Zechariah Chapter 1
Showing all 21 verses for Zechariah Chapter 1.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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, "
"This message came from God to the prophet Zechariah - grandson of Iddo, son of Berechiah - in the eighth month of King Darius's second year as ruler."
I come to people in their own time and place, not in some abstract "someday". Whatever season of rebuilding you're in right now - however ordinary the date on the calendar - that's exactly when I meet you.
"The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. "
"God says he was deeply angry with the previous generations of this nation."
I don't ask you to pretend the past was fine when it wasn't. Real change starts with an honest look backwards - not to wallow in guilt, but so you can actually choose a different path forward.
"Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. "
"So tell the people: Come back to me, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, and I will come back to you."
Whatever distance you feel between yourself and the life you want, or between yourself and me, closing it isn't as hard as you think. Take one step back towards what matters, and I promise I'll close the rest of the gap myself.
"Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD. "
"Don't be like your ancestors, who ignored the earlier prophets' repeated pleas to turn from their harmful ways and actions - they simply wouldn't listen."
You don't have to keep repeating the mistakes handed down to you just because they're familiar. Listening - really listening, not just hearing - is the first skill worth practising if you want a different outcome than the one before you.
"Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? "
"Where are your ancestors now? And did the prophets themselves live forever either?"
None of us are here forever, so don't put off dealing with what matters until some more convenient day. The time to turn things around is now, while you still have the chance.
"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 as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us. "
"But didn't my words and instructions, which I gave through my servants the prophets, eventually catch up with your ancestors? In the end they admitted: God has done to us exactly what our own conduct deserved."
Consequences aren't punishment for its own sake - they're often just the honest result of the path you were already walking. When you can admit that to yourself without excuses, that honesty is actually the beginning of freedom.
"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, "
"On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month called Shebat), in Darius's second year as king, God's word came again to Zechariah, grandson of Iddo."
I often speak into ordinary nights and unremarkable days - you don't need a mountaintop moment to receive something meaningful. Stay alert to what's shown to you even in the middle of ordinary life.
"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. "
"In the night I saw a man on a red horse, standing among myrtle trees in a valley; behind him were more horses - red, brown, and white."
I'm often at work in the quiet, overlooked corners of life, not just the places that look important. Don't assume that because a season feels unremarkable, nothing significant is happening in it.
"Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. "
"I asked, "Sir, what are these?" And the angel guiding me through the vision replied, "I'll show you what they mean.""
It's fine, even necessary, to ask "what does this mean?" when life or faith feels confusing. I'd rather you keep asking honest questions than pretend to understand something you don't.
"And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. "
"The man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "These are the ones the LORD has sent out to patrol the whole earth.""
You are never off my radar, even when your situation feels too small or too obscure for anyone to notice. I keep watch over the whole world, and that includes wherever you are right now.
"And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. "
"The riders reported to the angel of the LORD standing among the myrtle trees: "We have patrolled the whole earth, and everything is calm and undisturbed.""
Just because the world around you looks settled and fine doesn't mean your own unfinished pain gets overlooked or minimised. Your struggle matters, even in a season when everything else seems calm.
"Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? "
"Then the angel of the LORD asked, "LORD of Heaven's Armies, how much longer will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and Judah's towns, after being angry with them for these seventy years?""
You're allowed to ask "how long?" when pain drags on - I'm not offended by honest questions, even angry or frustrated ones. Bringing your real feelings to me is far better than burying them and pretending everything's fine.
"And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. "
"And the LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me, giving him kind and comforting words."
When you bring me your honest complaints, don't expect to be shut down - expect to be comforted. I meet real questions with real kindness, not silence or scolding.
"So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. "
"The angel speaking with me said, "Announce this: the LORD of Heaven's Armies says, I am fiercely protective of Jerusalem and Zion - intensely so.""
My care for you isn't lukewarm or half-hearted - it's fierce and protective, like someone who genuinely won't let you be forgotten or written off. Let that fierceness be a comfort, not something to fear.
"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. "
""And I am furious with the nations that feel so comfortable and secure, because although I was only somewhat angry with my people, those nations went much further and piled on more harm than I intended.""
There's a real difference between necessary correction and someone piling on more cruelty than the situation called for - I see that difference clearly, even when it looks the same from the outside. If people have taken advantage of your hard season to hurt you further, that injustice matters to me.
"Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. "
""So this is what the LORD says: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My temple will be rebuilt there, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem" (to plan its rebuilding)."
When I promise to be present with you, it's not just a nice feeling - it shows up in real, practical follow-through on the things you're actually working on. Keep building; the outcome is more secure than it looks right now.
"Cry yet, saying, Thus saith 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. "
""Announce further: the LORD of Heaven's Armies says, My towns will overflow with prosperity again; the LORD will comfort Zion once more and choose Jerusalem again.""
Wherever you are right now isn't the end of your story - there's more good still ahead, even if you can't see it from where you're standing today. Hold on; "not yet" isn't the same as "never".
"Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. "
"Then I looked up and saw four animal horns."
Sometimes you have to actually stop, look up, and pay attention before you can see what's really working against you. Awareness itself is the first step towards being free of it.
"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. "
"I asked the angel guiding me, "What are these?" He answered, "These are the horns [powers] that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.""
Naming exactly what has scattered or hurt you - being specific rather than vague - is often the first real step towards healing from it. I don't ask you to stay confused about what broke you.
"And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. "
"Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen [skilled workers]."
Whatever has broken you down, I can send exactly what's needed to counter it and rebuild what was damaged. Destruction doesn't get the final word.
"Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. "
"I asked, "What have these craftsmen come to do?" He replied, "These horns scattered Judah so completely that no one could even lift their head up in hope. But these craftsmen have come to terrify those horns and throw down the power of the nations that raised themselves up to scatter Judah's land.""
Whatever has crushed your confidence or kept your head down, I'm in the business of reversing that, not leaving you stuck there. The powers that scattered you don't get to have the last word over your life.