¹ In 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 has been sore displeased with your fathers.

³ Therefore say you unto them, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Turn all of you unto me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, says the LORD of hosts.

⁴ Be all of you not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Turn all of you now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, says the LORD.

⁵ Your 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 the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so has he dealt with us.

⁷ 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,

⁸ I 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.

⁹ Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show you what these be.

¹⁰ And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD has sent to walk back and forth through the earth.

¹¹ And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked back and forth through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sits still, and is at rest.

¹² Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these threescore and ten years?

¹³ And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.

¹⁴ So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry you, saying, Thus says 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.

¹⁶ Therefore thus says the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

¹⁷ Cry yet, saying, Thus says 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.

¹⁸ Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold 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.

²⁰ And the LORD showed me four carpenters.

²¹ Then said I, What come these to do? And he spoke, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to frighten them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.