Zechariah 1

¹ In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month[*a] the word of Yahweh was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah),[*b] son of Iddo, as follows,

³ ‘Cry out to the remnant of this people and say to them, “Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Return to me, and I will return to you, says Yahweh Sabaoth.

⁴ Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the prophets in the past cried: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Turn back from your evil ways and evil deeds. But – it is Yahweh who speaks – they would not listen or pay attention to me.

⁵ Where are your ancestors now? Are those prophets still alive?

² Yahweh was stirred to anger against your ancestors.” ‘

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat), in the second year of Darius,[*c] the word of Yahweh was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah), son of Iddo, as follows,

⁸ ‘I saw a vision during the night. It was this: a man was standing among the deep-rooted myrtles; behind him were horses, red and sorrel and black and white.

⁹ I said: What are these, my lord? (And the angel who was talking to me said, “I will explain to you what they are”.)

¹⁰ The man standing among the myrtles answered, “They are those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol throughout the world”.

¹¹ They then spoke to the angel of Yahweh standing among the myrtles; they said, “We have been patrolling the world, and see, the whole world is at peace and rest”.

¹² The angel of Yahweh then spoke and said, “Yahweh Sabaoth, how long will you wait before taking pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, on which you have inflicted your anger for the past seventy years?”

¹³ Yahweh then replied with very consoling words to the angel who was talking to me.

¹⁴ The angel who was talking to me then said to me, “Make this proclamation: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: I feel most jealous love for Jerusalem and Zion,

¹⁵ but very bitter anger against is the proud nations; for my part I was only a little angry, but they have overstepped all limits.

¹⁶ Yahweh, then, says this. I turn again in compassion to Jerusalem; my Temple there shall be rebuilt – it is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks – and the measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.

¹⁷ Make this proclamation too: Yahweh Sabaoth says this: My cities are once more going to be very prosperous. Yahweh will again take pity on Zion, again make Jerusalem his very own.”‘