Zechariah 5-8

Easy-to-Read Version

The Flying Scroll

5 I looked up again, and I saw a flying scroll. ² The angel asked me, “What do you see?”

I said, “I see a flying scroll that is 30 feet^[a] long and 15 feet^[b] wide.”

³ Then the angel told me, “There is a curse written on that scroll. On one side of the scroll, there is a curse against thieves and on the other side is a curse against people who lie when they make promises. ⁴ The Lord All-Powerful says, ‘I will send that scroll to the houses of thieves and people who lie when they use my name to make promises. That scroll will settle there and destroy even the stones and wooden posts of their houses.’”

The Woman and the Bucket

⁵ The angel who was talking to me went outside and said, “Look! What do you see coming?”

⁶ I said, “I don’t know. What is it?”

He said, “That is a measuring bucket.” He also said, “That bucket is for measuring the sins^[c] of the people in this country.”

⁷ A lid made of lead was lifted off the bucket, and there was a woman in the bucket. ⁸ The angel said, “The woman represents evil.” Then the angel pushed the woman down into the bucket and put the lead lid back on it. ⁹ Then I looked up and saw two women with wings like a stork. They flew out, and with the wind in their wings, they picked up the bucket. They flew through the air carrying the bucket. ¹⁰ Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they carrying the bucket?”

¹¹ The angel told me, “They are going to build a house for it in Babylonia.^[d] After they build that house, they will put the bucket there.”

The Four Chariots

6 Then I turned around. I looked up and saw four chariots going between two bronze mountains. ² Red horses were pulling the first chariot. Black horses were pulling the second chariot. ³ White horses were pulling the third chariot, and horses with red spots were pulling the fourth chariot. ⁴ I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Sir, what does this mean?”

⁵ The angel said, “These are the four winds.^[e] They have just come from the Lord of the whole world. ⁶ The black horses will go north, the red horses will go east, the white horses will go west, and the horses with red spots will go south.”

⁷ The red spotted horses were anxious to go look at their part of the earth, so the angel told them, “Go walk through the earth.” So they went walking through their part of the earth.

⁸ Then he shouted at me and said, “Look, those horses that were going north finished their job in Babylon. They have calmed my spirit; I am not angry now!”

Joshua the Priest Gets a Crown

⁹ Then I received another message from the Lord. He said, ¹⁰ “Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah have come from the captives^[f] in Babylon. Get silver and gold from these men and then go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Use the silver and gold to make a crown. Put it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. ¹² Then tell him this is what the Lord All-Powerful says:

¹⁴ The crown will be kept in my Temple,^[g] so that when people see it, they will remember Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the kindness of Zephaniah’s son Josiah.”

¹⁵ People living far away will come and build the Lord’s Temple. Then you will know for sure that the Lord All-Powerful sent me to you people. All these things will happen if you do what the Lord your God says.

The Lord Wants Kindness and Mercy

7 Zechariah received a message from the Lord in the fourth year that Darius^[h] was the king of Persia. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev). ² The people of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and his men to ask the Lord a question. ³ They went to the prophets and to the priests at the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. They asked them this question: “For many years we have shown our sadness for the destruction of the Temple. In the fifth month of each year, we have had a special time of crying and fasting. Should we continue to do this?”

⁴ I received this message from the Lord All-Powerful: ⁵ “Tell the priests and the other people in this country this: ‘For seventy years you fasted and showed your sadness in the fifth month and in the seventh month. But was that fasting really for me? ⁶ And when you ate and drank, was that for me? No, it was for your own good. ⁷ The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing long ago. That was when Jerusalem was still a rich city filled with people and there were still people living in the surrounding towns, in the Negev, and in the western foothills.’”

The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

8 This is a message from the Lord All-Powerful. ² The Lord All-Powerful says, “I have a very strong love for Mount Zion. I love her so much that I became angry when she was not faithful to me.” ³ The Lord says, “I have come back to Zion, and I am living in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called Faithful City. The mountain of the Lord All-Powerful will be called Holy Mountain.”

⁴ The Lord All-Powerful says, “Old men and women will again be seen in the public places in Jerusalem. People will live so long that they will need their walking sticks. ⁵ And the city will be filled with children playing in the streets.” ⁶ The Lord All-Powerful says, “The survivors will think it is wonderful, and so will I!”

⁷ The Lord All-Powerful says, “Look, I am rescuing my people from countries in the east and west. ⁸ I will bring them back here, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their good and faithful God.”

⁹ The Lord All-Powerful says, “Be strong! You people are hearing the same message today that the prophets gave when the Lord All-Powerful first laid the foundations to rebuild his Temple. ¹⁰ Before that time, people didn’t have the money to hire workers or to rent animals. And it was not safe for people to come and go. There was no relief from all the troubles. I had turned everyone against their neighbor. ¹¹ But it is not like that now. It will not be like that for the survivors.” This is what the Lord All-Powerful said.

¹² “These people will plant in peace. Their grapevines will produce grapes. The land will give good crops, and the skies will give rain. I will give all these things to my people. ¹³ People began using the names Israel and Judah in their curses. But I will save Israel and Judah, and their names will become a blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong!”

¹⁴ The Lord All-Powerful says, “Your ancestors made me angry, so I decided to destroy them. I decided not to change my mind.” This is what the Lord All-Powerful said. ¹⁵ “But now I have changed my mind. And in the same way I have decided to be good to Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid! ¹⁶ But you must do this: Tell the truth to your neighbors. When you make decisions in your cities, be fair and do what is right. Do what brings peace. ¹⁷ Don’t make secret plans to hurt your neighbors. Don’t make false promises. You must not enjoy doing these things, because I hate them!” This is what the Lord said.

¹⁸ I received this message from the Lord All-Powerful. ¹⁹ The Lord All-Powerful says, “You have special days of sadness and fasting in the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, and the tenth month.^[i] These days of sadness must be changed into days of happiness. They will be good and happy festivals. And you must love truth and peace.”

²² Many people and many powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to find the Lord All-Powerful and to worship him. ²³ The Lord All-Powerful says, “At that time many foreigners speaking different languages will come to a Jewish man, take hold of the hem of his robe, and ask, ‘We heard that God is with you. Can we come with you to worship him?’”