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. ⁶The 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.”

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

When they had gone on their way, ⁸he 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

⁹The Lord said to me:

^10-11Heldai, 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. ¹⁴This crown will be kept in my temple as a reminder and will be taken care of by Heldai,^[i] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah.”^[j]

¹⁵When 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. ^2-3It 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?”

^4-5It 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? ⁶And when you eat and drink, isn't it for your own enjoyment? ⁷My 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.

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

^11-12But 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 ¹³and 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.”

¹⁴That'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

6.3 spotted gray: Or “strong.”
6.5 winds: Or “spirits.” The Hebrew word may mean either.
6.6 goes toward the west: Or “follows behind.”
6.8 Lord's Spirit: Or “Lord.”
6.8 will do … to do there: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6.10,11 a crown: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “some crowns.”
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.”
6.12,13 stand beside his throne: Or “sit on a throne.”
6.14 Heldai: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Helem.”
6.14 Josiah: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Hen.”
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.
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.
7.7 the earlier prophets: See the note at 1.4.
7.11,12 my Spirit: Or “I.”
7.14 leaving their … in ruins: Or “because they had ruined their lovely country.”