Zechariah 1; Zechariah 2; Zechariah 3; Zechariah 4; Revelation 18

1 In the eighth month of the second year Darius was king, the Lord spoke his word to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, who was the son of Iddo. The Lord said,

2 "The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.

3 So tell the people: This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord All-Powerful.

4 Don't be like your ancestors. In the past the prophets said to them: This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'Stop your evil ways and evil actions.' But they wouldn't listen or pay attention to me, says the Lord.

5 Your ancestors are dead, and those prophets didn't live forever.

6 I commanded my words and laws to my servants the prophets, and they preached to your ancestors, who returned to me. They said, 'The Lord All-Powerful did as he said he would. He punished us for the way we lived and for what we did.'"

7 It was on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in Darius's second year as king. The Lord spoke his word to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, who was the son of Iddo.

8 During the night I had a vision. I saw a man riding a red horse. He was standing among some myrtle trees in a ravine, with red, brown, and white horses behind him.

9 I asked, "What are these, sir?" The angel who was talking with me answered, "I'll show you what they are."

10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the Lord sent through all the earth."

11 Then they spoke to the Lord's angel, who was standing among the myrtle trees. They said, "We have gone through all the earth, and everything is calm and quiet."

12 Then the Lord's angel asked, "Lord All-Powerful, how long will it be before you show mercy to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? You have been angry with them for seventy years now."

13 So the Lord answered the angel who was talking with me, and his words were comforting and good.

14 Then the angel who was talking to me said to me, "Announce this: This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'I have a strong love for Jerusalem.

15 And I am very angry with the nations that feel so safe. I was only a little angry at them, but they made things worse.'

16 "So this is what the Lord says: 'I will return to Jerusalem with mercy. My Temple will be rebuilt,' says the Lord All-Powerful, 'and the measuring line will be used to rebuild Jerusalem.'

17 "Also announce: This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'My towns will be rich again. The Lord will comfort Jerusalem again, and I will again choose Jerusalem.'"

18 Then I looked up and saw four animal horns.

19 I asked the angel who was talking with me, "What are these?" He said, "These are the horns that scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.

21 I asked, "What are they coming to do?" He answered, "They have come to scare and throw down the horns. These horns scattered the people of Judah so that no one could even lift up his head. These horns stand for the nations that attacked the people of Judah and scattered them."

1 Then I looked up and saw a man holding a line for measuring things.

2 I asked him, "Where are you going?" He said to me, "I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is."

3 Then the angel who was talking with me left, and another angel came out to meet him.

4 The second angel said to him, "Run and tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will become a city without walls, because there will be so many people and cattle in it.

5 I will be a wall of fire around it,' says the Lord. 'And I will be the glory within it.'

6 "Oh no! Oh no! Run away from Babylon, because I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven," says the Lord.

7 "Oh no, Jerusalem! Escape, you who live right in Babylon."

8 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "After he has honored me and sent me against the nations who took your possessions -- because whoever touches you hurts what is precious to me --

9 I will shake my hand against them so that their slaves will rob them." Then you will know that the Lord All-Powerful sent me.

10 "Shout and be glad, Jerusalem. I am coming, and I will live among you," says the Lord.

11 "At that time people from many nations will join with the Lord and will become my people. Then I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord All-Powerful has sent me to you.

12 The Lord will take Judah as his own part of the holy land, and Jerusalem will be his chosen city again.

13 Be silent, everyone, in the presence of the Lord. He is coming out of the holy place where he lives."

1 Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing in front of the Lord's angel. And Satan was standing by Joshua's right side to accuse him.

2 The Lord said to Satan, "The Lord says no to you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem says no to you! This man was like a burning stick pulled from the fire."

3 Joshua was wearing dirty clothes and was standing in front of the angel.

4 The angel said to those standing in front of him, "Take off those dirty clothes." Then the angel said to Joshua, "Look, I have taken away your sin from you, and I am giving you beautiful, fine clothes."

5 Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and dressed him while the Lord's angel stood there.

6 Then the Lord's angel said to Joshua,

7 "This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'If you do as I tell you and serve me, you will be in charge of my Temple and my courtyards. And I will let you be with these angels who are standing here.

8 "'Listen, Joshua, the high priest, and your friends who are sitting in front of you. They are symbols of what will happen. I am going to bring my servant called the Branch.

9 Look, I put this stone in front of Joshua, a stone with seven sides. I will carve a message on it,' says the Lord All-Powerful. 'And in one day I will take away the sin of this land.'

10 "The Lord All-Powerful says, 'In that day, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your own grapevine and under your own fig tree.'"

1 Then the angel who was talking with me returned and woke me up as if I had been asleep.

2 He asked me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. And there are seven lamps and also seven places for wicks.

3 There are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on the left."

4 I asked the angel who talked with me, "Sir, what are these?"

5 The angel said, "Don't you know what they are?" "No, sir," I said.

6 Then he told me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'You will not succeed by your own strength or power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord All-Powerful.

7 "Who are you, big mountain? In front of Zerubbabel you will become flat land, and he will bring out the topmost stone, shouting, 'It's beautiful! It's beautiful!'"

8 Then the Lord spoke his word to me again, saying,

9 "Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord All-Powerful has sent me to you.

10 "The people should not think that small beginnings are unimportant. They will be happy when they see Zerubbabel with tools, building the Temple. "(These are the seven eyes of the Lord, which look back and forth across the earth.)"

11 Then I asked the angel, "What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?"

12 I also asked him, "What are the two olive branches beside the two gold pipes, from which the olive oil flows to the lamps?"

13 He answered, "Don't you know what they are?" "No, sir," I said.

14 So he said, "They are symbols of the two who have been appointed to serve the Lord of all the earth."

1 After the vision of these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power, and his glory made the earth bright.

2 He shouted in a powerful voice: "Ruined, ruined is the great city of Babylon! She has become a home for demons and a prison for every evil spirit, and a prison for every unclean bird and unclean beast.

3 She has been ruined, because all the peoples of the earth have drunk the wine of the desire of her sexual sin. She has been ruined also because the kings of the earth have sinned sexually with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the great wealth of her luxury."

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying: "Come out of that city, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive the disasters that will come to her.

5 Her sins have piled up as high as the sky, and God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done.

6 Give that city the same as she gave to others. Pay her back twice as much as she did. Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong as the wine she prepared for others.

7 She gave herself much glory and rich living. Give her that much suffering and sadness. She says to herself, 'I am a queen sitting on my throne. I am not a widow; I will never be sad.'

8 So these disasters will come to her in one day: death, and crying, and great hunger, and she will be destroyed by fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful."

9 The kings of the earth who sinned sexually with her and shared her wealth will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will cry and be sad because of her death.

10 They will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away and say: "Terrible! How terrible for you, great city, powerful city of Babylon, because your punishment has come in one hour!"

11 And the merchants of the earth will cry and be sad about her, because now there is no one to buy their cargoes --

12 cargoes of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, red cloth; all kinds of citron wood and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble;

13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves, and human lives.

14 The merchants will say, "Babylon, the good things you wanted are gone from you. All your rich and fancy things have disappeared. You will never have them again."

15 The merchants who became rich from selling to her will be afraid of her suffering and will stand far away. They will cry and be sad

16 and say: "Terrible! How terrible for the great city! She was dressed in fine linen, purple and red cloth, and she was shining with gold, precious jewels, and pearls!

17 All these riches have been destroyed in one hour!" Every sea captain, every passenger, the sailors, and all those who earn their living from the sea stood far away from Babylon.

18 As they saw the smoke from her burning, they cried out loudly, "There was never a city like this great city!"

19 And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and being sad. They said: "Terrible! How terrible for the great city! All the people who had ships on the sea became rich because of her wealth! But she has been destroyed in one hour!

20 Be happy because of this, heaven! Be happy, God's holy people and apostles and prophets! God has punished her because of what she did to you."

21 Then a powerful angel picked up a large stone, like one used for grinding grain, and threw it into the sea. He said: "In the same way, the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, and it will never be found again.

22 The music of people playing harps and other instruments, flutes, and trumpets, will never be heard in you again. No workman doing any job will ever be found in you again. The sound of grinding grain will never be heard in you again.

23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world's great people, and all the nations were tricked by your magic.

24 You are guilty of the death of the prophets and God's holy people and all who have been killed on earth."