A Call to Return to the Lord

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, ^fReturn from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But ^jthey did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5 Your fathers, where are they? And ^kthe prophets, do they live forever? 6 ^lBut my words and my statutes, which I commanded ^mmy servants the prophets, did they not ⁿovertake your fathers? So they repented and said, ^o‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for ^pour ways and ^pdeeds, 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 ^bZechariah, the son of ^cBerechiah, son of ^dIddo, saying, 8 “I saw in the night, and behold, ^qa man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were ^rred, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ ^sThe angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ 10 So ^qthe man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ^t‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to ^upatrol the earth.’ 11 And they answered ^sthe angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ^u‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth ^vremains at rest.’ 12 Then ^sthe angel of the Lord said, ^w‘O Lord of hosts, ^whow long will you ^xhave no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these ^yseventy years?’ 13 And the Lord answered ^zgracious and comforting words to ^sthe angel who talked with me. 14 So ^sthe angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^aI am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 ^bAnd I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are ^cat ease; ^dfor while I was angry but a little, ^ethey furthered the disaster. 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord, ^fI have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; ^gmy house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^hthe measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ⁱMy cities shall again overflow with prosperity, ^jand the Lord will again comfort Zion and again ^kchoose Jerusalem.’”

A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen

18 ¹ And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^lfour horns! 19 And I said to ^sthe 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.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 And 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 ^mto terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations ⁿwho lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line

1 ² And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^oa man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, ^p“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” 3 And behold, ^qthe angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4 and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ^r‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited ^sas villages without walls, because of ^tthe multitude of people and livestock in it. 5 And I will be to her ^ua wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

6 Up! Up! ^vFlee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have ^wspread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. 7 ^xUp! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me³ to the nations who plundered you, ^yfor he who touches you touches ^zthe apple of his eye: 9 “Behold, ^aI will shake my hand over them, ^band they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then ^cyou will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. 10 ^dSing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for ^ebehold, I come ^fand I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. 11 ^gAnd many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. ^fAnd I will dwell in your midst, and ^cyou shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 12 ^hAnd the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again ⁱchoose Jerusalem.”

13 Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

A Vision of Joshua the High Priest

1 Then he showed me ^jJoshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and ^kSatan⁴ standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, ^l“The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has ^mchosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this ⁿa brand⁵ plucked from the fire?” 3 Now ^jJoshua was standing before the angel, ^oclothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to ^pthose who were standing before him, ^q“Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, ^rI have taken your iniquity away from you, and ^sI will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, ^t“Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured ^jJoshua, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and ^ukeep my charge, then you shall ^vrule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among ^wthose who are standing here. 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for ^xthey are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring ^ymy servant ^zthe Branch. 9 For behold, on ^athe stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with ^bseven eyes,⁶ I will ^cengrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^dI will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come ^eunder his vine and under his fig tree.”

A Vision of a Golden Lampstand

1 And ^fthe angel who talked with me came again ^gand woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, ^ha lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and ⁱseven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are ^jtwo olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to ^fthe angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ^k“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^lZerubbabel: ^mNot by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, ⁿO great mountain? Before ^lZerubbabel ^oyou shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward ^pthe top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 ^q“The hands of ^lZerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also ^rcomplete it. ^sThen you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 ^tFor whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see ^uthe plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

^v“These seven ^vare the eyes of the Lord, ^wwhich range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these ^jtwo olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these ^jtwo branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil⁷ is poured out?” 13 He said to me, ^x“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, ^y“These are the two anointed ones⁸ who stand by ^zthe Lord of the whole earth.”

A Vision of a Flying Scroll

1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying ^ascroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying ^ascroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”⁹ 3 Then he said to me, “This is ^bthe curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who ^csteals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who ^dswears falsely¹⁰ shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of ^ehim who swears falsely by my name. And ^fit shall remain in his house and ^gconsume it, both timber and stones.”

A Vision of a Woman in a Basket

5 ^hThen the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, ⁱ“Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is ^jthe basket¹¹ that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity¹² in all the land.” 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down ^jthe leaden weight on its opening.

9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! ^kThe wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the ^lland of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

He Heals the Brokenhearted

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling ^pthe seven angels, “Go and ^qpour out on the earth ^rthe seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful ^ssores came upon the people who bore ^tthe mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and ^uit became like the blood of a corpse, and ^vevery living thing died that was in the sea.

4 The third angel poured out his bowl into ^wthe rivers and the springs of water, and ^xthey became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters¹ say,

7 And I heard ^ethe altar saying,

8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people ^gwith fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and ^hthey cursed² the name of God who had power over these plagues. ⁱThey did not repent ^jand give him glory.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on ^kthe throne of the beast, and ^lits kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed ^mthe God of heaven for their pain and ⁿsores. ^oThey did not repent of their deeds.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on ^pthe great river Euphrates, and ^qits water was dried up, ^rto prepare the way for the kings ^sfrom the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of ^tthe dragon and out of the mouth of ^uthe beast and out of the mouth of ^vthe false prophet, three ^wunclean spirits like ^xfrogs. 14 For they are ^ydemonic spirits, ^zperforming signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, ^ato assemble them for battle on ^bthe great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, ^cI am coming like a thief! ^dBlessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, ^ethat he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And ^fthey assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called ^gArmageddon.

The Seventh Bowl

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into ^hthe air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ⁱ“It is done!” 18 And there were ^jflashes of lightning, rumblings,³ peals of thunder, and ^ka great earthquake ^lsuch as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 ^mThe great city ⁿwas split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God ^oremembered ^pBabylon the great, ^qto make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And ^revery island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And ^sgreat hailstones, about one hundred pounds⁴ each, fell from heaven on people; and ^tthey cursed God for ^uthe plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

1 Then ^vone of the seven angels who had ^wthe seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of ^xthe great prostitute ^ywho is seated on many waters, 2 ^zwith whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and ^awith the wine of whose sexual immorality ^bthe dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And ^che carried me away in the Spirit ^dinto a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on ^ea scarlet beast that was full of ^fblasphemous names, and ^git had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman ^hwas arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned ⁱwith gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand ^ja golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of ^kmystery: ^l“Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk ^mwith the blood of the saints, the blood of ⁿthe martyrs of Jesus.⁵

When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you ^othe mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw ^pwas, and is not, and ^qis about to rise from ^rthe bottomless pit⁶ and ^sgo to destruction. And ^tthe dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in ^uthe book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because ^pit was and is not and is to come. 9 ^vThis calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast ^wthat was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And ^xthe ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings ^yfor one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They ^zwill make war on the Lamb, and ^athe Lamb will conquer them, for he is ^bLord of lords and ^bKing of kings, and those with him are ^ccalled and chosen and faithful.”

15 And the angel⁷ said to me, ^d“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And ^ethe ten horns that you saw, they and the beast ^fwill hate the prostitute. They will make her ^gdesolate and ^hnaked, and ⁱdevour her flesh and ^jburn her up with fire, 17 for ^kGod has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and ^lhanding over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is ^mthe great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”