Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius' reign, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo the prophet. The message was this:

The Lord has been deeply displeased with your fathers. They ignored God's prophets who called them to turn from their evil ways and deeds. "Return to me," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. "I will return to you." But they refused to listen.

Your ancestors are gone, and so are the prophets who served them. My words and laws, which I commanded my servants to proclaim, were dismissed by your fathers. They responded with a resigned attitude: "The Lord of hosts has dealt with us according to our ways and deeds."

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, in the second year of Darius' reign, another message came to Zechariah: I had a vision that night, and there was a man riding a red horse among myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were horses with coats of various colors – some red, some speckled, and some white.

I asked the angel accompanying me, "What are these?" The angel replied, "We will show you what they are." The rider explained that these horses represented God's messengers sent to survey the earth. They reported back that it was at peace, with no signs of conflict or disturbance.

But then another angel spoke up, saying, "Lord of hosts, how long must you delay showing mercy to Jerusalem and Judah? You have been angry with them for seventy years."

The Lord replied in gentle and comforting words: "I am fiercely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. I am very displeased with the nations that are at ease, as they intensify the suffering. But now I will return to Jerusalem with kindness, and my temple will be rebuilt there. I will measure out its boundaries," declares the Lord of hosts.

This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: My cities will flourish in prosperity once more. I will comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem. Then I looked up and saw four horns among the trees. The angel explained, "These horns have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

The Lord showed me four craftsmen, who represent the powers that scattered God's people.