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The Vision of the Four Chariots

I looked up again. I saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. They were mountains of bronze. Red horses pulled the first chariot. Black horses pulled the second chariot. White horses pulled the third chariot. And strong, spotted horses pulled the fourth chariot. I spoke to the angel who was talking with me. I asked, “What are these, sir?”

He said, “These are going to the four directions on earth. They have just come from the presence of the Lord of the whole world. The chariot pulled by the black horses will go north. The white horses will go west. And the spotted horses will go south.”

The powerful horses were trying to go through all the earth. So he said, “Go through all the earth.” And they did.

Then he called to me, “Look. The horses that went north have calmed the Lord’s anger that came from there to punish.”

A Crown for Joshua

The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 10 “Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah were captives in Babylon. Get silver and gold from them. Go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Make the silver and gold into a crown. And put it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak. Joshua is the high priest. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘There is a man whose name is the Branch. He will branch out from where he is. He will build the Temple of the Lord. 13 One man[a] will build the Temple of the Lord. And the other[b] will receive the honor of a king. One man will sit on his throne and rule. And the other will be a priest on his throne. And these two men will work together in peace.’ 14 The crown will be kept in the Temple of the Lord. It will remind Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Josiah son of Zephaniah of God’s king. 15 People living far away will come and build the Temple of the Lord. Then you will know the Lord of heaven’s armies has sent me to you. This will happen if you completely obey the Lord your God.”

Footnotes

  1. 6:13 One man This probably refers to Zerubbabel.
  2. 6:13 other This probably refers to Joshua.

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