Next I saw Joshua the high priest ¹  standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan ²  standing at his right hand to accuse him.

The word of the Lord came to me as follows:

I asked the messenger who was speaking to me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

Again the Lord said to me, “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹ 

“The Lord who rules over all says, ‘If you live ¹  and work according to my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple ²  and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you.

The speaker went on to say, “This is a curse ¹  traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals ²  will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate.”

The word of the Lord who rules over all came to me as follows:

I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem ¹  in order to determine its width and its length.”

(2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.

At this point the angelic messenger ¹  who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him

Therefore he told me, “These signify the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ ¹  says the Lord who rules over all.”

The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. ¹  Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’

The Ephraimites will be like warriors and will rejoice as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will celebrate in the things of the Lord.

If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain – instead there will be the kind of plague which the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. ¹ 

I asked, “What are these going to do?” He answered, “These horns are the ones that have scattered Judah so that there is no one to be seen. ¹  But the blacksmiths have come to terrify Judah’s enemies ²  and cut off the horns of the nations that have thrust themselves against the land of Judah in order to scatter its people.” ³ 

“What are you, you great mountain? ¹  Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple ²  capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’ ³  because of this.”

He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.”

Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, ¹  for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well.

“I will pour out on the kingship ¹  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ²  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ³