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.”

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

Greeting

1 ^aThe elder to the elect lady and her children, ^bwhom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^cknow ^dthe truth, 2 ^ebecause of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 ^fGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

4 ^gI rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—^hnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—ⁱthat we love one another. 6 And ^jthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just ^kas you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For ^lmany deceivers ^mhave gone out into the world, ⁿthose who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, ^oso that you may not lose what we¹ have worked for, but ^pmay win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, ^qdoes not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching ^qhas both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^rdo not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him ^stakes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

12 ^tThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. ^uInstead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, ^vso that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you.