Zechariah 5; Zechariah 6; Zechariah 7; Zechariah 8; Revelation 19

1 I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.

2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide."

3 He said to me, "This is the curse going out across all the land. Anyone stealing will be purged according to what's on one side of the scroll, and anyone swearing lies will be purged according to what's on the other side.

4 I sent it out, says the LORD of heavenly forces. It will come to the house of the thief and the one swearing lies in my name. It will lodge in their house and destroy the wood and stones of that house."

5 Then the messenger speaking with me came forward and said, "Look up and see what's approaching."

6 I said, "What's this?" He said, "This is the basket that is going out. This is how it appears throughout the entire land."

7 Then a lead cover was lifted, showing a woman sitting in the middle of the basket.

8 He said, "This is wickedness." He shoved her back into the basket, and he put the lead stone over its opening.

9 I looked up again and saw two women going out. There was a wind in their wings; their wings were like the wings of a stork. They carried the basket between the earth and the sky.

10 I said to the messenger speaking with me, "Where are they taking the basket?"

11 He said to me, "To build a house for it in the land of Shinar. It will be firmly placed there on its base."

1 I looked up again and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains; the mountains were made of bronze.

2 The first chariot had red horses, and the second chariot had black horses.

3 The third chariot had white horses, and the fourth chariot had horses that were heavily spotted.

4 I responded and said to the messenger speaking with me, "What are these, sir?"

5 The messenger answered and said to me, "These are the four winds of heaven that are going out after presenting themselves to the LORD of all the earth.

6 The one with the black horses is going to the north country; the white ones are going to the west; and the spotted ones are going south."

7 Then the powerful ones approached, intent on going to patrol the earth. He said, "Go! Patrol the earth!" So they patrolled the earth.

8 Then he called out and said to me, "Look, the ones going north have provided rest for my spirit in the north."

9 The LORD's word came to me:

10 Take silver and gold from the exiles who came from Babylon, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah. As for you, go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.

11 Take silver and gold and make a crown. Place it on the head of the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak's son.

12 Say to him, "The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Here is a man. His name is Branch, and he will branch out from his place; he will build the LORD's temple.

13 He will build the LORD's temple. He will be majestic; he will sit and rule on his throne. There will be a priest on his throne, and the two of them will share a peaceable plan.

14 The crown will be a memorial in the LORD's temple for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and for Hen, Zephaniah's son.

15 People from far away will come and build the LORD's temple so you might know that the LORD of heavenly forces has sent me to you. It will happen if you truly obey the voice of the LORD your God."

1 In the fourth year of Darius the king, the LORD's word came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev.

2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, along with his men, to seek the LORD's favor,

3 saying to the priests who were in the house of the LORD of heavenly forces and to the prophets: "Should I weep in the fifth month and abstain as I have done for a number of years?"

4 Then the word of the LORD of heavenly forces came to me:

5 Say to all the land's people and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth month and the seventh month for these past seventy years, did you fast for me?

6 When you ate and drank, weren't you the ones eating and drinking?

7 Weren't these the words that the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem was dwelling quietly along with the surrounding cities, and when the arid southern plain and the western foothills were inhabited?

8 The LORD's word came to Zechariah:

9 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other!

10 Don't oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; don't plan evil against each other!

11 But they refused to pay attention. They turned a cold shoulder and stopped listening.

12 They steeled their hearts against hearing the Instruction and the words that the LORD of heavenly forces sent by his spirit through the earlier prophets. As a result, the LORD of heavenly forces became enraged.

13 So just as he called and they didn't listen, when they called, I didn't listen, says the LORD of heavenly forces.

14 I scattered them throughout the nations whom they didn't know. The land was devastated behind them, with no one leaving or returning. They turned a delightful land into a wasteland.

1 The word from the LORD of heavenly forces came to me:

2 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: I care passionately about Zion; I burn with passion for her.

3 The LORD proclaims: I have returned to Zion; I will settle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the city of truth; the mountain of the LORD of heavenly forces will be the holy mountain.

4 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Old men and old women will again dwell in the plazas of Jerusalem. Each of them will have a staff in their hand because of their great age.

5 The city will be full of boys and girls playing in its plazas.

6 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Even though it may seem to be a miracle for the few remaining among this people in these days, should it seem to be a miracle for me? says the LORD of heavenly forces.

7 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: I'm about to deliver my people from the land of the east and the land of the west.

8 I'll bring them back so they will dwell in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God—in truth and in righteousness.

9 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Be strong, you who are now hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets spoken on the day when the foundations for the house of the LORD of heavenly forces were laid.

10 Before this time, there were no wages for people or animals; there was no relief from distress about going out or coming in, because I set everyone against their own neighbor.

11 But now, unlike those earlier days, I'll be with the few remaining among this people, says the LORD of heavenly forces.

12 The seed is healthy: the vine will give its fruit. The land will give its produce; the heavens will give its dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things.

13 Just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so now I will deliver you; you will be a blessing. Don't fear, but be strong.

14 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Just as I planned evil against you when your ancestors angered me, says the LORD of heavenly forces, and did not relent,

15 so now I have changed course and again plan to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don't be afraid.

16 These are the things you should do: Speak the truth to each other; make truthful, just, and peaceable decisions within your gates.

17 Don't plan evil for each other. Don't adore swearing falsely, for all of these are things that I hate, says the LORD.

18 The word of the LORD of heavenly forces came to me:

19 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah. Love truth and peace!

20 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Peoples will still come, the inhabitants of many cities.

21 The inhabitants of one city will go to another saying, "Let's go and seek the favor of the LORD, and look for the LORD of heavenly forces. I'm going too."

22 Many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of heavenly forces in Jerusalem and to seek the favor of the LORD.

23 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: In those days ten men from nations with entirely different languages will grab hold of a Judean's clothes and say, "Let's go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."

1 After this I heard what sounded like a huge crowd in heaven. They said, "Hallelujah! The salvation and glory and power of our God!

2 His judgments are true and just, because he judged the great prostitute, who ruined the earth by her whoring, and he exacted the penalty for the blood of his servants from her hand."

3 Then they said a second time, "Hallelujah! Smoke goes up from her forever and always."

4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who is seated on the throne, and they said, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

5 Then a voice went out from the throne and said, "Praise our God, all you his servants, and you who fear him, both small and great."

6 And I heard something that sounded like a huge crowd, like rushing water and powerful thunder. They said, "Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty, exercised his royal power!

7 Let us rejoice and celebrate, and give him the glory, for the wedding day of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

8 She was given fine, pure white linen to wear, for the fine linen is the saints' acts of justice."

9 Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Favored are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb." He said to me, "These are the true words of God."

10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said, "Don't do that! I'm a servant just like you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the witness of Jesus. Worship God! The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!"

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider was called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war justly.

12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

13 He wore a robe dyed with blood, and his name was called the Word of God.

14 Heaven's armies, wearing fine linen that was white and pure, were following him on white horses.

15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword that he will use to strike down the nations. He is the one who will rule them with an iron rod. And he is the one who will trample the winepress of the Almighty God's passionate anger.

16 He has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out with a loud voice and said to all the birds flying high overhead, "Come and gather for God's great supper.

18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of the powerful, and the flesh of horses and their riders. Come and eat the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great."

19 Then I saw that the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies had gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.

20 But the beast was seized, along with the false prophet who had done signs in the beast's presence. (He had used the signs to deceive people into receiving the beast's mark and into worshipping the beast's image.) The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur.

21 The rest were killed by the sword that comes from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.