A Call to Return to the Lord
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of aDarius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet bZechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, 2 “The Lord was very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: cReturn to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 4 dDo not be like your fathers, to whom the eformer prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, fReturn from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did gnot hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not hovertake your fathers? So they repented and said, i‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”
A Vision of a Horseman
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, 8 “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a jred horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and kwhite horses. 9 Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The langel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ 10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to mpatrol the earth.’ 11 And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ 12 Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these nseventy years?’ 13 And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: oI am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are pat ease; for qwhile I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. 16 Therefore, rthus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; smy house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the tmeasuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and uagain choose Jerusalem.’”
A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen
18 1 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! 19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
1 O Lord, God of zvengeance,
O God of vengeance, ashine forth!
2 bRise up, O cjudge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the dwidow and the esojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
7 and they say, f“The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge—
11 gthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath.1
12 hBlessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 iFor the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who jrises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 kIf the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot lslips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame2 injustice by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.3
22 But the Lord has become my mstronghold,
and my God the nrock of my refuge.
23 oHe will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Greeting
1 aThe elder to the belect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who cknow the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 dGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Walking in Truth and Love
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children ewalking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—fnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we glove one another. 6 And hthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, ijust as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For jmany kdeceivers have gone out into the world, those who ldo not confess the coming of Jesus Christ min the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the nantichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we1 have worked for, but may win a full oreward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever pabides in the teaching qhas both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, rdo not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
Final Greetings
12 sThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead tI hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that uour joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
