The Daily Audio Bible

6 And I looked again, and lifted up mine eyes, and, hinei, there came arbah merkavot (four chariots) and they were coming out from between two harim (mountains); and the harim were harim of nechoshet (bronze).

² In the merkavah harishonah were red-brown susim; and in the merkavah hashenit susim shechorim (black horses);

³ And in the merkavah hashlishit susim levanim (white horses); and in the merkavah harevi’it speckled, powerful susim.

⁴ Then I answered and said unto the malach that spoke with me, What are these, adoni?

⁵ And the malach answered and said unto me, These are the arba ruchot HaShomayim, which go forth from standing before Adon Kol HaAretz [T.N. See Malachi 3:1 where Moshiach is referred to similarly].

⁶ The one with the susim shechorim (black horses) go forth toward the eretz tzafon (land of the north); and the levanim (white ones) go forth after them; and the speckled go forth toward the eretz hateyman (land of the south).

⁷ And the powerful ones went forth, and strained to go around to and fro throughout ha’aretz; and He said, Get you hence, go to and fro throughout ha’aretz. So they went to and fro throughout ha’aretz.

⁸ Then called He to me, and spoke unto me, saying, Look, these that go toward the eretz tzafon have given rest to My Ruach [HaKodesh] in the eretz tzafon.

⁹ And the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

¹⁰ Take of them of the Golus, even of Cheldai, of Toviyah, and of Yedayah, which have arrived from Babylon, and thou go into the bais of Yoshiyah ben Tzephanyah;

¹¹ Then take kesef and zahav, and make atarot (crowns), and set them upon the rosh Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak, the Kohen HaGadol

¹² And speak unto him, saying, Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: Hinei Ish, TZEMACH Shmo ; [Yehoshua is said to be the namesake of the coming Moshiach Ben Dovid; see Ezra 3:8 for the Aramaic translation of Yehoshua’s name, Yeshua; see Jer 23:5; 30:9; 33:15; Ezra 3:8; Zech 3:8; Mt 2:23; Isa 4:2; 9:2-7; 11:1-12; 53:2, 11; Moshiach the new “Joshua” Isa 49:8].]; and out of his place yitzmach (he [Moshiach] shall sprout up, Yeshayah 53:2), and he shall build the Heikhal Hashem.

¹³ It is he who shall build the Heikhal Hashem; and he shall carry hod (majesty), and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a kohen [Tehillim 110:4] upon his throne; and the atzat shalom (counsel of peace) shall be between them both.

¹⁴ And the atarot (crowns) shall be to Chelem, and to Toviyah, and to Yedayah, and to Chen ben Tzephanyah, for a memorial in the Heikhal Hashem.

¹⁵ And they that are far off shall come and build the Heikhal Hashem, and ye shall know that Hashem Tzva’os hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the kol (voice) Hashem Eloheichem.

7 And it came to pass in the shnat arba of Daryavesh HaMelech, that the Devar Hashem came unto Zecharyah in the fourth of the chodesh hateshi’i (ninth month), even in Kislev;

² And Beth-El had sent Sar-Etzer and Regem-Melech, and their men, to make entreaty for favor before Hashem,

³ And to speak unto the kohanim which were in the Beis Hashem Tzva’os, and to the nevi’im, saying, Should I mourn in the fifth month, hinnazer (separating myself by fasting), as I have done these so many shanim?

⁴ Then came the Devar Hashem Tzva’os unto me, saying,

⁵ Speak unto kol Am Ha’Aretz, and to the kohanim, saying, When ye did a tzom and mourned in the fifth and seventh, even these past shivim shanah, did ye at all fast the tzom unto Me, even to Me?

⁶ And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

⁷ Should ye not hear the devarim which Hashem hath preached by the nevi’im harishonim, when Yerushalayim was inhabited and at ease, and the towns thereof round about her, when men inhabited the Negev and the Shefelah?

⁸ And the Devar Hashem came unto Zecharyah, saying,

⁹ Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os, saying, Administer mishpat emes. And let every man show chesed and rachamim to his brother;

¹⁰ And oppress not the almanah, nor the yetomim, the ger, nor the aniyim; and let none of you imagine ra’ah against his brother in your lev.

¹¹ But they refused to heed, and stubbornly stiffened their shoulders, stopped up their oznayim, that they not hear.

¹² Yea, they made their hearts as shamir (diamond, i.e., hard as shamir), and would not yield in mishma’at (obedience) to the Torah and the devarim which Hashem Tzva’os hath sent by His Ruach [Hakodesh] through the hand of the nevi’im harishonim; therefore came a ketzef gadol (great wrath) from Hashem Tzva’os.

¹³ Therefore it is come to pass, that as He [Hashem] called, and they would not hear; so they called, and I would not hear, saith Hashem Tzva’os;

¹⁴ But I dispersed them with a whirlwind among kol HaGoyim which they had not known. Thus HaAretz was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the Eretz Chemdat [Yirmeyah 3:19] desolate.

15 And I saw another ot (miraculous sign) in Shomayim, great and marvelous: shiva (seven) malachim (angels) having sheva (seven) makkot (plagues), the last makkot (plagues), because by them is completed the Charon Af Hashem (the burning fury of G-d). [VAYIKRA 26:21]

² And I saw, as it were, a yam (sea) of glass, having been mingled with eish (fire); and I saw the menatzakhat HaChayyah (overcomers of the Beast, Anti-Moshiach) and of its Atzav (image) and of the mispar (number) of its name; and I saw them having taken their stand on the yam (sea) of glass, holding nevalim (harps) of Hashem.

³ And they sing the Shir of Moshe [Rabbeinu], the eved Hashem, and the Shir of the SEH (Lamb, SHEMOT 12:3; YESHAYAH 53:7 Moshiach), saying, "Great and marvelous are your ma’asim (works), Hashem Adonoi Tzva’ot; Tzedek (Righteousness) and Emes (Truth) are your derakhim (ways, paths), Melech kol HaGoyim (King of all the Nations). [SHEMOT 15:1; YEHOSHUA 1:1; TEHILLIM 111:2; 145:17]

⁴ “Adonoi, who would not fear You and ascribe kavod to your Name? Because You only are HaKadosh, for kol HaGoyim will come and will worship before You because Your tzedakot (righteous acts) were made known." [YIRMEYAH 10:7; TEHILLIM 86:9; YESHAYAH 66:23]

⁵ And after these things I looked, and the Heikhal was opened, that is, the Mishkan HaEdut in Shomayim. [SHEMOT 38:21; BAMIDBAR 1:50]

⁶ And the shivat hamalachim (seven angels) having the sheva hamakkot (seven plagues) came out of the Heikhal, having been clothed in linen, tahor (clean) and bright, and having been wrapped around the chests with golden gartels. [YECHEZKEL 9:2; DANIEL 10:5]

⁷ And one of the Arbah Chayyot (four living beings) gave to the shivat hamalachim (seven angels) golden ke’arot (bowls) being full of the Charon Af HaElohim HaChai l’olemei haolamim (the wrath of the living G-d who lives for ever and ever).

⁸ And the Heikhal was filled with smoke from the kavod (glory) of Hashem and from His oz (power); and no one was being able to enter into the Heikhal until should be completed the sheva hamakkot (seven plagues) of the shiva malachim (seven angels). [Isa 6:4; Ex 40:34,35; 1Kgs 8:10,11; 2Ch 5:13,14]

143 (Mizmor of Dovid) Hear my tefillah, Hashem, give ear to my techinot (supplications); in Thy emunah answer me, and in Thy tzedakah.

² And enter not into mishpat with Thy eved; for in Thy sight shall no man living be yitzadak (justified).

³ For the oyev (enemy) hath persecuted my nefesh; he hath struck down my life to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in places of choshech (darkness), like metei olam (those long dead).

⁴ Therefore is my ruach become faint within me; my lev within me is desolate.

⁵ I remember yamim mikedem (days of old), I meditate on all Thy works; I muse on the ma’aseh (work) of Thy hands.

⁶ I stretch forth my hands unto Thee; my nefesh thirsteth after Thee, like an eretz ayefah (a parched, thirsty land). Selah.

⁷ Hear me speedily, Hashem; my ruach faileth; hide not Thy face from me, lest I be like those that go down into the bor (pit).

⁸ Cause me to hear Thy chesed in the boker; for in Thee do I trust; cause me to know the Derech wherein I should walk; for I lift up my nefesh unto Thee.

⁹ Save me, Hashem, from mine oyevim (enemies); I flee unto Thee to hide me.

¹⁰ Teach me to do Retzonecha (Thy will); for Thou art Elohai; may Thy Ruach Tov lead me on level ground.

¹¹ Revive me, Hashem, l’ma’an (for the sake of) Thy Shem (Name); in Thy tzedakah bring my nefesh out of tzoros.

¹² And in Thy chesed silence mine enemies, and destroy all them that oppress my nefesh; for I am Thy eved.

²⁴ There are four things which are little upon eretz, but they are exceeding chachamim:

²⁵ The nemalim (ants) are an am (people) not strong, yet they store up their lechem in the kayitz (summer);

²⁶ The badgers are but a feeble folk, yet they make their bais in the rocks;

²⁷ The arbeh (locusts) have no melech, yet they go forth all of them in ranks;

²⁸ The lizard can be held in the hands, yet is in heikhelot (palaces) of a melech.