A Call to Return to the LORD

11 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 2 The Lord has been very angry with your fathers: 3 And you are to say to them, These are the words of the Lord of armies: Come back to me, says the Lord of armies, and I will come back to you. 4 Be not like your fathers, to whom the voice of the earlier prophets came, saying, Be turned now from your evil ways and from your evil doings: but they did not give ear to me or take note, says the Lord. 5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they go on living for ever? 6 But my words and my orders, which I gave to my servants the prophets, have they not overtaken your fathers? and turning back they said, As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us, in reward for our ways and our doings, so has he done.

The Vision of the Horses

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, 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, saying, 8 I saw in the night a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley, and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours. 9 Then I said, O my lord, what are these? And the angel who was talking to me said to me, I will make clear to you what they are. 10 And the man who was between the mountains, answering me, said, These are those whom the Lord has sent to go up and down through the earth. 11 And the man who was between the mountains, answering, said to the angel of the Lord, We have gone up and down through the earth, and all the earth is quiet and at rest. 12 Then the angel of the Lord, answering, said, O Lord of armies, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and on the towns of Judah against which your wrath has been burning for seventy years? 13 And the Lord gave an answer in good and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me. 14 And the angel who was talking to me said to me, Let your voice be loud and say, These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am greatly moved about the fate of Jerusalem and of Zion. 15 And I am very angry with the nations who are living untroubled: for when I was only a little angry, they made the evil worse. 16 So this is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Jerusalem with mercies; my house is to be put up in her, says the Lord of armies, and a line is to be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 And again let your voice be loud and say, This is what the Lord of armies has said: My towns will again be overflowing with good things, and again the Lord will give comfort to Zion and take Jerusalem for himself.

The Exiles Summoned

21 And lifting up my eyes I saw four horns. 2 And I said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have sent Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem in flight. 3 And the Lord gave me a vision of four metal-workers. 4 Then I said, What have these come to do? And he said, These are the horns which sent Judah in flight, and kept him from lifting up his head: but these men have come to send fear on them and to put down the nations who are lifting up their horns against the land of Judah to send it in flight. 5 And lifting up my eyes, I saw a man with a measuring-line in his hand.

6 And I said to him, Where are you going? And he said to me, To take the measure of Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is. 7 And the angel who was talking to me went out, and another angel went out, and, meeting him, 8 Said to him, Go quickly and say to this young man, Jerusalem will be an unwalled town, because of the great number of men and cattle in her. 9 For I, says the Lord, will be a wall of fire round about her, and I will be the glory inside her.

10 Ho, ho! go in flight from the land of the north, says the Lord: for I have sent you far and wide to the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. 11 Ho! Zion, go in flight from danger, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon. 12 For this is what the Lord of armies has said: In the way of glory he has sent me to the nations which have taken your goods: for anyone touching you is touching what is most dear to him. 13 For at the shaking of my hand over them, their goods will be taken by those who were their servants: and you will see that the Lord of armies has sent me. 14 Give songs of joy, O daughter of Zion: for I come, and I will make my resting-place among you, says the Lord. 15 And a number of nations will be joined to the Lord in that day, and will become my people; and I will be living among you, and you will see that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. 16 And Judah will be the Lord's heritage in the holy land, and Jerusalem will again be his. 17 Let all flesh be quiet and make no sound before the Lord: for he is awake and has come from his holy resting-place.

The Prophet's Vision of Joshua the High Priest

31 And he let me see Joshua, the high priest, in his place before the angel of the Lord, and the Satan at his right hand ready to take up a cause against him. 2 And the Lord said to the Satan, May the Lord's word be sharp against you, O Satan, the word of the Lord who has taken Jerusalem for himself: is this not a burning branch pulled out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua was clothed in unclean robes, and he was in his place before the angel. 4 And he made answer and said to those who were there before him, Take the unclean robes off him, and let him be clothed in clean robes; 5 And let them put a clean head-dress on his head. So they put a clean head-dress on his head, clothing him with clean robes: and to him he said, See, I have taken your sin away from you. 6 And the angel of the Lord made a statement to Joshua, and said, 7 These are the words of the Lord of armies: If you will go in my ways and keep what I have put in your care, then you will be judge over my Temple and have the care of my house, and I will give you the right to come in among those who are there.

8 Give ear now, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your friends who are seated before you; for these are men who are a sign: for see, I will let my servant the Branch be seen. 9 For see, the stone which I have put before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes: see, the design cut on it will be my work, says the Lord of armies, and I will take away the sin of that land in one day. 10 In that day, says the Lord of armies, you will be one another's guests under the vine and under the fig-tree.

The Candlestick and the Olive Trees

41 And the angel who was talking to me came again, awaking me as a man out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I see a light-support, made all of gold, with its cup on the top of it and seven lights on it; and there are seven pipes to every one of the lights which are on the top of it; 3 And two olive-trees by it, one on the right side of the cup and one on the left. 4 And I made answer and said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel who was talking to me, answering me, said, Have you no knowledge of what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 6 This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by force or by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of armies. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel you will become level: and he will let all see the headstone, with cries of Grace, grace, to it. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have put the base of this house in place, and his hands will make it complete; and it will be clear to you that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. 10 For who has had a poor opinion of the day of small things? for they will be glad when they see the weighted measuring-line in the hand of Zerubbabel. Then he said in answer to me, These seven lights are the eyes of the Lord which go quickly up and down through all the earth.

11 And I made answer and said to him, What are these two olive-trees on the right side of the light-support and on the left? 12 And answering a second time, I said to him, What are these two olive branches, through whose gold pipes the oil is drained out? 13 And he said in answer to me, Have you no knowledge what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 14 And he said, These are the two sons of oil, whose place is by the Lord of all the earth.

The Fall of Babylon

181 After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was bright with his glory. 2 And he gave a loud cry, saying, Babylon the great has come down from her high place, she has come to destruction and has become a place of evil spirits, and of every unclean spirit, and a hole for every unclean and hated bird. 3 For through the wine of the wrath of her evil desires all the nations have come to destruction; and the kings of the earth made themselves unclean with her, and the traders of the earth had their wealth increased by the power of her evil ways. 4 And another voice from heaven came to my ears, saying, Come out of her, my people, so that you may have no part in her sins and in her punishments. 5 For her sins have gone up even to heaven, and God has taken note of her evil-doing. 6 Give to her as she gave, even an increased reward for her works; in the cup which was mixed by her, let there be mixed as much again for herself. 7 As she gave glory to herself, and became more evil in her ways, in the same measure give her pain and weeping: for she says in her heart, I am seated here a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see sorrow. 8 For this reason in one day will her troubles come, death and sorrow and need of food; and she will be completely burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who is her judge.

9 And the kings of the earth, who made themselves unclean with her, and in her company gave themselves up to evil, will be weeping and crying over her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 Watching from far away, for fear of her punishment, saying, Sorrow, sorrow for Babylon, the great town, the strong town! for in one hour you have been judged. 11 And the traders of the earth are weeping and crying over her, because no man has any more desire for their goods, 12 Gold, and silver, and stones of great price, and jewels, and delicate linen, and robes of purple and silk and red; and perfumed wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of fair wood, and of brass, and iron, and stone; 13 And sweet-smelling plants, and perfumes, and wine, and oil, and well crushed grain, and cattle and sheep; and horses and carriages and servants; and souls of men. 14 And the fruit of your soul's desire has gone from you, and all things delicate and shining have come to an end and will never again be seen. 15 The traders in these things, by which their wealth was increased, will be watching far off for fear of her punishment, weeping and crying; 16 Saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, she who was clothed in delicate linen, and purple, and red; with ornaments of gold and stones of great price and jewels! 17 For in one hour such great wealth has come to nothing. And every shipmaster, and all who are sailing on the sea, and sailors and all who get their living by the sea, were watching from far away, 18 And crying out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What town is like the great town? 19 And they put dust on their heads, and were sad, weeping and crying, and saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, in which was increased the wealth of all who had their ships on the sea because of her great stores! for in one hour she is made waste. 20 Be glad over her, heaven, and you saints, and Apostles, and prophets; because she has been judged by God on your account. 21 And a strong angel took up a stone like the great stone with which grain is crushed, and sent it into the sea, saying, So, with a great fall, will Babylon, the great town, come to destruction, and will not be seen any more at all. 22 And the voice of players and makers of music will never again be sounding in you: and no worker, expert in art, will ever again be living in you; and there will be no sound of the crushing of grain any more at all in you; 23 And never again will the shining of lights be seen in you; and the voice of the newly-married man and the bride will never again be sounding in you: for your traders were the lords of the earth, and by your evil powers were all the nations turned out of the right way. 24 And in her was seen the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been put to death on the earth.