1 And again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains — mountains of bronze. 2The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, 3the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses— all of them strong.

4 So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

5 And the angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth from their station before the Lord of all the earth. 6The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

7 As the strong horses went out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth; and the Lord said, “Go and patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.

8 Then the Lord summoned me and said, “Behold, those going to the land of the north have given rest to My Spirit in the land of the north.”

9 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 10“Take an offering from the exiles — from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon — and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.

12 And you are to tell him that this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the Lord. 13Yes, He will build the temple of the Lord; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. And He will be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two.’

14 The crown will reside in the temple of the Lord as a memorial to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the gracious son of Zephaniah. 15Even those far away will come and build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the Lord 3by asking the priests of the house of the Lord of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

4 Then the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me, saying, 5“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted? 6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? 7Are these not the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. 10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. 12They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of Hosts.

13 And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the Lord of Hosts. 14But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”

1 Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.

2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps from God, 3and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

5 After this I looked, and the temple — the tabernacle of the Testimony — was opened in heaven. 6And out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean and bright linen and girded with golden sashes around their chests.

7 Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

24 Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: