ZECHARIAH 1 [†]In the eighth month,  a in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet  b Zechariah, the son of  c Berechiah, son of  d Iddo, saying, 2[†] e “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. 3[^]Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts:  f Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and  g I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. 4 h Do not be like your fathers,  i to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,  f Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But  j they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD. 5Your fathers, where are they? And  k the prophets, do they live forever? 6[†] l But my words and my statutes, which I commanded  m my servants the prophets, did they not  n overtake your fathers? So they repented and said,  o ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for  p our ways and  p deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

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  b Zechariah, the son of  c Berechiah, son of  d Iddo, saying, 8[†]“I saw in the night, and behold,  q a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were  r red, sorrel, and white horses. 9Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’  s The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ 10[†]So  q the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered,  t ‘These are they whom the LORD has sent to  u patrol the earth.’ 11And they answered  s the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said,  u ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth  v remains at rest.’ 12[†]Then  s the angel of the LORD said,  w ‘O LORD of hosts,  w how long will you  x have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these  y seventy years?’ 13[†]And the LORD answered  z gracious and comforting words to  s the angel who talked with me. 14So  s the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts:  a I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 b And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are  c at ease;  d for while I was angry but a little,  e they furthered the disaster. 16[^]Therefore, thus says the LORD,  f I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy;  g my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and  h the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17[†]Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of hosts:  i My cities shall again overflow with prosperity,  j and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again  k choose Jerusalem.’”

18[†] [1] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold,  l four horns! 19And I said to  s the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me,  l “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said,  l “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come  m to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations  n who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”