| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, | 1In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: |
| 2“The LORD has been very angry with your fathers. | 2"The LORD was extremely angry with your ancestors. |
| 3Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. | 3So tell the people, 'This is what the LORD of Armies says: Return to me--this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies--and I will return to you, says the LORD of Armies. |
| 4“Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the LORD. | 4Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the LORD of Armies says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to me--this is the LORD's declaration. |
| 5“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? | 5Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? |
| 6Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? “So they returned and said: ‘Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ” | 6But didn't my words and my statutes that I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors?'" So the people repented and said, "As the LORD of Armies decided to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so he has dealt with us." |
| 7On 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 son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet: | 7On 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 son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: |
| 8I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white. | 8I looked out in the night and saw a man riding on a chestnut horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley. Behind him were chestnut, brown, and white horses. |
| 9Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.” | 9I asked, "What are these, my lord?" The angel who was talking to me replied, "I will show you what they are." |
| 10And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.” | 10Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth." |
| 11So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.” | 11They reported to the angel of the LORD standing among the myrtle trees, "We have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet." |
| 12Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?” | 12Then the angel of the LORD responded, "How long, LORD of Armies, will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that you have been angry with these seventy years?" |
| 13And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words. | 13The LORD replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me. |
| 14So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal. | 14So the angel who was speaking with me said, "Proclaim: The LORD of Armies says: I am extremely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. |
| 15I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.” | 15I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was a little angry, but they made the destruction worse. |
| 16‘Therefore thus says the LORD: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts, “And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’ | 16Therefore, this is what the LORD says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; my house will be rebuilt within it--this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies--and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. |
| 17“Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ” | 17"Proclaim further: This is what the LORD of Armies says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem." |
| 18Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns. | 18Then I looked up and saw four horns. |
| 19And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” | 19So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these?" And he said to me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." |
| 20Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. | 20Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. |
| 21And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” | 21I asked, "What are they coming to do?" He replied, "These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off the horns of the nations that raised a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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