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The Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

Then I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked again. There were four chariots coming out from between two mountains. The mountains were made of bronze. The first chariot had red horses. The second chariot had black horses. The third chariot had white horses. The fourth chariot had dappled horses. All of them were powerful. So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[a] of the heavens, going forth from their stations to present themselves to the Lord of all the earth. The driver with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, and the one with the white horses is following after them, and the one with the dappled horses is going toward the land of the south.”

Now the powerful horses came out, and they were eager to range throughout the earth. He said, “Go! Range throughout the earth.” So they ranged throughout the earth.

Then he called out to me and told me, “Look! Those who are going out toward the land of the north have caused my Spirit to rest in the land of the north.”

The Crowning of Joshua

The word of the Lord came to me:

10 Take an offering from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and on that very day go into the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

12 Tell him that this is what the Lord of Armies says:

There is a man whose name is the Branch, because he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 He is the one who will build the temple of the Lord. He will be clothed with majesty, and he will sit and rule on his throne. He will be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful relations between the two offices.[b]

14 The crown will be kept in the temple as a memorial[c] for Helem[d] and Tobijah and Jedaiah and Hen,[e] son of Zephaniah.

15 Those who are far away will come and build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
  2. Zechariah 6:13 Joshua, who receives the crown, did not himself hold the two offices of priest and king, but as a type, he points to Christ, who did hold both offices.
  3. Zechariah 6:14 Or reminder
  4. Zechariah 6:14 Probably another name for Heldai (verse 10)
  5. Zechariah 6:14 Or the gracious one, probably another name for Josiah (verse 10)

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