rsv Zechariah:6-8 SEEK
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And again I lifted my eyes and saw ,
and behold ,
four chariots came out from between two mountains ;
and the mountains were mountains of bronze .
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The first chariot had red horses ,
the second black horses ,
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the third white horses ,
and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses .
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Then I said to the angel who talked with me , "
What are these ,
my lord ?"
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And the angel answered me , "
These are going forth to the four winds of heaven ,
after presenting themselves before the LORD of all the earth .
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The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country ,
the white ones go toward the west country ,
and the dappled ones go toward the south country ."
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When the steeds came out ,
they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth .
And he said , "
Go ,
patrol the earth ."
So they patrolled the earth .
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Then he cried to me , "
Behold ,
those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country ."
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And the word of the LORD came to me :
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Take from the exiles Heldai ,
Tobi '
jah ,
and Jedai '
ah ,
who have arrived from Babylon ;
and go the same day to the house of Josi '
ah ,
the son of Zephani '
ah .
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Take from them silver and gold ,
and make a crown ,
and set it upon the head of Joshua ,
the son of Jehoz '
adak ,
the high priest ;
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and say to him , `
Thus says the LORD of hosts , "
Behold ,
the man whose name is the Branch :
for he shall grow up in his place ,
and he shall build the temple of the LORD .
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It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD ,
and shall bear royal honor ,
and shall sit and rule upon his throne .
And there shall be a priest by his throne ,
and peaceful understanding shall be between them both ."'
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And the crown shall be in the temple of the LORD as a reminder to Heldai ,
Tobi '
jah ,
Jedai '
ah ,
and Josi '
ah the son of Zephani '
ah .
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And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD ;
and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you .
And this shall come to pass ,
if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God ."
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In the fourth year of King Darius ,
the word of the LORD came to Zechari '
ah in the fourth day of the ninth month ,
which is Chislev .
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Now the people of Bethel had sent Share '
zer and Reg '
em-mel '
ech and their men ,
to entreat the favor of the LORD ,
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and to ask the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets , "
Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month ,
as I have done for so many years ?"
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Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me ;
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Say to all the people of the land and the priests ,
When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh ,
for these seventy years ,
was it for me that you fasted ?
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And when you eat and when you drink ,
do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves ?
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When Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity ,
with her cities round about her ,
and the South and the lowland were inhabited ,
were not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets ?"
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And the word of the LORD came to Zechari '
ah ,
saying ,
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Thus says the LORD of hosts ,
Render true judgments ,
show kindness and mercy each to his brother ,
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do not oppress the widow ,
the fatherless ,
the sojourner ,
or the poor ;
and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart ."
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But they refused to hearken ,
and turned a stubborn shoulder ,
and stopped their ears that they might not hear .
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They made their hearts like adamant lest they should hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets .
Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts .
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As I called ,
and they would not hear ,
so they called ,
and I would not hear ,"
says the LORD of hosts ,
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and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known .
Thus the land they left was desolate ,
so that no one went to and fro ,
and the pleasant land was made desolate ."
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And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me ,
saying ,
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy ,
and I am jealous for her with great wrath .
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Thus says the LORD :
I will return to Zion ,
and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem ,
and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city ,
and the mountain of the LORD of hosts ,
the holy mountain .
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem ,
each with staff in hand for very age .
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And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets .
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in these days ,
should it also be marvelous in my sight ,
says the LORD of hosts ?
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
Behold ,
I will save my people from the east country and from the west country ;
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and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem ;
and they shall be my people and I will be their God ,
in faithfulness and in righteousness ."
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Thus says the LORD of hosts : "
Let your hands be strong ,
you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets ,
since the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid ,
that the temple might be built .
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For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast ,
neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in ;
for I set every man against his fellow .
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But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days ,
says the LORD of hosts .
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For there shall be a sowing of peace ;
the vine shall yield its fruit ,
and the ground shall give its increase ,
and the heavens shall give their dew ;
and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things .
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And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations ,
O house of Judah and house of Israel ,
so will I save you and you shall be a blessing .
Fear not ,
but let your hands be strong ."
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For thus says the LORD of hosts : "
As I purposed to do evil to you ,
when your fathers provoked me to wrath ,
and I did not relent ,
says the LORD of hosts ,
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so again have I purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah ;
fear not .
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These are the things that you shall do :
Speak the truth to one another ,
render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace ,
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do not devise evil in your hearts against one another ,
and love no false oath ,
for all these things I hate ,
says the LORD ."
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And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me ,
saying ,
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
The fast of the fourth month ,
and the fast of the fifth ,
and the fast of the seventh ,
and the fast of the tenth ,
shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness ,
and cheerful feasts ;
therefore love truth and peace .
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
Peoples shall yet come ,
even the inhabitants of many cities ;
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the inhabitants of one city shall go to another ,
saying , `
Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD ,
and to seek the LORD of hosts ;
I am going .'
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Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem ,
and to entreat the favor of the LORD .
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew ,
saying , `
Let us go with you ,
for we have heard that God is with you .'"
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An Oracle The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and will rest upon Damascus .
For to the LORD belong the cities of Aram ,
even as all the tribes of Israel ;