New International Version (NIV)

The Flying Scroll

1 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.

2 He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”

3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.

4 TheLordAlmighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’ ”

The Woman in a Basket

5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

6 I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquityof the people throughout the land.”

7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman!

8 He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.

9 Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

11 He replied, “To the country of Babyloniato build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

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Four Chariots

1 I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze.

2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black,

3 the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful.

4 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

5 The angel answered me, “These are the four spiritsof heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.

6 The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

7 When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

8 Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spiritrest in the land of the north.”

A Crown for Joshua

9 The word of theLordcame to me:

10 “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.

11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak.

12 Tell him this is what theLordAlmighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of theLord.

13 It is he who will build the temple of theLord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And hewill be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’

14 The crown will be given to Heldai,Tobijah, Jedaiah and Henson of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of theLord.

15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of theLord, and you will know that theLordAlmighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey theLordyour God.”

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Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of theLordcame to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.

2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat theLord

3 by asking the priests of the house of theLordAlmighty 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 theLordAlmighty came to me:

5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?

6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?

7 Are these not the words theLordproclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’ ”

8 And the word of theLordcame again to Zechariah:

9 “This is what theLordAlmighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.

12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that theLordAlmighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So theLordAlmighty was very angry.

13 “ ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says theLordAlmighty.

14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’ ”

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The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

1 The word of theLordAlmighty came to me.

2 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

3 This is what theLordsays: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of theLordAlmighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

4 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age.

5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

6 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares theLordAlmighty.

7 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.

8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”

9 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of theLordAlmighty.

10 Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor.

11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares theLordAlmighty.

12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.

13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curseamong the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing.Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”

14 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says theLordAlmighty,

15 “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.

16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;

17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares theLord.

18 The word of theLordAlmighty came to me.

19 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”

20 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,

21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat theLordand seek theLordAlmighty. I myself am going.’

22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek theLordAlmighty and to entreat him.”

23 This is what theLordAlmighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’ ”

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Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

1 A prophecy:

The word of theLordis against the land of Hadrak

and will come to rest on Damascus—

for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel

are on theLord—

2 and on Hamath too, which borders on it,

and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.

3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;

she has heaped up silver like dust,

and gold like the dirt of the streets.

4 But the Lord will take away her possessions

and destroy her power on the sea,

and she will be consumed by fire.

5 Ashkelon will see it and fear;

Gaza will writhe in agony,

and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.

Gaza will lose her king

and Ashkelon will be deserted.

6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,

and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.

7 I will take the blood from their mouths,

the forbidden food from between their teeth.

Those who are left will belong to our God

and become a clan in Judah,

and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

8 But I will encamp at my temple

to guard it against marauding forces.

Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,

for now I am keeping watch.

The Coming of Zion’s King

9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim

and the warhorses from Jerusalem,

and the battle bow will be broken.

He will proclaim peace to the nations.

His rule will extend from sea to sea

and from the Riverto the ends of the earth.

11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.

12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;

even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow

and fill it with Ephraim.

I will rouse your sons, Zion,

against your sons, Greece,

and make you like a warrior’s sword.

The Lord Will Appear

14 Then theLordwill appear over them;

his arrow will flash like lightning.

The SovereignLordwill sound the trumpet;

he will march in the storms of the south,

15 and theLordAlmighty will shield them.

They will destroy

and overcome with slingstones.

They will drink and roar as with wine;

they will be full like a bowl

used for sprinklingthe corners of the altar.

16 TheLordtheir God will save his people on that day

as a shepherd saves his flock.

They will sparkle in his land

like jewels in a crown.

17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!

Grain will make the young men thrive,

and new wine the young women.

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The Lord Will Care for Judah

1 Ask theLordfor rain in the springtime;

it is theLordwho sends the thunderstorms.

He gives showers of rain to all people,

and plants of the field to everyone.

2 The idols speak deceitfully,

diviners see visions that lie;

they tell dreams that are false,

they give comfort in vain.

Therefore the people wander like sheep

oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,

and I will punish the leaders;

for theLordAlmighty will care

for his flock, the people of Judah,

and make them like a proud horse in battle.

4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,

from him the tent peg,

from him the battle bow,

from him every ruler.

5 Together theywill be like warriors in battle

trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.

They will fight because theLordis with them,

and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.

6 “I will strengthen Judah

and save the tribes of Joseph.

I will restore them

because I have compassion on them.

They will be as though

I had not rejected them,

for I am theLordtheir God

and I will answer them.

7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,

and their hearts will be glad as with wine.

Their children will see it and be joyful;

their hearts will rejoice in theLord.

8 I will signal for them

and gather them in.

Surely I will redeem them;

they will be as numerous as before.

9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,

yet in distant lands they will remember me.

They and their children will survive,

and they will return.

10 I will bring them back from Egypt

and gather them from Assyria.

I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,

and there will not be room enough for them.

11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;

the surging sea will be subdued

and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.

Assyria’s pride will be brought down

and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.

12 I will strengthen them in theLord

and in his name they will live securely,”

declares theLord.

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1 Open your doors, Lebanon,

so that fire may devour your cedars!

2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;

the stately trees are ruined!

Wail, oaks of Bashan;

the dense forest has been cut down!

3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;

their rich pastures are destroyed!

Listen to the roar of the lions;

the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

Two Shepherds

4 This is what theLordmy God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.

5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise theLord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.

6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares theLord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock.

8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them

9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”

10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.

11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of theLord.

12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

13 And theLordsaid to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of theLord.

14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

15 Then theLordsaid to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,

who deserts the flock!

May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!

May his arm be completely withered,

his right eye totally blinded!”

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Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

1 A prophecy: The word of theLordconcerning Israel.

TheLord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares:

2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.

3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.

4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares theLord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.

5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because theLordAlmighty is their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

7 “TheLordwill save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.

8 On that day theLordwill shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of theLordgoing before them.

9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Mourning for the One They Pierced

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spiritof grace and supplication. They will look onme, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,

13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,

14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

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Cleansing From Sin

1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares theLordAlmighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.

3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in theLord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.

4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive.

5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’

6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,

against the man who is close to me!”

declares theLordAlmighty.

“Strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered,

and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

8 In the whole land,” declares theLord,

“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;

yet one-third will be left in it.

9 This third I will put into the fire;

I will refine them like silver

and test them like gold.

They will call on my name

and I will answer them;

I will say, ‘They are my people,’

and they will say, ‘TheLordis our God.’ ”

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The Lord Comes and Reigns

1 A day of theLordis coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

3 Then theLordwill go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.

4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquakein the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then theLordmy God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

6 On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness.

7 It will be a unique day—a day known only to theLord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.

8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.

9 TheLordwill be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be oneLord, and his name the only name.

10 The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.

11 It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

12 This is the plague with which theLordwill strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

13 On that day people will be stricken by theLordwith great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.

14 Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing.

15 A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, theLordAlmighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, theLordAlmighty, they will have no rain.

18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. TheLordwill bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

20 On that dayholy to the Lordwill be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in theLord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.

21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to theLordAlmighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanitein the house of theLordAlmighty.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/ZEC/14-4d8b06779638e801bbc9cf195659c59e.mp3?version_id=111—