Amplified Bible (AMP)

Hearts like Flint

1 In the fourth year of [the reign of] King Darius [of Persia], the word of the Lordcame to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month,which isChislev (Dec 7, 518b.c.).

2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to seek the favor of the Lord,

3 speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lordof hosts and to the prophets, saying, “[Now that I am returned from exile] shall I weep in the fifth month [mourning the destruction of the temple], and fast as I have done these many years [in Babylon]?”

4 Then the word of the Lordof hosts came to me (Zechariah), saying,

5 “Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years [that you were in exile], was it actually for Me that you fasted?

6 ~‘When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves [to satisfy your own needs]?

7 ~‘Should you not hear the words which the Lordproclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with her cities around her, and the South (the Negev) and the foothills were inhabited?’”

8 Then the word of the Lordcame to Zechariah, saying,

9 “Thus has the Lordof hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion, to each other;

10 and do not oppressorexploit the widow or the fatherless, the stranger or the poor; and do not deviseoreven imagine evil in your hearts against one another.’

11 But they refused to listenandpay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder [stiffening themselves in resistance] and stopped up their ears.

12 They made their hearts [hard] like flint, so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lordof hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lordof hosts.

13 And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the Lordof hosts;

14 “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after they had gone, so that no one passed through or returned, for they [by their sins] had made the pleasant land desolateanddeserted.”

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

1 Then the word of the Lordof hosts came [to me], saying,

2 “Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘I amjealous for Zion with great jealousy [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], and I am jealous for her with great wrath [against her enemies].’

3 Thus says the Lord, ‘I shall return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the [faithful] City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lordof hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’

4 Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in thestreets (public places) of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of his advanced age.

5 ~‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.’

6 Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘If it is difficult in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days [in which this comes to pass], will it also be difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lordof hosts.

7 Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the east country and from the west,

8 and I will bring them home and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth (faithfulness) and in righteousness.’

9 “Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who in these days hear these words from the mouths of the prophets who, on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lordof hosts was laid, foretold that the temple might be rebuilt.

10 ~‘For before those days there were no wages for man or animal; nor was there any peaceorsuccess for him who went out or came in because of his enemies, for I set all men against one another.

11 ~‘But now [in this time since you began to build] I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lordof hosts.

12 ‘For there the seed will produce peaceandprosperity; the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will produce its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inheritandpossess all these things.

13 ~‘And as you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah (Southern Kingdom) and house of Israel (Northern Kingdom), so I will save you, that you may be a blessing. Fear not; let your hands be strong.’

14 “For thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘Just as I planned to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the Lordof hosts, ‘and I did not relent,

15 so I have again planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!

16 ~‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth with one another; judge with truth and pronounce the judgment that brings peace in [the courts at] your gates.

17 ~‘And let none of you deviseoreven imagine evil in your heart against another, and do not love lyingorhalf-truths; for all these things I hate,’ declares the Lord.”

18 Then the word of the Lordof hosts came to me (Zechariah), saying,

19 “Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’

20 “Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘It will come to pass that peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will come [to Jerusalem].

21 ~‘The inhabitants of one [city] will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to ask the favor of the Lordand to seek the Lordof hosts. I will go also.”

22 ~‘So many peoples and powerful nations will come to seek the Lordof hosts in Jerusalem and to ask the Lordfor His favor.’

23 Thus says the Lordof hosts, ‘In those days ten men [as representatives] from all the nations will grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

Prophecies against Neighboring Nations

1 Theoracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lordis against the land of Hadrach [in Syria], with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord),

2 And Hamath also, which borders on it (Damascus),

Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.

3 For Tyre built herself an [impregnable] stronghold [on an island offshore],

And she has heaped up silver like dust

And gold like the mire of the streets.

4 Behold, the Lord willdispossess her

And throw her wealth into the sea;

And Tyre will be devoured by fire.

5 Ashkelon will see it and fear;

Gaza will writhe in pain,

And Ekron, for her hopeandexpectation, has been ruined.

The king will perish from Gaza,

And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

6 And a mongrel race will live in Ashdod,

And I will put an end to the prideandarrogance of the Philistines.

7 I will take the blood from their mouths

And their detestable things from between their teeth [those repulsive, idolatrous sacrifices eaten with the blood].

Then they too will be a remnant for our God,

And be like a clan in Judah,

And Ekron will be like one of theJebusites.

8 Then I will camp around My house [as a guard] because of an army,

Because of him who passes by and returns;

And no oppressor will again overrun them (Israel),

For now My eyes are upon them [providentially protecting them].

9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O Daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your King (Messianic King) is coming to you;

He is righteous and endowed with salvation,

Humbleandunassuming [in submission to the will of the Father] and riding on adonkey,

Upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I will cut off the [war] chariot from Ephraim

And the [war] horse from Jerusalem,

And the bow of war will be cut off.

And He will speak [words of] peace to the nations,

And His dominion shall be from sea to sea [absolutely endless],

And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.

Salvation of Judah and Ephraim

11 As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you [My chosen people, the covenant that was sealed with blood]

I have freed your prisoners from the waterless pit.

12 Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], O prisoners who have the hope;

Even today I am declaring that I will restore double [your former prosperity] to you [as firstborn among nations].

13 For I will bend Judah as My bow,

I will fit the bow with Ephraim [as My arrow].

And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece,

And will make you [Israel] like the sword of a warrior.

14 Then the Lordwill be seen [hovering] over them [protecting His people],

And His arrow will go forth like lightning;

And the Lord Godwill blow the trumpet

And will march in the windstorms of the south.

15 The Lordof hosts shall defendandprotect them;

And they will devour [the enemy] and trample down the slingstones [that have missed their mark],

And they will drink [of victory] and be boisterous as with wine;

And they shall be filled likesacrificialbowls [used to catch the blood],

Drenchedlike the corners of the [sacrificial] altar.

16 And the Lordtheir God shall save them on that day

As the flock of His people;

For they are like the [precious] jewels of a crown,

Displayedandglittering in His land.

17 For how great is God’s goodness and how great is His beauty! And how great [He will make Israel’s] goodliness and [Israel’s] beauty!

Grain and new wine will make the young men and virgins flourish.

God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

1 Askforrain from the Lordat the time of the spring rain.

It is the Lordwho makes the thunder clouds;

And He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field to everyone.

2 For the teraphim (household idols) speak wickedness (emptiness, worthlessness),

And the diviners see lying visions

And tell false dreams;

They comfort in vain.

Therefore the people wander like sheep,

They are afflictedandsuffer because there is no shepherd.

3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds [who are not true shepherds],

And I shall punish the male goats (leaders);

For the Lordof hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom),

And will make them like His beautifulandmajestic horse in the battle.

4 “From them (Judah) shall come theCornerstone,

From them the tent peg,

From them the bow of battle,

From them every ruler, all of them together.

5 “They will be like mighty men

Trampling downtheir enemiesin the mire of the streets in the battle;

And they will fight because the Lordis with them,

And the [enemies’] riders on horses will be shamed.

6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah [making it superior],

And I will save the house of Joseph.

I will bring them back [and allow them to live securely],

Because I have had compassion on them.

They will be as though I had not rejected them,

For I am the Lordtheir God, and I will listenandanswer them.

7 “ThenEphraim will be like a mighty warrior,

And their heart will rejoice as if from wine;

Yes, their children will see it and rejoice;

Their heart will rejoiceandshout triumphantly in the Lord.

8 “I willwhistle for them and gather them together,

For I have redeemed them;

And they will increase [again] as they have increased before [in Egypt].

9 “When I scatter them among the nations,

They will remember Me in far countries,

And with their children they will live and come back [to Me and the land I gave them].

10 “I will bring them (all Israel) back home again from the land of Egypt

And gather them from Assyria,

And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon [the land on the east and on the west of the Jordan]

Until no room can be found for them.

11 “And they will pass through the sea of distressandanxiety [with the Lordleading His people, as at the Red Sea]

And He will strike the waves in the sea,

So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;

And the pride of Assyria will be brought down

And the scepter [of the taskmasters] of Egypt will pass away.

12 “And I will strengthen Israel in the Lord,

And they will walk [and glory] in His name,” declares the Lord.

The Doomed Flock

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,

That fire may devour your cedars.

2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,

Because the magnificent trees have been destroyed;

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

For the inaccessible forest [on the steep mountainside] has come down.

3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail,

For their splendor (grazing land) is ruined;

There is a sound of the young lions’ roar,

For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

4 Thus says the Lordmy God, “Pasture the flockdoomedfor slaughter,

5 whose buyers slay them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on themnorprotect them [from the wolves].

6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into the hand of another and into the hands of his [foreign] king. And the enemy will strike the land, and I will not rescue the people from their hand.”

7 So I [Zechariah] pastured the flockdoomedfor slaughter, truly [as the name implies] the most miserable of sheep. And I took two [shepherd’s] staffs, the one I called Favor (Grace) and the other I called Union (Bonds); so I pastured the flock.

8 Then I eliminated the three [incompetent, unfit] shepherds [the civil rulers, the priests, and the prophets] in one month, for I was impatient with them, and they also were tired of meanddespised me.

9 So I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let the survivors devour one another’s flesh.”

10 I took my staff, Favor, and broke it in pieces, breaking the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

11 So the covenant was broken on that day, and thus the most wretched of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord.

12 I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, do not.” So they weighed outthirty pieces of silver as my wages.

13 Then the Lordsaid to me, “Throw it to the potter [as if to the dogs]–thatmagnificentsum at which I am valued by them!” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

14 Then I broke my second staff, Union, into pieces to break the brotherhood between Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and Israel (the Northern Kingdom).

15 The Lordsaid to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment [of a shepherd, but this time] of a foolish shepherd.

16 For behold, I am going to raise up a [false] shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or feed the healthy; but will eat the flesh of the fat ones and tear off their hoofs [to consume everything].

17 “Woe (judgment is coming) to the worthlessandfoolish shepherd

Who deserts the flock!

The sword will strike his arm

And his right eye!

His arm shall be totally withered

And his right eye completely blinded.”

Jerusalem to Be Attacked

1 Theoracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lordconcerning Israel.

Thus declares the Lordwho stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him:

2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling (staggering) to all the surrounding peoples; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.

3 And in that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will comeandbe gathered against it.

4 In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with panic and his rider with madness; but I will open My eyesandwatch over the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the [opposing] nations with blindness.

5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are our strength in the Lordof hosts, their God.’

6 “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, and like a flaming torch among sheaves [of grain]. They will devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left; and the people of Jerusalem will again live [securely] in their own place, in Jerusalem.

7 The Lordshall save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah.

8 In that day the Lordwill defend the people of Jerusalem, and the one who is impaired among them in that day [of persecution] will become [strong and noble] like David; and the house of Davidwill be like God, like theAngel of the Lord[who is] before them.

9 And in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace (unmerited favor) and supplication. And they will look at Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him as one who weeps bitterly over a firstborn.

11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of [the city of] Hadadrimmon in the Valley ofMegiddo [over beloved KingJosiah].

12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the [royal] family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan [David’s son] by itself and their wives by themselves;

13 the [priestly] family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei [grandson of Levi] by itself and their wives by themselves;

14 all the families that remain, each by itself, and their wives by themselves [each with an overwhelming individual regret for having blindly rejected their Messiah].

False Prophets Ashamed

1 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the people of Jerusalem for [cleansing from] sin and impurity.

2 “In that day,” declares the Lordof hosts, “I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

3 And if anyone still [appears as a prophet and falsely] prophesies, then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord’; and his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

4 And in that day the [false] prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not wear a hairy robe [of true prophets] in order to deceive,

5 but he will [deny his identity and] say, ‘I am no prophet. I work the ground, because a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’

6 And one will say to him, ‘What are thesewounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,

And against the Man, My Associate,”

Declares the Lordof hosts.

“Strike the Shepherd so that the sheep [of the flock] may be scattered;

And I will turn My handandstretch it out against the little ones [of the flock].

8 “It will come about in all the land,”

Declares the Lord,

“Two parts in it will be cut off and perish,

But the third will be left alive.

9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire,

Refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will listenandanswer them;

I will say, ‘They are My people,’

And they will say, ‘The Lordis my God.’”

God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Foes

1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lordwhen the spoil taken from you (Jerusalem) will be divided in your midst.

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished; and half of the city will be exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.

3 Then the Lordwill go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.

4 In that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from the east to the west by a very large valley, and half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

5 You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; and you will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LordmyGod will come, and all the holy ones (believers, angels) with Him.

6 In that day there will be no light; the glorious ones (heavenly bodies) shall be darkened.

7 But it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord–not day and not night, but at evening time there will be light.

8 And in that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half of them to the western sea (the Mediterranean); it will be in summer as well as in winter.

God Will Be King over All

9 And the Lordshall be king over all the earth; in that day the Lordshall bethe onlyone [worshiped], and His namethe onlyone.

10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon, [the Rimmon that is] south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain [lifted up] on its site from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.

11 It will be inhabited, for there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.

12 Now this will be the plague with which the Lordshall strike all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.

13 In that day a great panicanddismay from the Lordwill fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.

14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together–gold and silver and garments in great abundance.

15 So like this plague [on men] there will be the plague on the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the livestock in those camps.

16 Then everyone who is left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lordof hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lordof hosts, there will be no rain on them.

18 If the family of Egypt does not go up [to Jerusalem] and present themselves, then norain will fallon them. It will be the plague with which the Lordwill strike the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

19 This will be the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of Egypt, and the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

20 In that day there willbe writtenon the little bells on the horses, “HOLY TO THE Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’shouse will be [holy to the Lord] like the bowls before the altar.

21 Every cooking pot in [all the houses in] Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lordof hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take them and boil [their sacrifices] in them. And in that day there will no longer be a Canaanite [that is, any godless or spiritually unclean person, whether Jew or Gentile] in the house of the Lordof hosts.