The Daily Audio Bible

6 Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between what looked like two mountains made of brass. ² The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black ones, ³ the third by white horses and the fourth by dappled-grays.

⁴ “And what are these, sir?” I asked the angel.

⁵ He replied, “These are the four heavenly spirits who stand before the Lord of all the earth; they are going out to do his work. ⁶ The chariot pulled by the black horses will go north, and the one pulled by white horses will follow it there,^[a] while the dappled-grays will go south.”

⁷ The red^[b] horses were impatient to be off, to patrol back and forth across the earth, so the Lord said, “Go. Begin your patrol.” So they left at once.

⁸ Then the Lord summoned me and said, “Those who went north have executed my judgment^[c] and quieted my anger there.”

⁹ In another message the Lord said:

^10-11 “Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah will bring gifts of silver and gold from the Jews exiled in Babylon. The same day they arrive, meet them at the home of Josiah (son of Zephaniah), where they will stay. Accept their gifts and make from them a crown from the silver and gold. Then put the crown on the head of Joshua (son of Josedech) the High Priest. ¹² Tell him that the Lord Almighty says, ‘You represent the Man who will come, whose name is “The Branch”—he will grow up from himself^[d]—and will build the Temple of the Lord. ¹³ To him belongs the royal title. He will rule both as King and as Priest, with perfect harmony between the two!’

¹⁴ “Then put the crown in the Temple of the Lord, to honor those who gave it—Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and also Josiah. ¹⁵ These three who have come from so far away represent many others who will someday come from distant lands to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And when this happens, you will know my messages have been from God, the Lord Almighty. But none of this will happen unless you carefully obey the commandments of the Lord your God.”

7 Another message came to me from the Lord in late November of the fourth year of the reign of King Darius.

² The Jews of the city of Bethel had sent a group of men headed by Sharezer, the chief administrative officer of the king, and Regem-melech, to the Lord’s Temple at Jerusalem, to seek his blessing ³ and to speak with the priests and prophets about whether they must continue their traditional custom of fasting and mourning during the month of August each year, as they had been doing for so long.

⁴ This was the Lord’s reply:

⁵ “When you return to Bethel, say to all your people and your priests, ‘During those seventy years of exile when you fasted and mourned in August and October, were you really in earnest about leaving your sins behind and coming back to me? No, not at all! ⁶ And even now in your holy feasts to God, you don’t think of me, but only of the food and fellowship and fun. ⁷ Long years ago, when Jerusalem was prosperous and her southern suburbs out along the plain were filled with people, the prophets warned them that this attitude would surely lead to ruin, as it has.’”

^8-9 Then this message from the Lord came to Zechariah. “Tell them to be honest and fair—and not to take bribes—and to be merciful and kind to everyone. ¹⁰ Tell them to stop oppressing widows and orphans, foreigners and poor people, and to stop plotting evil against each other. ¹¹ Your fathers would not listen to this message. They turned stubbornly away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing me. ¹² They hardened their hearts like flint, afraid to hear the words that God, the Lord Almighty, commanded them—the laws he had revealed to them by his Spirit through the early prophets. That is why such great wrath came down on them from God. ¹³ I called, but they refused to listen, so when they cried to me, I turned away. ¹⁴ I scattered them as with a whirlwind among the far-off nations. Their land became desolate; no one even traveled through it; the Pleasant Land lay bare and blighted.”

15 And I saw in heaven another mighty pageant showing things to come: Seven angels were assigned to carry down to earth the seven last plagues—and then at last God’s anger will be finished.

² Spread out before me was what seemed to be an ocean of fire and glass, and on it stood all those who had been victorious over the Evil Creature and his statue and his mark and number. All were holding harps of God, ^3-4 and they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

⁵ Then I looked and saw that the Holy of Holies of the temple in heaven was thrown wide open!

⁶ The seven angels who were assigned to pour out the seven plagues then came from the temple, clothed in spotlessly white linen, with golden belts across their chests. ⁷ And one of the four Living Beings handed each of them a golden flask filled with the terrible wrath of the Living God who lives forever and forever. ⁸ The temple was filled with smoke from his glory and power; and no one could enter until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues.

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord; answer my plea because you are faithful to your promises.^{[a] 2} Don’t bring me to trial! For as compared with you, no one is perfect.

³ My enemies chased and caught me. They have knocked me to the ground. They force me to live in the darkness like those in the grave. ⁴ I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.

⁵ I remember the glorious miracles you did in days of long ago. ⁶ I reach out for you. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. ⁷ Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens; don’t turn away from me or I shall die. ⁸ Let me see your kindness to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for my prayer is sincere. ⁹ Save me from my enemies. O Lord, I run to you to hide me. ¹⁰ Help me to do your will, for you are my God. Lead me in good paths, for your Spirit is good.

¹¹ Lord, saving me will bring glory to your name. Bring me out of all this trouble because you are true to your promises. ¹² And because you are loving and kind to me, cut off all my enemies and destroy those who are trying to harm me; for I am your servant.

^24-28 There are four things that are small but unusually wise: