1In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
1:1-61In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
The word of God came unto Zechariah, saying, [1]
3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Turn to me, and I'll turn to you.
4Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
Don't be like your fathers.
5Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
Where are your fathers now?
Do prophets live forever?
1:7-177 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
The word of God came upon Zechariah again, saying,
8I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
I saw a man riding on a red horse,
and a man standing by myrtle trees,
and behind him were red horses, speckled with white. [2]
9Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
I said to an angel, "What are these?"
He said, "I'll show you."
10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
The man by the myrtle trees said,
They are those God has sent to walk around on earth.
11 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
They answered the angel that stood by the myrtle trees, saying,
We have walked around on the earth.
The earth sits still, and is at rest. [3]
12 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
God's angel said,
God, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with whom you've been angry for seventy years?
13 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
God answered the angel with good and comfortable words.
14So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
The angel said to me,
Cry out, saying,
This is what God says,
I'm jealous for Jerusalem.
And I'm disappointed with the heathen.
16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
I'm returning to Jerusalem,
where I'll build my house.
1:18-2118Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Then I saw four horns.
19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
I said to the angel, "What are these?"
He said, "They are the horns which will scatter Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."
20And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
Then God showed me four carpenters.
21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
I said to God,
What are they going to do?
God said,
They will cast out the horns of the Gentiles,
whose horns scattered Judah.
Because I know you'll want to know the year, month, and day that word of God repeatedly comes to Zechariah. (See also vv. v.7)
Zechariah sees a man riding on a red horse and carries on an extended, multi-way conversation with an angel, a man in a myrtle tree, some horses of different colors, and God.
According to the horses of different colors, the earth doesn't move.
