light;

The lights will diminish.

7 It shall be one day

# Which is known to theLord—

Neither day nor night.

# But atevening time it shall happen

Thatit will be light.

8 And in that day it shall be

# Thatlivingwaters shall flow from Jerusalem,

Half of them toward the eastern sea

And half of them toward the western sea;

In both summer and winter it shall occur.

9 And theLordshall beKing over all the earth.

In that day it shall be—

# “TheLordisone,”

And His name one.

10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem.Jerusalemshall be raised up andinhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate,andfromthe Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.

11 Thepeopleshall dwell in it;

# Andno longer shall there be utter destruction,

# But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague with which theLordwill strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem:

Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet,

Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets,

And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

13 It shall come to pass in that day

# Thata great panic from theLordwill be among them.

Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,

# And raisehis hand against his neighbor’s hand;

14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.

# And the wealth of all the surrounding nations

Shall be gathered together:

Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.

15 Such also shall be the plague

On the horseandthe mule,

On the camel and the donkey,

And on all the cattle that will be in those camps.

Soshallthis plaguebe.

The Nations Worship the King

16 And it shall come to passthateveryone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shallgo up from year to year toworship the King, theLordof hosts, and to keepthe Feast of Tabernacles.

17 And it shall bethatwhichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, theLordof hosts, on them there will be no rain.

18 If the family ofEgypt will not come up and enter in,theyshallhavenorain;they shall receive the plague with which theLordstrikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

20 In that day“HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall beengravedon the bells of the horses. Thepots in theLord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to theLordof hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be aCanaanitein the house of theLordof hosts.