The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Daryavesh, the following message from ADONAI came to Z'kharyah the son of Berekhyah, the son of 'Iddo, the prophet:
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In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 "ADONAI was extremely angry with your ancestors.
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The Lord has been very angry with your fathers:
3 Therefore, tell them that ADONAI-Tzva'ot says this: '"Return to me," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, "and I will return to you," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.
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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.
4 "Don't be like your ancestors. The earlier prophets proclaimed to them, 'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says to turn back now from your evil ways and deeds'; but they didn't listen or pay attention to me," says ADONAI.
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Be not like your fathers, to whom the voice of the earlier prophets came, saying, Be turned now from your evil ways and from your evil doings: but they did not give ear to me or take note, says the Lord.
5 "Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
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Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they go on living for ever?
6 But my words and my laws, which I ordered my servants the prophets, overtook your ancestors, didn't they? Then they turned and said, 'ADONAI has dealt with us according to our ways and deeds, just as he intended to do.'"'"
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But my words and my orders, which I gave to my servants the prophets, have they not overtaken your fathers? and turning back they said, As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us, in reward for our ways and our doings, so has he done.
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Sh'vat, in the second year of Daryavesh, this message from ADONAI came to Z'kharyah the son of Berekhyah, the son of 'Iddo, the prophet:
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On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
8 It was night, and I saw there before me a man riding on a russet-colored horse. He stood among the myrtle bushes in the valley; and behind him were other horses, russet, chestnut-colored and white.
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I saw in the night a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley, and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours.
9 I asked, "What are these, my Lord?" The angel speaking with me said to me, "I will show you what these are."
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Then I said, O my lord, what are these? And the angel who was talking to me said to me, I will make clear to you what they are.
10 The man standing among the myrtles said, "These are those whom ADONAI has sent to wander throughout the earth."
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And the man who was between the mountains, answering me, said, These are those whom the Lord has sent to go up and down through the earth.
11 Then they themselves answered the angel of ADONAI standing among the myrtles, "We have been wandering throughout the earth, and the whole world is quiet and at peace."
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And the man who was between the mountains, answering, said to the angel of the Lord, We have gone up and down through the earth, and all the earth is quiet and at rest.
12 The angel of ADONAI said, "ADONAI-Tzva'ot, how long will you keep withholding mercy from Yerushalayim and the cities of Y'hudah? You've been angry with them for the past seventy years!"
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Then the angel of the Lord, answering, said, O Lord of armies, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and on the towns of Judah against which your wrath has been burning for seventy years?
13 ADONAI replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.
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And the Lord gave an answer in good and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me.
14 The angel speaking with me then said to me, "Here is what ADONAITzva'ot says: 'I am extremely jealous on behalf of Yerushalayim and Tziyon;
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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.
15 and [to the same degree] I am extremely angry with the nations that are so self-satisfied; because I was only a little angry [at Yerushalayim and Tziyon], but they made the suffering worse.'
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And I am very angry with the nations who are living untroubled: for when I was only a little angry, they made the evil worse.
16 Therefore ADONAI says, 'I will return to Yerushalayim with merciful deeds. My house will be rebuilt there,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot; 'yes, a measuring line will be stretched out over Yerushalayim.'
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So this is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Jerusalem with mercies; my house is to be put up in her, says the Lord of armies, and a line is to be stretched out over Jerusalem.
17 In addition, proclaim that ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, 'My cities will again overflow with prosperity.' ADONAI will again comfort Tziyon, and he will again make Yerushalayim the city of his choice."
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And again let your voice be loud and say, This is what the Lord of armies has said: My towns will again be overflowing with good things, and again the Lord will give comfort to Zion and take Jerusalem for himself.
18 Then I looked up and saw four horns.
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And lifting up my eyes I saw four horns.
19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?" He answered, "These are the horns that scattered Y'hudah, Isra'el and Yerushalayim."
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And I said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have sent Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem in flight.
20 Next, ADONAI showed me four artisans.
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And the Lord gave me a vision of four metal-workers.
21 I asked, "What are these coming to do?" He said, "Those horns that scattered Y'hudah so completely that no one could even raise his head - well, these men have come to terrify them, to overthrow the nations that raised their horns against the land of Y'hudah to scatter it."
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Then I said, What have these come to do? And he said, These are the horns which sent Judah in flight, and kept him from lifting up his head: but these men have come to send fear on them and to put down the nations who are lifting up their horns against the land of Judah to send it in flight.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.