Zec 1 | ESV | STEP | In the eighth month , in the second year of Darius , the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah , the son of Berechiah , son of Iddo , saying ,

1 In the eighth month, ^ain the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^bZechariah, the son of ^cBerechiah, son of ^dIddo, saying, 2 ^e“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: ^fReturn to me, says the Lord of hosts, and ^gI will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 4 ^hDo not be like your fathers, ⁱto whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^jReturn from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But ^kthey did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5 Your fathers, where are they? And ^lthe prophets, do they live forever? 6 ^mBut my words and my statutes, which I commanded ⁿmy servants the prophets, did they not ^oovertake your fathers? So they repented and said, ^p‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for ^qour ways and ^rdeeds, 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 ^sZechariah, the son of ^tBerechiah, son of ^uIddo, saying, 8 “I saw in the night, and behold, ^va man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were ^wred, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ ^xThe angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ 10 So ^ythe man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ^z‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to ^aapatrol the earth.’ 11 And they answered ^abthe angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ^ac‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth ^adremains at rest.’ 12 Then ^aethe angel of the Lord said, ^af‘O Lord of hosts, ^aghow long will you ^ahhave no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these ^aiseventy years?’ 13 And the Lord answered ^ajgracious and comforting words to ^akthe angel who talked with me. 14 So ^althe angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^amI am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 ^anAnd I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are ^aoat ease; ^apfor while I was angry but a little, ^aqthey furthered the disaster. 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord, ^arI have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; ^asmy house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^atthe measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^auMy cities shall again overflow with prosperity, ^avand the Lord will again comfort Zion and again ^awchoose Jerusalem.’”

A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen

18 ^{▼▼Ch 2:1 in Hebrew} And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^ayfour horns! 19 And I said to ^azthe angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, ^ba“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, ^bb“These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come ^bcto terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations ^bdwho lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”