Zechariah 1-5
1 In the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Addo the prophet, saying, 2 “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers, 3 and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Almighty: “Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord, 4 “And do not become like your fathers, whom the former prophets accused, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord Almighty: “Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ ” But they did not pay attention or heed Me,” says the Lord.
5 “Your fathers—where are they? And the prophets—will they live forever? 6 But receive My words and My ordinances as I commanded by My Spirit to My servants the prophets who overtook your fathers.” And they answered and said, “As the Lord Almighty determined to deal with us, according to our ways and according to our practices, thus He dealt with us.” ’ ”
The Vision of the Four Horses
7 In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, this is the month Sabat, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Addo the prophet, saying, 8 I saw a vision in the night, and behold, a man was mounted on a red horse, and he stood in the midst of the two shaded mountains, and behind him were red, dapple gray, piebald, and white horses. 9 And I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel talking to me said, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the man who stood in the midst of the mountains replied and said to me, “These are those whom the Lord sent forth to go out into all the earth.” 11 And they answered the Angel of the Lord, who stood in the midst of the mountains, and said, “We have gone out into all the earth, and behold, all the earth is inhabited and is at peace.”
12 Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, “O Lord Almighty, how long will You show no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, which You disregarded these seventy years?” 13 And the Lord Almighty replied to the angel who was speaking to me with kind and comforting words. 14 And the angel speaking to me said to me, “Cry out, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord Almighty: “I have been jealous for both Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy, 15 and I am exceedingly angry with the nations joining together against her, with whom I was only a little angry, but then they joined together with evil intent.” 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord: “I shall return to Jerusalem with compassion, and in her My house shall be rebuilt,” says the Lord Almighty, “and a measuring line shall indeed be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’ ” 17 And the angel talking to me said to me, “Cry out again, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord Almighty: “Cities shall yet overflow with prosperity, and hereafter the Lord will have mercy on Zion and will choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”
The Vision of the Four Horns
1 And I looked up, and behold, four horns. 2 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “My lord, what are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah and Israel.” 3 And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 4 And I said, “What are they coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah and broke Israel in pieces, and not one of them looked up, and they come forth to sharpen these with their hands, the four horns—the nations that lifted their horn up against the land of the Lord to scatter it.”
The Glory of the New Jerusalem
5 And I looked up, and behold, a man, and in his hand was a measuring line. 6 And I said to him, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem to see its width and its length.” 7 And behold, the angel who was speaking to me stood up, and another angel went to meet him. 8 And he spoke to him, saying, “Run and speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem shall be fruitfully inhabited by reason of the multitude of men and livestock in the midst of her. 9 And I will be for her a wall of fire all around,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will be in glory in the midst of her,’ says the Lord.”
10 “Oh! Oh! flee from the land of the north,” says the Lord, “because I will gather you together from the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord. 11 “Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.” 12 For thus says the Lord Almighty: “He has sent Me out after glory to the nations that plundered you, for the one who assails you is as one who assails the apple of His eye. 13 For behold, I bring My hand against them, and they shall be plunder to those serving them, and you will know the Lord Almighty sent Me.
14 “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I am coming to you, and I will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. 15 “And in that day many nations shall flee to the Lord for refuge, and they will be His people, and they will dwell in your midst, and you shall know the Lord Almighty has sent Me to you. 16 And the Lord will inherit Judah, His portion in the holy land, and He will still choose Jerusalem. 17 Let all flesh fear before the presence of the Lord, for He has roused Himself from His holy clouds.”
Joshua the High Priest
1 And the Lord showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the presence of the Angel of the Lord, and the devil stood at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the Lord said to the devil, “The Lord rebukes you, O devil, even the Lord choosing for Himself Jerusalem rebukes you. Behold, is this one not like a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 And Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and stood before the Angel. 4 And He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And He said to him, “Behold, I have taken your iniquities away from you. Now clothe him with a long robe, 5 and place upon his head a clean miter.” So they clothed him and put a clean miter on his head, and the Angel of the Lord was standing by.
6 Then the Angel of the Lord testified to Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘If you walk in My paths and if you keep My commands, you shall judge My house; and if you will diligently guard My courtyard, I will give you those to walk in the midst of these who stand here. 8 Hear then, O Joshua the high priest, you and your neighbors sitting before you, for these men are prophets; for behold, I bring forth My servant the Dayspring. 9 For the stone which I place before the face of Joshua, upon one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I am digging a pit,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will search out every wrongdoing of that land in one day. 10 On that day,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘each of you will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
The Lampstand and the Olive Trees
1 And the angel who spoke to me came again and awakened me as when a man is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What did you see?” And I said, “Behold, I have seen a lampstand made of solid gold, and a bowl at its top, and seven lamps upon it, and the seven tubes to its lamps; 3 and over it two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left.” 4 And I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel speaking to me answered, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 And he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by mighty power nor by strength, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. 7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain, to set this right before the face of Zerubbabel? For I will bring forth the stone of the inheritance, its grace equaling My grace.’ ”
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it, and you will know the Lord Almighty has sent Me to you. 10 For who has scorned the day of small beginnings? They shall rejoice and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel: these seven are the eyes of the Lord, which look upon all the earth.”
11 And I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I inquired a second time and said to him, “What are the two branches of the olive trees in the handles of the two golden tubes that pour forth and bring oil to the golden channels?” 13 And he said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 And he said, “These are the two sons of richness who stand beside the Lord of all the earth.”
The Flying Sickle
1 I turned and looked up, and behold a flying sickle. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying sickle, twenty cubits in length by ten cubits wide.” 3 And he said to me, “This is the curse going out over the face of the whole earth, for every thief on this side shall be punished with death, and everyone on that side who swears falsely shall be punished by death.” 4 “And I will bring it forth,” says the Lord Almighty, “and it shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall settle in the midst of his house and destroy it, both its timber and its stones.”
5 And the angel who was talking to me came out and said to me, “Look up and see this that is going forth.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the measuring basket that goes forth.” And he said, “This is their wrongdoing in all the land.” 7 And behold, a talent of lead was being lifted up, and behold one woman sat in the midst of the measuring basket. 8 And he said, “This is lawlessness.” And he threw it into the midst of the measure, and he threw the lead weight into the mouth of it.
9 Then I looked up to see, and behold two women going forth, and the wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they took up the measuring basket into the air between heaven and earth. 10 And I asked the angel speaking to me, “For what reason do they carry this basket for measuring?” 11 And he said to me, “To prepare and to build a place for it in the land of Babylon. They will place it there upon its own place.”
Psalm 96
1 By David; when His earth is restored.
The Lord reigns; let the earth greatly rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.
2 Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and judgment are the right ordering of His throne.
3 Fire shall go out before Him
And burn up His enemies on every side.
4 His lightning gave light to the world;
The earth saw and was shaken.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaimed His righteousness;
All the peoples saw His glory.
7 Let all who worship the carved images be shamed,
All who boast in their idols;
Worship Him, all you His angels.
8 Zion heard and was glad,
And the daughters of Judah greatly rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O Lord;
9 For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth,
Exalted exceedingly over all the gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil;
The Lord keeps the souls of His saints;
He shall deliver them from the hand of sinners.
11 Light dawned for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in the Lord, O righteous ones,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
Proverbs 21:1–5
1 As a flow of water, so is the heart of the king in the hand of God;
Wherever He wills to incline it, there he turns it.
2 Every man appears righteous to himself,
But the Lord makes hearts right.
3 To do righteous things and to speak the truth
Are more pleasing before God than the blood of sacrifices.
4 A high-minded man is bold-hearted in his arrogance,
And the lamp of the ungodly is sin.
5 He who produces treasures with a lying tongue
Pursues worthless things upon the snares of death.
1 Timothy 4
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;
5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
A Good Servant of Jesus Christ
6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
11 These things command and teach.
Take Heed to Your Ministry
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.