nkjv Zechariah:1-7 SEEK
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In the eighth month of the second year of Darius ,
the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah ,
the son of Iddo the prophet ,
saying ,
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The LORD has been very angry with your fathers .
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Therefore say to them , "
Thus says the LORD of hosts : "
Return to Me ,"
says the LORD of hosts , "
and I will return to you ,"
says the LORD of hosts .
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Do not be like your fathers ,
to whom the former prophets preached ,
saying , "
Thus says the LORD of hosts : "
Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds ."'
But they did not hear nor heed Me ,"
says the LORD .
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Your fathers ,
where are they ?
And the prophets ,
do they live forever ?
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Yet surely My words and My statutes ,
Which I commanded My servants the prophets ,
Did they not overtake your fathers ? "
So they returned and said : "
Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us ,
According to our ways and according to our deeds ,
So He has dealt with us ."""
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On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month ,
which is the month Shebat ,
in the second year of Darius ,
the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah ,
the son of Iddo the prophet :
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I saw by night ,
and behold ,
a man riding on a red horse ,
and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow ;
and behind him were horses :
red ,
sorrel ,
and white .
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Then I said , "
My lord ,
what are these ?"
So the angel who talked with me said to me , "
I will show you what they are ."
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And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said , "
These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth ."
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So they answered the Angel of the LORD ,
who stood among the myrtle trees ,
and said , "
We have walked to and fro throughout the earth ,
and behold ,
all the earth is resting quietly ."
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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 were angry these seventy years ?"
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And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me ,
with good and comforting words .
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So the angel who spoke with me said to me , "
Proclaim ,
saying , "
Thus says the LORD of hosts : "
I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal .
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I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease ;
For I was a little angry ,
And they helped--but with evil intent ."
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Therefore thus says the LORD : "
I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy ;
My house shall be built in it ,"
says the LORD of hosts , "
And a surveyor '
s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem ."'
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Again proclaim ,
saying , "
Thus says the LORD of hosts : "
My cities shall again spread out through prosperity ;
The LORD will again comfort Zion ,
And will again choose Jerusalem .""'
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Then I raised my eyes and looked ,
and there were four horns .
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And I said to the angel who talked with me , "
What are these ?"
So he answered me , "
These are the horns that have scattered Judah ,
Israel ,
and Jerusalem ."
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Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen .
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And I said , "
What are these coming to do ?"
So he said , "
These are the horns that scattered Judah ,
so that no one could lift up his head ;
but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them ,
to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it ."
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Then I raised my eyes and looked ,
and behold ,
a man with a measuring line in his hand .
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So I said , "
Where are you going ?"
And he said to me , "
To measure Jerusalem ,
to see what is its width and what is its length ."
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And there was the angel who talked with me ,
going out ;
and another angel was coming out to meet him ,
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who said to him , "
Run ,
speak to this young man ,
saying : "
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls ,
because of the multitude of men and livestock in it .
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For I ,'
says the LORD , "
will be a wall of fire all around her ,
and I will be the glory in her midst ."'
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Up ,
up !
Flee from the land of the north ,"
says the LORD ; "
for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven ,"
says the LORD .
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Up ,
Zion !
Escape ,
you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon ."
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For thus says the LORD of hosts : "
He sent Me after glory ,
to the nations which plunder you ;
for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye .
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For surely I will shake My hand against them ,
and they shall become spoil for their servants .
Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me .
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Sing and rejoice ,
O daughter of Zion !
For behold ,
I am coming and I will dwell in your midst ,"
says the LORD .
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Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day ,
and they shall become My people .
And I will dwell in your midst .
Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you .
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And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land ,
and will again choose Jerusalem .
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Be silent ,
all flesh ,
before the LORD ,
for He is aroused from His holy habitation !"
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Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD ,
and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him .
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And the LORD said to Satan , "
The LORD rebuke you ,
Satan !
The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you !
Is this not a brand plucked from the fire ?"
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Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments ,
and was standing before the Angel .
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Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him ,
saying , "
Take away the filthy garments from him ."
And to him He said , "
See ,
I have removed your iniquity from you ,
and I will clothe you with rich robes ."
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And I said , "
Let them put a clean turban on his head ."
So they put a clean turban on his head ,
and they put the clothes on him .
And the Angel of the LORD stood by .
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Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua ,
saying ,
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Thus says the LORD of hosts : "
If you will walk in My ways ,
And if you will keep My command ,
Then you shall also judge My house ,
And likewise have charge of My courts ;
I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here .
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Hear ,
O Joshua ,
the high priest ,
You and your companions who sit before you ,
For they are a wondrous sign ;
For behold ,
I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH .
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For behold ,
the stone That I have laid before Joshua :
Upon the stone are seven eyes .
Behold ,
I will engrave its inscription ,'
Says the LORD of hosts , "
And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day .
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In that day ,'
says the LORD of hosts , "
Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree ."'
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Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me ,
as a man who is wakened out of his sleep .
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And he said to me , "
What do you see ?"
So I said , "
I am looking ,
and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it ,
and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps .
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Two olive trees are by it ,
one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left ."
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So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me ,
saying , "
What are these ,
my lord ?"
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Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me , "
Do you not know what these are ?"
And I said , "
No ,
my lord ."
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So he answered and said to me : "
This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel : "
Not by might nor by power ,
but by My Spirit ,'
Says the LORD of hosts .
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Who are you ,
O great mountain ?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain !
And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "
Grace ,
grace to it !""'
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Moreover the word of the LORD came to me ,
saying :
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The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple ;
His hands shall also finish it .
Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you .
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For who has despised the day of small things ?
For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel .
They are the eyes of the LORD ,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth ."
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Then I answered and said to him , "
What are these two olive trees--at the right of the lampstand and at its left ?"
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And I further answered and said to him , "
What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains ?"
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Then he answered me and said , "
Do you not know what these are ?"
And I said , "
No ,
my lord ."
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So he said , "
These are the two anointed ones ,
who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth ."
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Then I turned and raised my eyes ,
and saw there a flying scroll .
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And he said to me , "
What do you see ?"
So I answered , "
I see a flying scroll .
Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits ."
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Then he said to me , "
This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth : "
Every thief shall be expelled ,'
according to this side of the scroll ;
and , "
Every perjurer shall be expelled ,'
according to that side of it ."
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I will send out the curse ,"
says the LORD of hosts ; "
It shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name .
It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it ,
with its timber and stones ."
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Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me , "
Lift your eyes now ,
and see what this is that goes forth ."
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So I asked , "
What is it ?"
And he said , "
It is a basket that is going forth ."
He also said , "
This is their resemblance throughout the earth :
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Here is a lead disc lifted up ,
and this is a woman sitting inside the basket ";
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then he said , "
This is Wickedness !"
And he thrust her down into the basket ,
and threw the lead cover over its mouth .
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Then I raised my eyes and looked ,
and there were two women ,
coming with the wind in their wings ;
for they had wings like the wings of a stork ,
and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven .
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So I said to the angel who talked with me , "
Where are they carrying the basket ?"
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And he said to me , "
To build a house for it in the land of Shinar ;
when it is ready ,
the basket will be set there on its base ."
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Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked ,
and behold ,
four chariots were coming from between two mountains ,
and the mountains were mountains of bronze .
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With the first chariot were red horses ,
with the second chariot black horses ,
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with the third chariot white horses ,
and with the fourth chariot dappled horses--strong steeds .
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Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me , "
What are these ,
my lord ?"
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And the angel answered and said to me , "
These are four spirits of heaven ,
who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth .
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The one with the black horses is going to the north country ,
the white are going after them ,
and the dappled are going toward the south country ."
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Then the strong steeds went out ,
eager to go ,
that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth .
And He said , "
Go ,
walk to and fro throughout the earth ."
So they walked to and fro throughout the earth .
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And He called to me ,
and spoke to me ,
saying , "
See ,
those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country ."
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Then the word of the LORD came to me ,
saying :
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Receive the gift from the captives--from Heldai ,
Tobijah ,
and Jedaiah ,
who have come from Babylon--and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah .
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Take the silver and gold ,
make an elaborate crown ,
and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak ,
the high priest .
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Then speak to him ,
saying , "
Thus says the LORD of hosts ,
saying : "
Behold ,
the Man whose name is the BRANCH !
From His place He shall branch out ,
And He shall build the temple of the LORD ;
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Yes ,
He shall build the temple of the LORD .
He shall bear the glory ,
And shall sit and rule on His throne ;
So He shall be a priest on His throne ,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both ."'
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Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial in the temple of the LORD for Helem ,
Tobijah ,
Jedaiah ,
and Hen the son of Zephaniah .
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Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD .
Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you .
And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God ."
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Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah ,
on the fourth day of the ninth month ,
Chislev ,
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when the people sent Sherezer ,
with Regem-Melech and his men ,
to the house of God ,
to pray before the LORD ,
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and to ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts ,
and the prophets ,
saying , "
Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years ?"
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Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me ,
saying ,
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Say to all the people of the land ,
and to the priests : "
When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years ,
did you really fast for Me--for Me ?
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When you eat and when you drink ,
do you not eat and drink for yourselves ?
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Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous ,
and the South and the Lowland were inhabited ?"'
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Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah ,
saying ,
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Thus says the LORD of hosts : "
Execute true justice ,
Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother .
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Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless ,
The alien or the poor .
Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother .'
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But they refused to heed ,
shrugged their shoulders ,
and stopped their ears so that they could not hear .
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Yes ,
they made their hearts like flint ,
refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets .
Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts .
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Therefore it happened ,
that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear ,
so they called out and I would not listen ,"
says the LORD of hosts .
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But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known .
Thus the land became desolate after them ,
so that no one passed through or returned ;
for they made the pleasant land desolate ."
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Again the word of the LORD of hosts came ,
saying ,