The prophetic book of Zechariah
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Verse by verse, account of the book of Zechariah.

Zechariah: chapter 1

Call for Israel to repent before the Lord.

¹In the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Darius, the Persian emperor, the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah. Saying; ²The LORD has been very angry with your fathers, ³Therefore, return to Me and I will return to you. ⁴Do not be as your fathers were, who were preached to by prophets, to turn from their evil ways and deeds. But, they did not hear Me nor did they heed Me. ⁵Your fathers now are dead and the prophets also with them, ⁶yet, My words and statutes that I commanded My servants the prophets to speak, did they not overtake your fathers? And the people said, as the LORD has determined, according to our ways and deeds, so has He dealt with us.

Vision of a Man on a red horse, Christ protects Jerusalem

⁷Approximately, three months later, also in the reign of king Darius, the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah. ⁸I saw by night, a man on a red horse, standing under a myrtle tree in the hollow and behind him were three horses of, red, reddish brown and white. ⁹I then asked of the LORD what these were? ¹⁰And the man who stood among the trees answered and said; These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth. ¹¹Right then the men spoke to the Angel of the LORD, saying, we have patrolled the whole earth and have found it to be at rest. ¹²Then the Angel of the LORD inquired of the LORD asking Him, how long will it be until Your mercy returns to Jerusalem and Judah? For You have been angry with them for these seventy years. ¹³And the LORD answered with good and comforting words. ¹⁴Then the angel said to me, to proclaim this message; The LORD is zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion, ¹⁵I am very angry with the nations that are idle and at ease, for when I was but a little displeased, they harbored an evil intent and increased My affliction. ¹⁶Therefore, I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy and My house shall be built there and a measuring line shall be stretched over Jerusalem. ¹⁷My cities shall once again spread throughout the land and prosperity shall reign within them, for I will again choose Jerusalem.

The vision of four powers

¹⁸Then I saw four horns ¹⁹and I inquired of the Angel, what these were? He said; These are the four powers that had scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. ²⁰Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. ²¹And I questioned what they were coming to do? And He said; They are coming to terrify and throw down the four horns of the nations and their powers that have scattered Judah and made them so forlorn.

Zechariah: chapter 2

Vision of man with a measuring line, foundation of Jerusalem

¹I then looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. ²When I asked him where he was going, he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, its width and its length. ³This angel then met with another angel that came out to meet him, ⁴who said, tell this young man that Jerusalem shall be so large it shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. ⁵For the LORD will be a wall of fire all around her and He shall be the glory in her midst.

^6-7Now wake up you Israelites, who dwell with the daughters of Babylon! Hear and flee from the foreign lands, for I have spread you abroad like the four winds. ⁸For the LORD has sent Me to contend with the nations that plunder you, for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. ⁹I shall shake My hand against them and they shall fall into the hands of their own servants, then you will know that the LORD has sent Me. ¹⁰Sing and rejoice daughter of Zion, for I am coming and I will dwell in your midst. ¹¹In that day, many nations shall be joined to the LORD and they will become My people and I will dwell in their midst. And you will know that the LORD has sent Me to you. ¹²The LORD will then take Judah as His inheritance and will again choose Jerusalem. ¹³May all flesh be silent before the LORD, for He is risen from His holy habitation.

Zechariah: chapter 3

Vision of cleansing of the priests, God cleanses his church.

¹Then He showed me, Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD and Satan was at Joshua's right hand, as his accuser. ²Then the LORD said to Satan; I rebuked you, Satan and I have chosen Jerusalem, just as a burning branch is plucked out of the fire. ³As Joshua stood before the Angel of the LORD, his garments were filthy. ⁴And He spoke to those who stood before Him, saying; Take away his filthy garments, then, He said to Joshua; I have removed your iniquity and I will cloth you with rich robes. ⁵Putting a clean turban on your head. And they did so as the Angel of the LORD stood by.

⁶Then the Angel of the LORD affirmed Joshua and solemnly said; ⁷If you will walk in My ways and keep My commands, then you shall also shall judge My house and likewise, have charge of My courts. And I shall give you a place among these who stand here. ⁸Hear this Joshua and your colleagues who you sit with, for they are a sign before you of what is to come. However, I am bringing to you My servant, the BRANCH. ⁹This stone that is laid before Joshua has seven eyes on it. And this decree shall be written in stone, that I will remove the iniquity of the land in one days time. ¹⁰In that day everyone will invite his neighbor to share in their fruit from the covering of this BRANCH.

Zechariah: chapter 4

Vision of lampstand and olive trees, God is alive and well.

¹Now the angel who talked to me came back to me and woke me, as if wakened from a sleep. ²He asked me, what I saw? And I saw a solid gold lampstand with a bowl on top of it having seven lamps on it, with each lamp having a pipe running to it, (NOTE: This is a picture of the lampstand used in the tabernacle). ³There was an olive tree on either side of the bowl on the lampstand. ⁴So I asked the angel what this was? ⁵And he said to me, do you not know what these are? ⁶This is the Word of the LORD and encouragement to Zerubbabel, that not by his might or power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD.

NOTE: (After the Israelite's captivity and return to their land, Zerubbabel led the rebuilding of the temple, Ezra chapter 3)

⁷These obstacles before you shall be removed and he shall finish building the temple, with joy and shouts of all grace and glory be unto God.

⁸Then I received a Word from the LORD, ⁹confirming that, Zerubbabel had laid the foundation of the temple and that his hands would also finish it. ¹⁰For do not despise the day of small beginnings. For the eyes of the LORD rejoiced to see the plumb line in the hands of Zerubbabel. Whose eyes scan to and fro through the whole earth.

^11-12Then I then asked about the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand and the two olive branches on each tree that drips oil into the bowl of the lampstand? ¹³And he said to me, do you not know what these are? ¹⁴Saying, these are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the LORD.

Zechariah: chapter 5

Vision of a flying scroll, justice for the wicked.

¹I then turned and saw a flying scroll. ²The angel asked me what I saw? And I said, I see a flying scroll. Its length is 30 feet and it width is 15 feet. ³Then the angel said to me, this scroll is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth. Every thief and liar shall be cut off according to it. ⁴The Lord will send out this curse, it will enter the homes of the thief and of him who swears falsely by My name and it shall consume those homes.

Vision of a woman in a basket, wickedness closed up and taken away.

⁵Then the angel told me to look up and see this that goes forth. ⁶I then asked what this was? And he told me it was a basket going forth and it is also their resemblance throughout the whole earth. ⁷Just then the lead covering was lifted off the basket and I saw a woman sitting in it. ⁸Then the angel said this is wickedness and he pushed her back into the basket and fastened the cover back on. ⁹Then I looked again and I saw two women with wings as a stork, coming and they lifted up the basket. ¹⁰So I asked the angel where they were taking the basket? ¹¹And he answered and said, to Babylon, the basket will be set there on its base as a symbol of such sinners and guilt.

Zechariah: chapter 6

Vision of four chariots.

¹And again I looked and saw four chariots coming from between two mountains of bronze. ²The first chariot was driven by a red horses, the second chariot by a black horses. ³The third by a white horses and the forth by a dappled-grey horses, all horses being strong and mighty steeds. ⁴And I asked the angel what these were? ⁵And he said, they are the four spirits from heaven, who go out from their stations before the LORD. ⁶The black horse is going to the north country, with the white one right behind it, while the dappled-grey horse is going towards the south. ⁷The strong steeds then on the command of the LORD went out to walk to and fro throughout the whole earth. ⁸Then the LORD called to me and said, see those who went toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.

⁹Then the Word of the LORD came to me, saying; ¹⁰Receive the gifts of spoil from the returning Israelite captives returning from Babylon and the same day go to a silversmith. ¹¹From the silver and gold make an elaborate crown and set it on the head of Joshua, the high priest. ¹²Then say to him, thus says the LORD, the man whose name is the BRANCH, (NOTE: this is a name for Jesus Christ), He shall spread out and build the true temple of the LORD. ¹³He shall bear the glory and rule on His throne, both as king and priest. And a counsel of peace shall be between both offices. ¹⁴And the elaborate crown shall be put in the temple of the LORD as a reminder and a memorial. ¹⁵Even those who are far away will come to build the temple of the LORD and his will shall come to pass, if you obey the voice of the LORD.

Zechariah: chapter 7

¹In the forth year, the ninth month and the fourth day of Darius, (NOTE: two years and one month after Zachariah's first Word from the LORD), the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah.

²As the people sent a group of men to the house of God to pray. ³And to ask the priests and the prophets in the house, now that they have returned from exile, should they still weep in the fifth month and fast as we have been accustomed? ⁴The Word of the LORD then came to me. ⁵Say to all the people and the priests; The past seventy years while you were in exile when you fasted and mourned, did you really do it for Me? ⁶When you eat and drink, do you not do it for yourselves? ⁷Should you not have rather obeyed the words of the LORD that were proclaimed through the former prophets, when Jerusalem and all the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous.

⁸Then the Word of the LORD again came to Zechariah, saying; ⁹All men shall execute true justice, showing mercy and compassion to their brothers. ¹⁰Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the stranger or the poor. Do not plan evil in your heart against your brothers. ¹¹But your fathers refused to listen, they even stopped up their ears, so they could not hear. ¹²They hardened their hearts, refusing to hear the law and the words that the LORD had sent by His Spirit and spoken by the former prophets. Thus great wrath from the LORD came upon them. ¹³Since they would not listen, so when they cried out to the LORD, He would not listen to them. ¹⁴And I scattered them throughout the nations that they had not known and their land became desolate.

Zechariah: chapter 8

¹Again the Word of the LORD came, saying; ²I am very zealous for My people of Jerusalem, the city of God. ³Therefore I will return to Zion, the capital city and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall then be called the city of truth, the Holy Mountain of the LORD. ⁴Old men and women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with their staff in their hand, because of their great age. ⁵The streets shall be full of boys and girls playing. ⁶It will be marvelous in the eyes of the people that remain and it will also be marvelous in My eyes. ⁷For I shall deliver My people from the east country and the west country. ⁸I will bring them back and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, they shall be My people and I shall be their God, in truth and in righteous. ⁹Thus, let your hands be strong, you who have heard the words spoken by the prophets. Who spoke in the days when the building of the temple was planned and the foundation was laid and it was foretold that the temple might be built. ¹⁰For in the early stages of the building of the temple, there were no wages given to men, nor was there any peace with the nations around you, for I set every man against his neighbor.

¹¹But now, I will not treat the remnant of My people, as I did in the former days. ¹²For in those days, their seed and crops shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit. The ground shall be fertile, the heavens shall give their dew and these people shall possess all of this. ¹³It shall happen, that as the nations saw you as a curse. I will save the house of Judah and Israel and make you a blessing. So do not fear, but let your hand be strong.

¹⁴Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath and I did not relent. ¹⁵So in these days I am determined to do good to Judah and Jerusalem, so do not fear. ¹⁶But do these things, each man shall speak the truth to his neighbor and you shall pronounce judgments of truth, justice and peace. ¹⁷You shall not harbor evil in your hearts or bear false witness against your neighbor, for these things I hate says the LORD.

¹⁸Again, the Word of the LORD came to me, saying; ¹⁹The fasts of the forth, fifth, seventh and tenth months shall be a time of joy, gladness, truth, peace and cheerful feasts, for the house of Judah. ²⁰In that day, many people shall come from many cities. ²¹They shall gather, saying; Let us go and seek the favor of the LORD. ²²Many people and strong nations shall come to Jerusalem to seek the favor of the LORD. ²³In those days ten men from every nation and language shall come along side a Jewish man and say, let us go with you, for we know that God is with you.

Zechariah: chapter 9

¹This is the burden of the Word of the LORD against the land of Syria, (for now the eyes of all men and the tribes of Israel are on the LORD). ²Also against its neighboring cities and Tyre and Sidon, even though they are very shrewd. ³Tyre had fortified their city many times over, having vast resources of silver and gold. ⁴Nevertheless the LORD will destroy her power in the sea and consume her by fire. ⁵The Philistine cities shall see this and fear, they shall be sorrowful for their expectations are now dried up. Their kings shall perish, their lands shall be conquered and lie desolate. ⁶A mixed race shall then settle in the cities of the Philistines and the pride of their people shall be destroyed. ⁷I will take away their abominable idolatrous practices that they eat with blood. In fact, those who remain shall be for our God and be seen as a leader in Judah. ⁸Therefore I shall guard My house Jerusalem. Because of the army and him who passes through, no longer shall an oppressor pass through.

⁹Rejoice and shout daughter of Jerusalem, for your king, your Savior is coming to you, humbly riding on a donkey. ¹⁰I will remove the weapons of war from you and will speak peace to the nations, having full dominion over all the earth. ¹¹As for you Israel, because of our blood covenant, I will set your prisoners free. ¹²You prisoners who have hope, return to the stronghold and I declare that I will restore double to you. ¹³For Israel and its cities shall be My mighty solider, to go against the people of Greece ¹⁴And the LORD shall go before them. He shall sound the attack and His arrow shall go forth as lighting, as with whirlwinds from the south. ¹⁵The LORD shall defend His people and His people shall roar and consume the enemy, with great blood shed. ¹⁶In that day, the LORD will defend the flocks of His people, for they shall be to Him as the jewels in a crown, raised high as a banner over His land. ¹⁷For great is the LORD's goodness and beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive and new wine the young women.

Zechariah: chapter 10

¹Ask the LORD for rain in the latter days, for it is the LORD, who provides storm clouds that send showers of rain on the fields for everyone. ²But now since there is no shepherd the people go astray, seeking idols that speak delusions and lies, telling the people of false dreams and giving them empty comfort. ³Therefore My anger is kindled against the priests of the house of Judah, who are not true shepherds, they shall receive their due punishment. However, the LORD will visit His flock and will make Judah as His royal horse in battle. ⁴From Judah shall come the Cornerstone, (NOTE: Jesus Christ is known as the Cornerstone). Out of Him, we get our strength and stability, He is our sole provider. ⁵And Judah shall be as mighty men who tread down their enemies in battle, they shall fight because the LORD is with them and their enemies shall be put to shame. ⁶I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph, bringing them back because of My mercy. It shall be as if I had not ever cast them aside and I shall be their God and shall hear them. ⁷They shall be as mighty men and their hearts shall rejoice as if by wine. Even their children shall see it and be glad and their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. ⁸They shall gather at the sound of My voice, for I shall redeem them and they shall increase as they had before. ⁹I shall place them among the nations and they shall remember their God. As they live there with their children until the day they return to Israel. ¹⁰I will gather them together and bring them back from the land of affliction, bringing them into a bountiful land until every last corner is filled. ¹¹For the LORD shall lead His people through the sea of affection. He shall strike the waves of the sea and the depths shall be dried up. Then the pride of Israel's past enemies shall be brought low and their power shall depart. ¹²Yes, I will strengthen My people in the LORD and they shall walk in My name, says the LORD.

Zechariah: chapter 11

¹Oh proud lands be open to and accept God's judgment, though it will be as fire devouring your cedars. ²Weep and wail, for your mighty places are ruined. ³The shepherds also weep and wail for their own glory is laid-a-waste and the pride of the land is in ruins.

⁴Thus says the LORD; Go ahead and feed the flock you shepherd's, you priest's, for the people are destined for slaughter. ⁵Whose owner slaughters them and feels no guilt, while the people who sell them praise the LORD for the increase. And their own shepherds neither pity them nor spare them from the wolfs. ⁶Therefore, I will no longer pity the people. I shall let them fall into the hands of their neighbors and into the hands of their king and I shall not deliver them.

⁷So I, Zechariah fed the flock of slaughter, mainly the poor and afflicted. And I took with me two staffs, one symbolizing God's grace on Israel and the other symbolizing God's union with Israel. ⁸In one months time, I dismissed three shepherds because my soul despised their wickedness and they also despised me. ⁹Then I, Zechariah, said; I will no longer be your shepherd whatever happens, happens, let what is dying, die and let the one that survives, prey on their neighbors. ¹⁰Then I took my staff, the one symbolizing God's grace and broke it in two, that I might break the covenant that I had made with the people. ¹¹On the day when I broke it, the humble of the flock knew that it was according to the Word of the LORD. ¹²Then I asked for my wages, saying if you agree, if not refrain and they gave me thirty pieces of silver.

NOTE: (Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas Iscariot for thirty pieces of silver).

¹³Then the LORD spoke to me and said; Throw the thirty pieces into the temple, for the potter, for that is also the price they put on Me. So I thew the pieces of silver into the house of the LORD, for the potter. ¹⁴Then I broke my other staff in two called "union". That I might break the unity between Judah and Israel. ¹⁵Now the LORD said to me; Take up the job and the tools of a wicked and foolish shepherd. ¹⁶A shepherd who will not care about his people who have been turned away, he will not seek the young, or heal them who are broken nor even feed those who are healthy. But, he will feed off of the people. ¹⁷Woe to that worthless pastor who leaves the flock, a sword shall be against him and he shall perish.

Zechariah: chapter 12

¹The burden of the Word of the LORD against Israel, says the LORD the Creator of all and formed the spirit of man within him. ²To the nations that come against Judah and Jerusalem, I will make them as if they were drunk by her. ³Again I say, those who lay siege on Judah and Jerusalem will find her as a very heavy stone, that when they try to heave it away, it will cut them into pieces. ⁴In that day, I will strike every horse with terror and the rider with madness. And I will consider the house of Judah and will strike every horse with blindness. ⁵The governors of Judah shall then realize in their heart, that the people of Jerusalem are their strength for they are of the LORD their God. ⁶In that day all the nations that come around Judah to do her harm will find her governors like a torch of fire and they will devour all the people around them. And the people shall once again inhabit Jerusalem and dwell secure. ⁷And the LORD shall also save the people of Judah first, so that the glory of David's house and the glory of the people of Jerusalem may not be magnified above Judah. ⁸The LORD shall also defend the people of Jerusalem. And he who is feeble shall be like king David and his house shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD, who goes before them. ⁹ In that day I will destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem.

¹⁰I will pour out to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayers. And they shall look on Me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns and is bitter for his firstborn son. (NOTE: a reference to Christ). ¹¹In that day they shall greatly mourn for Him as one grieves for their own. ¹²Even the land shall mourn, every family by itself and each person in private shall mourn. ¹³The house of David by itself, the tribe of Levi by itself. ¹⁴All the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.

Zechariah: chapter 13

¹In that day, I shall open up a fountain for all the people of Jerusalem, it shall be a cleansing fountain to wash away their sin and unclearness. ²In that day, I shall then remove every idol from the land and their names shall no longer even be remembered and I shall cause the false prophets and unclean spirits to depart from the land. ³It shall be that, if anyone falsely prophesies, speaking lies, they shall be put to death, even by his own parents. ⁴Also every man that falsely prophesies will be ashamed of his own vision. For he will not be wearing the clothing of a true prophet and his goal will be deception. ⁵And he will actually be led to say, I am not a prophet, I have been trained as a farmer from my youth. ⁶As he bears the wounds on his body, having been disciplined from prophesying falsely to his friends.

⁷Awake, the sword is against My shepherd, says the LORD, against the man who is My equal, (NOTE: a referral to the Lord Jesus Christ). The Shepherd will be struck and the sheep will be scattered, but I will stretch out My hand and gather up the little ones of the flock. ⁸It shall come to pass that in all the land that two-thirds of the people shall perish and one-third shall be left in it. ⁹I will bring this one-third through the fire, refining them as silver and testing them as gold is tested. They shall call on My name and I will answer them, saying; These are My people and they will say; The LORD is my God.

Zechariah: chapter 14

¹The day of the LORD is coming and your goods shall be divided right before you. ²I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem and the city shall be taken. Your house pillaged and your women raped. Half of the people will be taken as slaves, but a remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. ³Then the LORD, shall go out and fight against those nations. ⁴In that day, He shall stand on the Mount of Olives facing Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives shall be split into two. From east to the west, forming a large valley in between, ⁵And together with all the saints, you shall then make your escape through My mountain valley, as if escaping from a great earthquake. ⁶In that day there shall be no light, the glorious ones shall be darkened. ⁷This shall be one day of neither day nor night, but at evening time, there shall be light. ⁸In that day, living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and the other half to the western sea, in both summer and winter. ⁹The LORD shall be king over all the earth, For in that day, there shall be but one LORD and His name shall be one.

¹⁰The entire land shall be turned into a plain, from vast border to border and Jerusalem will be raised up to dwell there. ¹¹And no longer will there be any destruction and Jerusalem shall dwell secure. ¹²And all the people who fight against Jerusalem, the LORD shall strike them with a plaque, where their flesh melts off them, their eyes and tongues shall dissolve, while they are yet still standing. ¹³In that day, a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone shall raise their hand against their neighbor. ¹⁴Judah shall also help fight at Jerusalem and the wealth of all the surrounding nations, gold, silver and apparel, shall be gathered up in great abundance. ¹⁵The plague shall even come upon the livestock, horses, camels, donkeys and the mules.

¹⁶And it shall be that all the people that remain from all the nations, shall each year at the feast of Tabernacles go up to worship the king the LORD of Hosts. ¹⁷And if a family does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, there will be no rain on that house. ^18-19This is the plague and the punishment that Egypt and all the nations will receive for not going up to keep the feast of Tabernacles. ²⁰In that day, the utensils used in the house of the LORD and even the bells on the horses shall be inscribed with HOLINESS TO THE LORD. ²¹Every pot in every house in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy unto the LORD and there shall no longer be any godless or unclean person in the house of the LORD.