In ¹the eighth month of the second year of the reign of ^2aDarius the king of Persia, the word of the LORD came to ^bZechariah (the LORD remembers) the son of Berechiah, the son of ^cIddo, the prophet, saying, Ezra 5:1 2 “The LORD was extremely ^aangry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to the Jews, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts (armies) , “^aReturn to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and I shall return to you. 4 Do not be ^alike your fathers, to whom the ^bformer prophets proclaimed, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “^cRepent that is, change your way of thinking and return now from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did ^dnot listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the LORD. 2+@Kin 17:13; Is 45:22; Jer 18:11; Ezek 33:11 5 “Your ^afathers, where are they? And the ^bprophets, do they live forever? 6 But did not My words (warnings) and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, ^aovertake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘^bAs the LORD of hosts planned to do to us in discipline and punishment, in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so has He dealt with us.’”’”

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (Feb 15, 519 B.C.), which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of the reign of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: 8 In the night I saw a vision and behold, a ¹Man was riding on a ^ared horse, and it stood among the ^bmyrtle trees that were in the ravine; and behind Him were horses: red, sorrel (reddish-brown) , and ^cwhite. 9 Then I said, “O my ^alord, what are these?” And the ^1bangel who was speaking with me said, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the Man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth and ^apatrol it.” 11 And the men on the horses answered the ¹Angel of the LORD who ^astood among the myrtle trees and said, “We have gone throughout the earth patrolling it and behold, ^ball the earth sits at rest in peace and free from war.”

12 Then the Angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, ^ahow long will You ^bwithhold mercy and compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which You have had ^cindignation and anger these ^dseventy years of the Babylonian captivity?” 13 And the LORD answered the ^aangel who was speaking with me with gracious and ^bcomforting words. 14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “^aProclaim, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am jealous with a burning, fiery passion for Jerusalem and for Zion demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine with a ^bgreat jealousy. 15 But I am very ^aangry with the ¹nations who are ^bat ease and feel secure; for while I was only a little angry, they ^2cfurthered the disaster against the people of Israel.” 16 Therefore, thus says the LORD, “I have ^areturned to Jerusalem with mercy and compassion. My ^bhouse shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and a ¹measuring ^cline shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’ 17 Proclaim again, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My ^acities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD shall again ^bcomfort Zion and again ^cchoose Jerusalem.”’”

18 Then I looked up, and saw four horns (powers) ! 19 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the ^ahorns the powerful Gentile nations that have scattered Judah (the Southern Kingdom) , Israel (the Northern Kingdom) , and Jerusalem (capital city of Judah) .” 20 Then the LORD showed me four ^acraftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are these horns and craftsmen coming to do?” And he said, “These are the ^ahorns (powers) that have scattered Judah so that no man raised up his head because of the suffering inflicted by the Gentile nations. But these craftsmen have come to terrify them and make them panic, and ^bthrow down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”

In the eighth month of the second year of ^aDarius, the word of the LORD came to ^bZechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of ^cIddo saying, 2 “The LORD was very ^aangry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “^aReturn to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. 4 “Do not be ^alike your fathers, to whom the ^bformer prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “^cReturn now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did ^dnot listen or give heed to Me,” declares the LORD. 5 “Your ^afathers, where are they? And the ^bprophets, do they live forever? 6 But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, ^aovertake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘^bAs the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: 8 I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a ^ared horse, and he was standing among the ^bmyrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and ^cwhite horses behind him. 9 Then I said, “My ^alord, what are these?” And the ^bangel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the LORD has sent to ^1apatrol the earth.” 11 So they answered the angel of the LORD who was ^astanding among the myrtle trees and said, “We have ¹patrolled the earth, and behold, ^ball the earth is ²peaceful and quiet.”

12 Then the angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, ^ahow long will You ^bhave no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been ^cindignant these ^dseventy years?” 13 The LORD answered the ^aangel who was speaking with me with ¹gracious words, ^bcomforting words. 14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “^aProclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am ^bexceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 But I am very ^aangry with the nations who are ^bat ease; for while I was only a little angry, they ^1cfurthered the disaster.” 16 Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will ^areturn to Jerusalem with compassion; My ^bhouse will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring ^cline will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ 17 Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My ^acities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again ^bcomfort Zion and again ^cchoose Jerusalem.”’”

18 ¹Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. 19 So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the ^ahorns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the LORD showed me four ^acraftsmen. 21 I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the ^ahorns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to ^bthrow down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”