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Vision of the Four Chariots

Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were (A)red horses, with the second chariot (B)black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds. Then I answered (C)and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

And the angel answered and said to me, (D)“These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their (E)station before the Lord of all the earth. [a]The one with the black horses is going to (F)the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might (G)walk 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. And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My (H)Spirit in the north country.”

The Command to Crown Joshua

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 10 “Receive the gift from 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, make (I)an[b] elaborate crown, and set it on the head of (J)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:

“Behold, (K)the Man whose name is the (L)BRANCH!
From His place He shall [c]branch out,
(M)And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He (N)shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So (O)He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between [d]them both.” ’

14 “Now the [e]elaborate crown shall be (P)for a memorial in the temple of the Lord [f]for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 Even (Q)those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 6:6 The chariot
  2. Zechariah 6:11 Lit. crowns
  3. Zechariah 6:12 Lit. sprout up
  4. Zechariah 6:13 Both offices
  5. Zechariah 6:14 Lit. crowns
  6. Zechariah 6:14 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. for Heldai (cf. v. 10); LXX for the patient ones

The Four Chariots

Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, (A)four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were (B)red horses, with the second chariot (C)black horses, with the third chariot (D)white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong (E)spotted horses. So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “(F)What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the (G)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 (H)north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the (I)south country.” When the strong ones went out, they [a]were eager to go to [b](J)patrol the earth. And He said, “Go, [c]patrol the earth.” So they [d]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 [e](K)appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

The (L)word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 10 (M)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.

The Symbolic Crowns

11 Also take silver and gold, make an ornate (N)crown, and set it on the head of (O)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then say to him, ‘The Lord of armies says this: “Behold, there is a Man whose name is [f](P)Branch, for He will [g](Q)branch out from where He is; and He will (R)build the temple of the Lord. 13 Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will (S)bear the majesty and sit and (T)rule on His throne. So He will be a (U)priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two [h]offices.”’ 14 Now the (V)crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and [i]Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 (W)Those who are far away will come and [j]build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will (X)know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely (Y)obey [k]the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 6:7 Lit sought to go
  2. Zechariah 6:7 Lit walk about through
  3. Zechariah 6:7 Lit walk about through
  4. Zechariah 6:7 Lit walked about through
  5. Zechariah 6:8 Lit pacified My spirit in
  6. Zechariah 6:12 Lit Sprout
  7. Zechariah 6:12 Lit sprout up
  8. Zechariah 6:13 Lit of them
  9. Zechariah 6:14 I.e., Josiah
  10. Zechariah 6:15 Lit build in
  11. Zechariah 6:15 Lit the voice of the Lord

The Four Chariots

Now again I looked up, and [a]four chariots were coming out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of [firm, immovable] bronze (divine judgment). The first chariot had red horses (war, bloodshed), the second chariot had black horses (famine, death),(A) the third chariot had white horses (victory), and the fourth chariot had strong dappled horses (death through judgment).(B) Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth,(C) with the chariot with the black horses going toward the north country; then the one with the white horses follows after them [because there are two northern powers to overcome], and the chariot with the dappled horses goes toward the south country.” When the strong horses went out, they were eager to patrol the earth. And the Lord said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth [watching and protecting it]. Then He called out to me and said to me, “See, those who are going to the north country have quieted My Spirit [of wrath] in the north country.”

The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 10 “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah [as representatives]; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

The Symbolic Crowns

11 Take silver and gold [from them], and make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then say to Joshua, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold (look, keep in sight, watch), a Man (Messiah) whose name is Branch, for He shall branch out from His place (Israel, the Davidic line); and He shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord.(D) 13 Yes, [you are to build a temple of the Lord, but] it is He who shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and majesty [as the only begotten of the Father] and sit and rule on His throne. And He shall be a [b]Priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two offices [Priest and King].”’(E) 14 Now the crown shall become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.(F) 15 And those who are far away will come and [help] build the temple of the Lord.” Then you shall know [without any doubt] that the Lord of hosts sent me (Zechariah) to you. And it will come about if you will diligently obey the [voice of the] Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 6:1 I.e. four angelic spirits appointed by God to dispense His judgment.
  2. Zechariah 6:13 The Messiah will be both king and priest.

Four Chariots

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

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) 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.”

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.

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

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.”

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

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.

In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

10 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;

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

12 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:

13 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.

14 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.

15 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.