Bible in 90 Days
1 This is the message Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk Complains
2 Lord, how long must I ask for help
and you ignore me?
I cry out to you about violence,
but you do not save us!
3 Why do you make me see wrong things
and make me look at trouble?
People are destroying things and hurting others in front of me;
they are arguing and fighting.
4 So the teachings are weak,
and justice never comes.
Evil people gain while good people lose;
the judges no longer make fair decisions.
The Lord Answers
5 “Look at the nations!
Watch them and be amazed and shocked.
I will do something in your lifetime
that you won’t believe even when you are told about it.
6 I will use the Babylonians,
those cruel and wild people
who march across the earth
and take lands that don’t belong to them.
7 They scare and frighten people.
They do what they want to do
and are good only to themselves.
8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and quicker than wolves at sunset.
Their horse soldiers attack quickly;
they come from places far away.
They attack quickly, like an eagle swooping down for food.
9 They all come to fight.
Nothing can stop them.
Their prisoners are as many as the grains of sand.
10 They laugh at kings
and make fun of rulers.
They laugh at all the strong, walled cities
and build dirt piles to the top of the walls to capture them.
11 Then they leave like the wind and move on.
They are guilty of worshiping their own strength.”
Habakkuk Complains Again
12 Lord, you live forever,
my God, my holy God.
We will not die.
Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians to punish people;
our Rock, you picked them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too good to look at evil;
you cannot stand to see those who do wrong.
So how can you put up with those evil people?
How can you be quiet when the wicked swallow up people who are better than they are?
14 You treat people like fish in the sea,
like sea animals without a leader.
15 The enemy brings them in with hooks.
He catches them in his net
and drags them in his fishnet.
So he rejoices and sings for joy.
16 The enemy offers sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to worship it,
because it lets him live like the rich
and enjoy the best food.
17 Will he keep on taking riches with his net?
Will he go on destroying people without showing mercy?
2 I will stand like a guard to watch
and place myself at the tower.
I will wait to see what he will say to me;
I will wait to learn how God will answer my complaint.
The Lord Answers
2 The Lord answered me:
“Write down the vision;
write it clearly on clay tablets
so whoever reads it can run to tell others.
3 It is not yet time for the message to come true,
but that time is coming soon;
the message will come true.
It may seem like a long time,
but be patient and wait for it,
because it will surely come;
it will not be delayed.
4 The evil nation is very proud of itself;
it is not living as it should.
But those who are right with God will live by faith.
5 “Just as wine can trick a person,
those who are too proud will not last,
because their desire is like a grave’s desire for death,
and like death they always want more.
They gather other nations for themselves
and collect for themselves all the countries.
6 But all the nations the Babylonians have hurt will laugh at them.
They will make fun of the Babylonians
and say, ‘How terrible it will be for the one that steals many things.
How long will that nation get rich by forcing others to pay them?’
7 “One day the people from whom you have taken money will turn against you.
They will realize what is happening and make you shake with fear.
Then they will take everything you have.
8 Because you have stolen from many nations,
those who are left will take much from you.
This is because you have killed many people,
destroying countries and cities and everyone in them.
9 “How terrible it will be for the nation that becomes rich by doing wrong,
thinking they will live in a safe place
and escape harm.
10 Because you have made plans to destroy many people,
you have made your own houses ashamed of you.
Because of it, you will lose your lives.
11 The stones of the walls will cry out against you,
and the boards that support the roof will agree that you are wrong.
12 “How terrible it will be for the nation that kills people to build a city,
that wrongs others to start a town.
13 The Lord All-Powerful will send fire
to destroy what those people have built;
all the nations’ work will be for nothing.
14 Then, just as water covers the sea,
people everywhere will know the Lord’s glory.
15 “How terrible for the nation that makes its neighbors drink,
pouring from the jug of wine until they are drunk
so that it can look at their naked bodies.
16 You Babylonians will be filled with disgrace, not respect.
It’s your turn to drink and fall to the ground like a drunk person.
The cup of anger from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you.
You will receive disgrace, not respect.
17 You hurt many people in Lebanon,
but now you will be hurt.
You killed many animals there,
and now you must be afraid
because of what you did
to that land, those cities, and the people who lived in them.
The Message About Idols
18 “An idol does no good, because a human made it;
it is only a statue that teaches lies.
The one who made it expects his own work to help him,
but he makes idols that can’t even speak!
19 How terrible it will be for the one who says to a wooden statue, ‘Come to life!’
How terrible it will be for the one who says to a silent stone, ‘Get up!’
It cannot tell you what to do.
It is only a statue covered with gold and silver;
there is no life in it.
20 The Lord is in his Holy Temple;
all the earth should be silent in his presence.”
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 This is the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on shigionoth.
2 Lord, I have heard the news about you;
I am amazed at what you have done.
Lord, do great things once again in our time;
make those things happen again in our own days.
Even when you are angry,
remember to be kind.
3 God is coming from Teman;
the Holy One comes from Mount Paran.[a] Selah
His glory covers the skies,
and his praise fills the earth.
4 He is like a bright light.
Rays of light shine from his hand,
and there he hides his power.
5 Sickness goes before him,
and disease follows behind him.
6 He stands and shakes the earth.
He looks, and the nations shake with fear.
The mountains, which stood for ages, break into pieces;
the old hills fall down.
God has always done this.
7 I saw that the tents of Cushan were in trouble
and that the tents of Midian trembled.
8 Lord, were you angry at the rivers,
or were you angry at the streams?
Were you angry with the sea
when you rode your horses and chariots of victory?[b]
9 You uncovered your bow
and commanded many arrows to be brought to you. Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and shook with fear.
The rushing water flowed.
The sea made a loud noise,
and its waves rose high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in the sky;
they stopped when they saw the flash of your flying arrows
and the gleam of your shining spear.
12 In anger you marched on the earth;
in anger you punished the nations.
13 You came out to save your people,
to save your chosen one.
You crushed the leader of the wicked ones
and took everything he had, from head to toe. Selah
14 With the enemy’s own spear you stabbed the leader of his army.
His soldiers rushed out like a storm to scatter us.
They were happy
as they were robbing the poor people in secret.
15 But you marched through the sea with your horses,
stirring the great waters.
16 I hear these things, and my body trembles;
my lips tremble when I hear the sound.
My bones feel weak,
and my legs shake.
But I will wait patiently for the day of disaster
that will come to the people who attack us.
17 Fig trees may not grow figs,
and there may be no grapes on the vines.
There may be no olives growing
and no food growing in the fields.
There may be no sheep in the pens
and no cattle in the barns.
18 But I will still be glad in the Lord;
I will rejoice in God my Savior.
19 The Lord God is my strength.
He makes me like a deer that does not stumble
so I can walk on the steep mountains.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
1 This is the word of the Lord that came through Zephaniah while Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, who was the son of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Hezekiah.
The Lord’s Judgment
2 “I will sweep away everything
from the earth,” says the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away the people and animals;
I will destroy the birds in the air
and the fish of the sea.
I will ruin the evil people,
and I will remove human beings from the earth,” says the Lord.
The Future of Judah
4 “I will punish Judah
and all the people living in Jerusalem.
I will remove from this place
all signs of Baal, the false priests, and the other priests.
5 I will destroy those who worship
the stars from the roofs,[c]
and those who worship and make promises
by both the Lord and the god Molech,
6 and those who turned away from the Lord,
and those who quit following the Lord and praying to him for direction.
7 Be silent before the Lord God,
because the Lord’s day for judging people is coming soon.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has made holy his invited guests.
8 On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
I, the Lord, will punish the princes and the king’s sons
and all those who wear foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish those who worship Dagon,
those who hurt others and tell lies in the temples of their gods.
10 “On that day,” says the Lord,
“a cry will be heard at the Fish Gate.
A wail will come from the new area of the city,
and a loud crash will echo from the hills.
11 Cry, you people living in the market area,
because all the merchants will be dead;
all the silver traders will be gone.
12 At that time I, the Lord, will search Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish those who are satisfied with themselves,
who think, ‘The Lord won’t help us or punish us.’
13 Their wealth will be stolen
and their houses destroyed.
They may build houses,
but they will not live in them.
They may plant vineyards,
but they will not drink any wine from them.
The Lord’s Day of Judging
14 “The Lord’s day of judging is coming soon;
it is near and coming fast.
The cry will be very sad on the day of the Lord;
even soldiers will cry.
15 That day will be a day of anger,
a day of terror and trouble,
a day of destruction and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16 a day of alarms and battle cries.
‘Attack the strong, walled cities!
Attack the corner towers!’
17 I will make life hard on the people;
they will walk around like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust,
and their insides will be dumped like trash.
18 On the day that God will show his anger,
neither their silver nor gold will save them.
The Lord’s anger will be like a fire
that will burn up the whole world;
suddenly he will bring an end, yes, an end
to everyone on earth.”
The Lord Asks People to Change
2 Gather together, gather,
you unwanted people.
2 Do it before it’s too late,
before you are blown away like chaff,
before the Lord’s terrible anger reaches you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger comes to you.
3 Come to the Lord, all you who are not proud,
who obey his laws.
Do what is right. Learn to be humble.
Maybe you will escape
on the day the Lord shows his anger.
Philistia Will Be Punished
4 No one will be left in the city of Gaza,
and the city of Ashkelon will be destroyed.
Ashdod will be empty by noon,
and the people of Ekron will be chased away.
5 How terrible it will be for you who live by the Mediterranean Sea,
you Philistines!
The word of the Lord is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
“I will destroy you
so that no one will be left.”
6 The land by the Mediterranean Sea, in which you live,
will become pastures, fields for shepherds, and pens for sheep.
7 It will belong to the descendants of Judah who are left alive.
There they will let their sheep eat grass.
At night they will sleep
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will pay attention to them
and will make their life good again.
Moab and Ammon Will Be Punished
8 “I have heard the insults of the country of Moab
and the threats of the people of Ammon.
They have insulted my people
and have taken their land.”
9 So the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says,
“As surely as I live,
Moab will be destroyed like Sodom,
and Ammon will be destroyed like Gomorrah[d]—
a heap of weeds, a pit of salt,
and a ruin forever.
Those of my people who are left alive will take whatever they want from them;
those who are left from my nation will take their land.”
10 This is what Moab and Ammon get for being proud,
because they insulted and made fun of the people of the Lord All-Powerful.
11 The Lord will frighten them,
because he will destroy all the gods of the earth.
Then everyone in faraway places
will worship him wherever they are.
Cush and Assyria Will Be Destroyed
12 “You Cushites also
will be killed by my sword.”
13 Then the Lord will turn against the north
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh
a ruin as dry as a desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there,
and all wild animals.
The owls and crows will sit
on the stone pillars.
The owl will hoot through the windows,
trash will be in the doorways,
and the wooden boards of the buildings will be gone.
15 This is the happy and safe city
that thinks there is no one else as strong as it is.
But what a ruin it will be,
a place where wild animals live.
All those who pass by will make fun
and shake their fists.
Jerusalem Will Be Punished
3 How terrible for the wicked, stubborn city of Jerusalem,
which hurts its own people.
2 It obeys no voice;
it can’t be taught to do right.
It doesn’t trust the Lord;
it doesn’t worship its God.
3 Its officers are like roaring lions.
Its rulers are like hungry wolves that attack in the evening,
and in the morning nothing is left of those they attacked.
4 Its prophets are proud;
they are people who cannot be trusted.
Its priests don’t respect holy things;
they break God’s teachings.
5 But the Lord is good, and he is there in that city.
He does no wrong.
Every morning he governs the people fairly;
every day he can be trusted.
But evil people are not ashamed of what they do.
6 “I have destroyed nations;
their towers were ruined.
I made their streets empty
so no one goes there anymore.
Their cities are ruined;
no one lives there at all.
7 I said, ‘Surely now Jerusalem will respect me
and will accept my teaching.’
Then the place where they lived would not be destroyed,
and I would not have to punish them.
But they were still eager
to do evil in everything they did.
8 Just wait,” says the Lord.
“Someday I will stand up as a witness.
I have decided that I will gather nations
and assemble kingdoms.
I will pour out my anger on them,
all my strong anger.
My anger will be like fire
that will burn up the whole world.
A New Day for God’s People
9 “Then I will give the people of all nations pure speech
so that all of them will speak the name of the Lord
and worship me together.
10 People will come from where the Nile River begins;
my scattered people will come with gifts for me.
11 Then Jerusalem will not be ashamed
of the wrongs done against me,
because I will remove from this city
those who like to brag;
there will never be any more proud people
on my holy mountain in Jerusalem.
12 But I will leave in the city
the humble and those who are not proud,
and they will trust in the Lord.
13 Those who are left alive in Israel won’t do wrong or tell lies;
they won’t trick people with their words.
They will eat and lie down
with no one to make them afraid.”
A Happy Song
14 Sing, Jerusalem.
Israel, shout for joy!
Jerusalem, be happy
and rejoice with all your heart.
15 The Lord has stopped punishing you;
he has sent your enemies away.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you;
you will never again be afraid of being harmed.
16 On that day Jerusalem will be told,
“Don’t be afraid, city of Jerusalem.
Don’t give up.
17 The Lord your God is with you;
the mighty One will save you.
He will rejoice over you.
You will rest in his love;
he will sing and be joyful about you.”
18 “I will take away the sadness planned for you,
which would have made you very ashamed.
19 At that time I will punish
all those who harmed you.
I will save my people who cannot walk
and gather my people who have been thrown out.
I will give them praise and honor
in every place where they were shamed.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you back home.
I will give you honor and praise
from people everywhere
when I make things go well again for you,
as you will see with your own eyes,” says the Lord.
It Is Time to Build the Temple
1 The prophet Haggai spoke the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. This message came in the second year that Darius was king, on the first day of the sixth month:
2 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: ‘The people say the right time has not come to rebuild the Temple of the Lord.’”
3 Then Haggai the prophet spoke the word of the Lord: 4 “Is it right for you to be living in fancy houses while the Temple is still in ruins?”
5 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Think about what you have done. 6 You have planted much, but you harvest little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but you are not warm enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all as if you had put it into a purse full of holes.”
7 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Think about what you have done. 8 Go up to the mountains, bring back wood, and build the Temple. Then I will be pleased with it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You look for much, but you find little. When you bring it home, I destroy it. Why?” asks the Lord All-Powerful. “Because you all work hard for your own houses while my house is still in ruins! 10 Because of what you have done, the sky holds back its rain and the ground holds back its crops. 11 I have called for a time without rain on the land, and on the mountains, and on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, the plants which the earth produces, the people, the farm animals, and all the work of your hands.”
12 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the rest of the people who were left alive obeyed the Lord their God and the message from Haggai the prophet, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.
13 Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the Lord’s message to the people, saying, “The Lord says, ‘I am with you.’” 14 The Lord stirred up Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the rest of the people who were left alive. So they came and worked on the Temple of their God, the Lord All-Powerful. 15 They began on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year Darius was king.
The Beauty of the Temple
2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord spoke his word through Haggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the rest of the people who are left alive. Say, 3 ‘Do any of you remember how great the Temple was before it was destroyed? What does it look like now? Doesn’t it seem like nothing to you?’ 4 But the Lord says, ‘Zerubbabel, be brave. Also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, be brave. And all you people who live in the land, be brave,’ says the Lord. ‘Work, because I am with you,’ says the Lord All-Powerful. 5 ‘I made a promise to you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit is still with you. So don’t be afraid.’
6 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: ‘In a short time I will once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations, and they will bring their wealth. Then I will fill this Temple with glory,’ says the Lord All-Powerful. 8 ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says the Lord All-Powerful. 9 ‘The new Temple will be greater than the one before,’ says the Lord All-Powerful. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord All-Powerful.”
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year Darius was king, the Lord spoke his word to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: ‘Ask the priests for a teaching. 12 Suppose a person carries in the fold of his clothes some meat made holy for the Lord. If that fold touches bread, cooked food, wine, olive oil, or some other food, will that be made holy?’”
The priests answered, “No.”
13 Then Haggai said, “A person who touches a dead body will become unclean. If he touches any of these foods, will it become unclean, too?”
The priests answered, “Yes, it would become unclean.”
14 Then Haggai answered, “The Lord says, ‘This is also true for the people of this nation. They are unclean, and everything they do with their hands is unclean to me. Whatever they offer at the altar is also unclean.
15 “‘Think about this from now on! Think about how it was before you started laying stones on top of stones to build the Temple of the Lord. 16 A person used to come to a pile of grain expecting to find twenty basketfuls, but there were only ten. And a person used to come to the wine vat to take out fifty jarfuls, but only twenty were there. 17 I destroyed your work with diseases, mildew, and hail, but you still did not come back to me,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘It is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day in which the people finished working on the foundation of the Temple of the Lord. From now on, think about these things: 19 Do you have seeds for crops still in the barn? Your vines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not given fruit yet. But from now on I will bless you!’”
The Lord Makes a Promise to Zerubbabel
20 Then the Lord spoke his word a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month. He said, 21 “Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will destroy the foreign kingdoms and take away the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will destroy the chariots and their riders. The horses will fall with their riders, as people kill each other with swords.’ 23 The Lord All-Powerful says, ‘On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will make you important like my signet ring, because I have chosen you!’ says the Lord All-Powerful.”
The Lord Calls His People Back
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.’”
The Vision of the Horses
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.’”
The Vision of the Horns
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.”
The Vision of the Measuring Line
2 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.”
The Vision of the High Priest
3 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.’”
The Vision of the Lampstand
4 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 by your own 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.”
The Vision of the Flying Scroll
5 I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.
2 The angel asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.”
3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that will go all over the land. One side says every thief will be taken away. The other side says everyone who makes false promises will be taken away. 4 The Lord All-Powerful says, ‘I will send it to the houses of thieves and to those who use my name to make false promises. The scroll will stay in that person’s house and destroy it with its wood and stones.’”
The Vision of the Woman
5 Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is going out.”
6 “What is it?” I asked.
He answered, “It is a measuring basket going out.” He also said, “It is a symbol of the people’s sins in all the land.”
7 Then the lid made of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket. 8 The angel said, “The woman stands for wickedness.” Then he pushed her back into the basket and put the lid back down.
9 Then I looked up and saw two women going out with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and the sky.
10 I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”
11 “They are going to Babylonia to build a temple for it,” he answered. “When the temple is ready, they will set the basket there in its place.”
The Vision of the Four Chariots
6 I looked up again and saw four chariots going out between two mountains, mountains of bronze. 2 Red horses pulled the first chariot. Black horses pulled the second chariot. 3 White horses pulled the third chariot, and strong, spotted horses pulled the fourth chariot. 4 I asked the angel who was talking with me, “What are these, sir?”
5 He said, “These are the four spirits of heaven. They have just come from the presence of the Lord of the whole world. 6 The chariot pulled by the black horses will go to the land of the north. The white horses will go to the land of the west, and the spotted horses will go to the land of the south.”
7 When the powerful horses went out, they were eager to go through all the earth. So he said, “Go through all the earth,” and they did.
8 Then he called to me, “Look, the horses that went north have caused my spirit to rest in the land of the north.”
A Crown for Joshua
9 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying, 10 “Take silver and gold from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who were captives in Babylon. Go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah, who came from Babylon. 11 Make the silver and gold into a crown, and put it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord All-Powerful says: ‘A man whose name is the Branch will branch out from where he is, and he will build the Temple of the Lord. 13 One man[e] will build the Temple of the Lord, and the other[f] will receive honor. One man will sit on his throne and rule, and the other will be a priest on his throne. And these two men will work together in peace.’ 14 The crown will be kept in the Temple of the Lord to remind Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah son of Zephaniah. 15 People living far away will come and build the Temple of the Lord. Then you will know the Lord All-Powerful has sent me to you. This will happen if you completely obey the Lord your God.”
The People Should Show Mercy
7 In the fourth year Darius was king, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Kislev, the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah. 2 The city of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and their men to ask the Lord a question. 3 They went to the prophets and priests who were at the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. The men said, “For years in the fifth month of each year we have shown our sadness and fasted. Should we continue to do this?”
4 The Lord All-Powerful spoke his word to me, saying, 5 “Tell the priests and the people in the land: ‘For seventy years you fasted and cried in the fifth and seventh months, but that was not really for me. 6 And when you ate and drank, it was really for yourselves. 7 The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing, when Jerusalem and the surrounding towns were at peace and wealthy, and people lived in the southern area and the western hills.’”
8 And the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah again, saying, 9 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: ‘Do what is right and true. Be kind and merciful to each other. 10 Don’t hurt widows and orphans, foreigners or the poor; don’t even think of doing evil to somebody else.’
11 “But they refused to pay attention; they were stubborn and did not want to listen anymore. 12 They made their hearts as hard as rock and would not listen to the teachings of the Lord All-Powerful. And they would not hear the words he sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord All-Powerful became very angry.
13 “‘When I called to them, they would not listen. So when they called to me, I would not listen,’ says the Lord All-Powerful. 14 ‘I scattered them like a hurricane to other countries they did not know. This good land was left so ruined behind them that no one could live there. They had made the desired land a ruin.’”
The Lord Will Bless Jerusalem
8 The Lord All-Powerful spoke his word, saying, 2 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “I have a very strong love for Jerusalem. My strong love for her is like a fire burning in me.”
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Jerusalem and live in it. Then it will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord All-Powerful will be called the Holy Mountain.”
4 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Old men and old women will again sit along Jerusalem’s streets, each carrying a cane because of age. 5 And the streets will be filled with boys and girls playing.”
6 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Those who are left alive then may think it is too difficult to happen, but it is not too difficult for me,” says the Lord All-Powerful. 7 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “I will save my people from countries in the east and west. 8 I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their good and loyal God.”
9 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Work hard, you who are hearing these words today. The prophets spoke these words when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord All-Powerful, for the building of the Temple. 10 Before that time there was no money to hire people or animals. People could not safely come and go because of the enemies; I had turned everyone against his neighbor. 11 But I will not do to these people who are left what I did in the past,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
12 “They will plant their seeds in peace, their grapevines will have fruit, the ground will give good crops, and the sky will send rain. I will give all this to the people who are left alive. 13 Judah and Israel, your names have been used as curses in other nations. But I will save you, and you will become a blessing. So don’t be afraid; work hard.”
14 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “When your ancestors made me angry, I planned to punish you. I did not change my mind,” says the Lord All-Powerful. 15 “But now I will do something different. I am planning to do good to Jerusalem and Judah. So don’t be afraid. 16 These are the things you should do: Tell each other the truth. In the courts judge with truth and complete fairness. 17 Do not make plans to hurt your neighbors, and don’t love false promises. I hate all these things,” says the Lord.
18 The Lord All-Powerful spoke his word to me again. 19 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “The special days when you fast in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become good, joyful, happy feasts in Judah. But you must love truth and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Many people from many cities will still come to Jerusalem. 21 People from one city will go and say to those from another city, ‘We are going to pray to the Lord and to ask the Lord All-Powerful for help. Come and go with us.’ 22 Many people and powerful nations will come to worship the Lord All-Powerful in Jerusalem and to pray to the Lord for help.”
23 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “At that time, ten men from different countries will come and take hold of a Judean by his coat. They will say to him, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
Punishment on Israel’s Enemies
9 This message is the word of the Lord.
The message is against the land of Hadrach
and the city of Damascus.
The tribes of Israel and all people
belong to the Lord.
2 The message is also against the city of Hamath, on the border,
and against Tyre and Sidon, with their skill.
3 Tyre has built a strong wall for herself.
She has piled up silver like dust
and gold like the mud in the streets.
4 But the Lord will take away all she has
and destroy her power on the sea.
That city will be destroyed by fire.
5 The city of Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
The people of Gaza will shake with fear,
and the people of Ekron will lose hope.
No king will be left in Gaza,
and no one will live in Ashkelon anymore.
6 Foreigners will live in Ashdod,
and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will stop them from drinking blood
and from eating forbidden food.
Those left alive will belong to God.
They will be leaders in Judah,
and Ekron will become like the Jebusites.
8 I will protect my Temple
from armies who would come or go.
No one will hurt my people again,
because now I am watching them.
The King Is Coming
9 Rejoice greatly, people of Jerusalem!
Shout for joy, people of Jerusalem!
Your king is coming to you.
He does what is right, and he saves.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey,
on the colt of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the horses from Jerusalem.
The bows used in war will be broken.
The king will talk to the nations about peace.
His kingdom will go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of the agreement with you
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 You prisoners who have hope,
return to your place of safety.
Today I am telling you
that I will give you back twice as much as before.
13 I will use Judah like a bow
and Ephraim like the arrows.
Jerusalem, I will use your men
to fight the men of Greece.
I will use you like a warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear above them,
and his arrows will shoot like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
and he will march in the storms of the south.
15 The Lord All-Powerful will protect them;
they will destroy the enemy with slingshots.
They will drink and shout like drunks.
They will be filled like a bowl
used for sprinkling blood at the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them
as if his people were sheep.
They will shine in his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 They will be so pretty and beautiful.
The young men will grow strong on the grain
and the young women on new wine.
The Lord’s Promises
10 Ask the Lord for rain during the springtime rains.
The Lord is the one who makes the clouds.
He sends the showers
and gives everyone green fields.
2 Idols tell lies;
fortune-tellers see false visions
and tell about false dreams.
The comfort they give is worth nothing.
So the people are like lost sheep.
They are abused, because there is no shepherd.
3 The Lord says, “I am angry at my shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders.
I, the Lord All-Powerful, care
for my flock, the people of Judah.
I will make them like my proud war horses.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,
and the tent peg,
the battle bow,
and every ruler.
5 Together they will be like soldiers
marching to battle through muddy streets.
The Lord is with them,
so they will fight and defeat the horsemen.
6 “I will strengthen the people of Judah
and save the people of Joseph.
I will bring them back,
because I care about them.
It will be as though
I had never left them,
because I am the Lord their God,
and I will answer them.
7 The people of Ephraim will be strong like soldiers;
they will be glad as when they have drunk wine.
Their children will see it and rejoice;
they will be happy in the Lord.
8 I will call my people
and gather them together.
I will save them,
and they will grow in number as they grew in number before.
9 I have scattered them among the nations,
but in those faraway places, they will remember me.
They and their children will live and return.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon
until there isn’t enough room for them all.
11 They will come through the sea of trouble.
The waves of the sea will be calm,
and the Nile River will dry up.
I will defeat Assyria’s pride
and destroy Egypt’s power over other countries.
12 I will make my people strong,
and they will live as I say,” says the Lord.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.