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.

"Your ancestors where are they? And the prophets do they live forever?

I have seen by night, and lo, one riding on a red horse, and he is standing between the myrtles that are in the shade, and behind him are horses, red, bay, and white.

Then I asked, "Who are these, sir?" The messenger who was talking to me answered, "I will tell you who these are."

The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, "These are the ones whom the LORD sent out to wander throughout the earth."

And they answered the angel of the LORD, that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, 'We have gone through the world: and behold all the world dwell at ease, and are careless.'

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.

I am deeply angry with the nations who are complacent, with whom I was only a little displeased but they made things worse!"

I asked the angel who was talking to me, "What are those?" So he answered me, "Those are the forces that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

Then I asked, "What have they come to do?" He answered, "Those horns that dispersed Judah so that no one could lift up his head those artisans are coming to disrupt the power of nations, tearing them down now that they've come to power and dispersed the land of Judah."

I asked, "Where are you going?" He responded, "To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and length."

""Come now, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the residents of Babylon.

Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, For his own honour, hath he sent me unto the nations that are spoiling you, - Surely, he that toucheth you, toucheth the pupil of mine eye.

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my requirements, then you will judge my house, and you will also guard my courtyards, and I will give to you passageways among these that are standing here.

""Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and those companions of yours who sit with you, for these men are a sign that I am presenting my servant, the Branch.

Look, the stone that I put in place in Joshua's presence on that one stone are seven eyes. And look, I will do the engraving myself,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I will remove the perversity of that land in a single day.

And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see, and look, {a lampstand all of gold}, and a bowl [was] on its top, and its seven lamps on it, and seven lips on [each of] the lamps that [are] on its top.

So I said, "I have been watching and look! there is a menorah made completely of gold with a bowl on top of it. And there are seven lights on it, along with seven feeder channels to the lamps, which are also on top of it. Two olive trees are near it, one on the right side of the bowl and one on the left."

Then I asked the angel who had been speaking with me, "Sir, what are these?"

And the angel [who was] talking with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these [are]?" And I said, "No, my lord."

"Who are you, great mountain? You will become a plain in Zerubbabel's presence, and he will position the capstone, exulting over it, "How beautiful! How beautiful!"'"

For who has despised the time of insignificant things? They will rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven lights represent the eyes of the LORD, which are looking throughout all of the earth."

Then I asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees, one on the right of the menorah and one on the left?"

I also asked him a second question: "What are these two olive branches on either side of the two golden feeder channels that carry the golden oil to the seven lights?"

The angel replied, "You don't know what these are, do you?" I responded to him, "No, sir."

He said, "These are the two anointed ones, who stand continuously beside the Lord of the whole earth."

And he asked me, "What [are] you seeing?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a flying scroll twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide."

And I said, 'What is it?' He answered, 'This is a measure going out.' He said moreover, 'Even thus are they that dwell upon the whole earth to look upon.'

And I lift up mine eyes, and see, and lo, two women are coming forth, and wind in their wings; and they have wings like wings of the stork, and they lift up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.

So I asked the angel who was talking to me, "Where are they taking the basket?"

He answered me, "To the land of Shinar, so they can build a temple to the woman in the basket. Then when its preparations are complete, the basket will be set there in its place."

And I turn back, and lift up mine eyes, and look, and lo, four chariots are coming forth from between two of the mountains, and the mountains are mountains of brass.

In the first chariot are red horses, and in the second chariot brown horses,

In response, I asked the angel who had been talking with me, "Sir, what are these?"

The angel told me, "These are four heavenly spirits that are going out on patrol after having presented themselves to the Lord of the whole earth.

That in which are the black horses goeth forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth towards the south country;

All these strong ones are scattering; they have sought permission to go and walk about over the earth." The Lord had said, "Go! Walk about over the earth!" So they are doing so.

Then made he outcry beside me, and spake unto me, saying, - See, these who are going forth into the land of the North, have settled my spirit in the land of the North.

Take gifts of them of the captivity, of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, and come thou the same day, and enter into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, whither they are come from Babylon;

And say to him, These are the words of the Lord of armies: See, the man whose name is the Branch, under whom there will be fertile growth.

Yes, [you are to build a temple of the Lord, but] it is He who shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and majesty [as the only begotten of the Father] and sit and rule on His throne. And He shall be a Priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two offices [Priest and King].”’

And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God."

speaking unto the priests who are at the house of Jehovah of Hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, 'Do I weep in the fifth month -- being separated -- as I have done these so many years?'

And when you eat and drink, are you not eating and drinking [for yourselves]?

[Are] not [these] the words that Yahweh proclaimed {through} the former prophets, when Jerusalem and {its surrounding towns} were inhabited and at ease, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited?'"

You are not to wrong the widow, orphans, the foreigner, or the poor, and you are not to plan evil against each other.

Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.' Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful land a waste."

These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am angry about the fate of Zion, I am angry about her with great wrath.

And broad places of the city are full of boys and girls, Playing in its broad places.

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who [were present] on [the] day {the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts}.

These [are] the things that you must do: speak truth, each [of you], with his neighbor; practice trustworthy judgment and peace in your gates.

Do not devise evil in your hearts [against] your neighbor, and do not love {a false oath}, because all these [are] things I hate," {declares} Yahweh.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months, are to the house of Judah for joy and for rejoicing, and for pleasant appointed seasons, and the truth and the peace they have loved.

An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, with its focus on Damascus: The eyes of all humanity, especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord,

and also Hamath, [which] borders on it; Tyre and Sidon--yes, they are very wise!

Then I will camp around My house [as a guard] because of an army,
Because of him who passes by and returns;
And no oppressor will again overrun them (Israel),
For now My eyes are upon them [providentially protecting them].

The LORD of the Heavenly Armies will defend them; they will devour and conquer those who sling stones. They will drink and be boisterous like those who are drunk. They will be filled to the brim with blood, like the corners of the altar.

And Yahweh their God will save them on that day, as the flock of his people; for [they are like] the stones of a diadem, glittering on his land.

Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore [the people] wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.

“My anger is kindled against the shepherds [who are not true shepherds],
And I shall punish the male goats (leaders);
For the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom),
And will make them like His beautiful and majestic horse in the battle.

Wail, O juniper, for [the] cedar has fallen, for [the] magnificent [trees] are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down!

[Listen to] the wailing of the shepherds, for their splendor is ruined! [Listen to] the roar of [the] young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!

Whose, buyers, slay them, and are not held guilty, and whose, sellers, say - Blessed be Yahweh, that I am become rich, And so, their own shepherds, have no pity upon them.

And I said, I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die; and that which perisheth let it perish; and let them which are left eat every one the flesh of another.

and it is broken in that day, and know well do the afflicted of the flock who are observing me, that it is a word of Jehovah.

For look, I [am] raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the [ones that are] perishing; he will not seek the young man, he will not heal the [ones that are] crushed and he will not sustain the healthy [ones]; he will devour the flesh of the {fattened ones} and tear apart [even] their hoofs.

The word of the Lord about Israel. The Lord by whom the heavens are stretched out and the bases of the earth put in place, and the spirit of man formed inside him, has said:

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of surfeit, unto all the people that are round about her: Yea Judah himself also shall be in the siege against Jerusalem.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all the peoples, All loading it are completely pressed down, And gathered against it have been all nations of the earth.

And the clans of Judah will say {to themselves}, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strength to us, through Yahweh of hosts, their God."

And it hath come to pass, in that day, I seek to destroy all the nations Who are coming in against Jerusalem,

Moreover, upon the house of David and upon the citizens of Jerusalem, will I pour out the spirit of grace and prayer, so that they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall beweep him, as men mourn for their only begotten son: Yea, and be sorry for him, as men are sorry for their first child

All the families that are left, Every family apart, and their women apart!

And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, I cut off the names of the idols from the land, And they are not remembered any more, And also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I cause to pass away from the land.

It will also come about that if any man would dare to prophesy, then his father and his mother who bore him will respond to him, "You will not live, because you are speaking lies in the name of the LORD.' Then his father and mother who bore him will stab him for prophesying.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, Ashamed are the prophets, each of his vision, in his prophesying, And they put not on a hairy robe to deceive.

And someone shall say to him, "What [are] these wounds {between your arms}?" and he will say, "Those I have received [in] the house of [the ones who] love me." '"

And it hath come to pass, In all the land, an affirmation of Jehovah, Two parts in it are cut off -- they expire, And the third is left in it.

And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'"

And I have gathered all the nations unto Jerusalem to battle, And captured hath been the city, And spoiled have been the houses, And the women are lain with, Gone forth hath half the city in a removal, And the remnant of the people are not cut off from the city.

And ye have fled to the valley of My mountains, For join doth the valley of the mountains to Azal, And ye have fled as ye fled before the shaking, In the days of Uzziah king of Judah, And come in hath Jehovah my God, All holy ones are with Thee.

And this will be the plague [with] which Yahweh will strike all the peoples that fight against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they [are] standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

And so is the plague of the horse, of the mule, Of the camel, and of the ass, And of all the cattle that are in these camps, As this plague.

And it shall come to pass, that all that are left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.

And every caldron in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be Holy unto Yahweh of hosts, - So shall all who are offering sacrifice, come in, and take of them, and boil therein, - Neither shall there be a merchant any more in the house of Yahweh of hosts, in that day.