Zechariah

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

1It was the eighth month of the year. Darius the king had ruled for two years. God's message came to Zechariah. Zechariah was a prophet, someone who tells people what God says. He was the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo. This is what God said.

2The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.

2"I was very angry with your fathers long ago."

3Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

3"So tell the people this. The LORD who commands all the armies of heaven says: Come back to me. Then I will come back to you."

4Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

4"Do not be like your fathers. Long ago, prophets told them what God said. God told them to stop doing wrong things. But your fathers would not listen. They paid no attention to me at all."

5Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

5"Your fathers are gone now. Where are they? And the prophets did not live forever either."

6But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

6"But my words and my rules caught up with your fathers in the end. I had given those words to the prophets who served me. Then your fathers were sorry. They said, 'God planned to punish us for the way we lived. And that is just what he did.'"

7Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

7It was the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month. That month is called Shebat. Darius had ruled for two years. God's message came again to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo.

8I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.

8At night I saw a man riding a red horse. He was standing among some myrtle trees down in a low valley. Behind him were other horses. They were red, reddish brown, and white.

9Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.

9I asked, "Sir, what are these?" The angel who was talking with me said, "I will show you what they are."

10And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.

10The man standing among the myrtle trees said, "God sent these to go all over the earth and watch it."

11And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

11The riders spoke to the angel of the LORD among the myrtle trees. They said, "We went all over the earth. The whole earth is quiet and calm."

12Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

12Then the angel of the LORD said, "LORD who commands all the armies of heaven, how long will you wait? Jerusalem and the towns of Judah need your kindness. You have been angry with them for seventy years now."

13And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.

13The LORD answered the angel who was talking with me. He spoke kind words that gave comfort.

14So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

14Then the angel said to me, "Say this out loud. The LORD who commands all the armies of heaven says: I care about Jerusalem very much. I care about Zion very much. Zion is another name for the city of Jerusalem."

15And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

15"But I am very angry with the nations that live comfortably. I was only a little angry with my people. Those nations made their trouble much worse."

16Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

16"So the LORD says: I am coming back to Jerusalem to be kind to it. My house will be built there again. And a measuring line will be stretched out over the city."

17Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

17"Say this too. The LORD who commands all the armies of heaven says: My towns will be full of good things again. I will comfort Zion again. I will choose Jerusalem again."

18Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

18Then I looked up. I saw four horns.

NoteA horn here is a picture of power. Animals like bulls use their horns to push and fight, so a horn stood for a strong nation or ruler.

19And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

19I asked the angel who was talking with me, "What are these?" He said, "These are the horns that scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

20And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.

20Then the LORD showed me four workmen with tools.

NoteThe old King James Bible says "carpenters." The word means workers who shape hard things like wood, stone, or metal.

21Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

21I asked, "What have these come to do?" He said, "Those horns scattered the people of Judah. No one could even lift up his head. But these workmen have come to frighten the horns. They will throw down the horns of the nations. Those nations used their power against the land of Judah and scattered its people."

Note"Fray" is an old word. It means to scare someone badly.