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Zechariah 6-7
Contemporary English Version

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

6 Finally, I looked up and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains. 2 (A) The first chariot was pulled by red horses, and the second by black horses; 3 (B) the third chariot was pulled by white horses, and the fourth by spotted gray[a] horses.

4 “Sir,” I asked the angel. “What do these stand for?”

5 (C) Then he explained, “These are the four winds[b] of heaven, and now they are going out, after presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chariot with black horses goes toward the north, the chariot with white horses goes toward the west,[c] and the one with spotted horses goes toward the south.”

7 The horses came out eager to patrol the earth, and the angel told them, “Start patrolling the earth.”

When they had gone on their way, 8 he shouted to me, “Those that have gone to the country in the north will do what the Lord's Spirit[d] wants them to do there.”[e]

The Chosen Leader

9 The Lord said to me:

10-11 Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah have returned from Babylonia. Collect enough silver and gold from them to make a crown.[f] Then go with them to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah and put the crown on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak.[g] 12-13 (D) Tell him that I, the Lord All-Powerful, say, “Someone will reach out from here like a branch and build a temple for me. I will name him ‘Branch,’ and he will rule with royal honors. A priest will stand beside his throne,[h] and the two of them will be good friends. 14 This crown will be kept in my temple as a reminder and will be taken care of by Heldai,[i] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah.”[j]

15 When people from distant lands come and help build the temple of the Lord All-Powerful, you will know that the Lord is the one who sent me. And this will happen, if you truly obey the Lord your God.

A Question about Going without Eating

7 On the fourth day of Chislev, the ninth month of the fourth year that Darius was king of Persia,[k] the Lord again spoke to me. 2-3 It happened after the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer with Regem-Melech and his men to ask the priests in the Lord's temple and the prophets to pray for them. So they prayed, “Should we mourn and go without eating during the fifth month,[l] as we have done for many years?”

4-5 It was then that the Lord All-Powerful told me to say to everyone in the country, including the priests:

For 70 years you have gone without eating during the fifth and seventh months of the year. But did you really do it for me? 6 And when you eat and drink, isn't it for your own enjoyment? 7 My message today is the same one I commanded the earlier prophets[m] to speak to Jerusalem and its villages when they were prosperous, and when all of Judah, including the Southern Desert and the hill country, was filled with people.

8-9 So once again, I, the Lord All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! 10 Don't mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.”

11-12 But everyone who heard those prophets, stubbornly refused to obey. Instead, they turned their backs on everything my Spirit[n] had commanded the earlier prophets to preach. So I, the Lord, became angry 13 and said, “You people paid no attention when I called out to you, and now I'll pay no attention when you call out to me.”

14 That's why I came with a whirlwind and scattered them among foreign nations, leaving their lovely country empty of people and in ruins.[o]

Footnotes

  1. 6.3 spotted gray: Or “strong.”
  2. 6.5 winds: Or “spirits.” The Hebrew word may mean either.
  3. 6.6 goes toward the west: Or “follows behind.”
  4. 6.8 Lord's Spirit: Or “Lord.”
  5. 6.8 will do … to do there: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 6.10,11 a crown: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “some crowns.”
  7. 6.10,11 Heldai … Jehozadak: Or “Go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah, where you will find Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have returned from Babylonia. Collect enough silver and gold from them to make a crown. Then put it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak.”
  8. 6.12,13 stand beside his throne: Or “sit on a throne.”
  9. 6.14 Heldai: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Helem.”
  10. 6.14 Josiah: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Hen.”
  11. 7.1 Chislev … fourth year … king of Persia: Chislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-November to mid-December; the fourth year of the rule of Darius was 518 b.c.
  12. 7.2,3 fifth month: Ab, the fifth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-July to mid-August. The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in the year 587 or 586 b.c.
  13. 7.7 the earlier prophets: See the note at 1.4.
  14. 7.11,12 my Spirit: Or “I.”
  15. 7.14 leaving their … in ruins: Or “because they had ruined their lovely country.”
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Zechariah 6-7
New International Version

Four Chariots

6 I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots(A) coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black,(B) 3 the third white,(C) and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. 4 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[a](D) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.(E) 6 The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,[b] and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

7 When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.(F) And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

8 Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit[c] rest(G) in the land of the north.”(H)

A Crown for Joshua

9 The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon.(I) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown,(J) and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua(K) son of Jozadak.[d](L) 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,(M) and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.(N) 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he[e] will be a priest(O) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai,[f] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen[g] son of Zephaniah as a memorial(P) in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,(Q) and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.(R) This will happen if you diligently obey(S) the Lord your God.”

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah(T) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.(U) 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(V) the Lord(W) 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(X) and fast in the fifth(Y) month, as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(Z) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(AA) months for the past seventy years,(AB) was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?(AC) 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets(AD) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest(AE) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills(AF) were settled?’”(AG)

8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;(AH) show mercy and compassion to one another.(AI) 10 Do not oppress the widow(AJ) or the fatherless, the foreigner(AK) or the poor.(AL) Do not plot evil against each other.’(AM)

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly(AN) they turned their backs(AO) and covered their ears.(AP) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint(AQ) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(AR) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.(AS)

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen;(AT) so when they called, I would not listen,’(AU) says the Lord Almighty.(AV) 14 ‘I scattered(AW) them with a whirlwind(AX) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.(AY) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.(AZ)’”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
  2. Zechariah 6:6 Or horses after them
  3. Zechariah 6:8 Or spirit
  4. Zechariah 6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak
  5. Zechariah 6:13 Or there
  6. Zechariah 6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem
  7. Zechariah 6:14 Or and the gracious one, the
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