The Daily Audio Bible

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

6 And again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of bronze. ² The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, ³ the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray^[a] horses. ⁴ Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel answered me, “These are going forth to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country,^[b] and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” ⁷ When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”

The Coronation of the Branch

⁹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobi′jah, and Jedai′ah, who have arrived from Babylon; and go the same day to the house of Josi′ah, the son of Zephani′ah. ¹¹ Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown,^[c] and set it upon the head of Joshua, the son of Jeho′zadak, the high priest; ¹² and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall grow up in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord, and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule upon his throne. And there shall be a priest by his throne, and peaceful understanding shall be between them both.”’ ¹⁴ And the crown^[d] shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Heldai,^[e] Tobi′jah, Jedai′ah, and Josi′ah^[f] the son of Zephani′ah.

¹⁵ “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord; and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

Hypocritical Fasting Condemned

7 In the fourth year of King Dari′us, the word of the Lord came to Zechari′ah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Share′zer and Reg′em-mel′ech and their men, to entreat the favor of the Lord, ³ and to ask the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” ⁴ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ⁷ When Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, with her cities round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited, were not these the words which the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets?”

Punishment for Rejecting God’s Demands

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Zechari′ah, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother, ¹⁰ do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.” ¹¹ But they refused to hearken, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears that they might not hear. ¹² They made their hearts like adamant lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. ¹³ “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, ¹⁴ “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

The Angels with the Seven Last Plagues

15 Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.

² And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. ³ And they sing the song of Moses,^[a] the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

⁵ After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, ⁶ and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, and their breasts girded with golden girdles. ⁷ And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives for ever and ever; ⁸ and 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 ended.

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

A Psalm of David.