The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And hee saide vnto mee, To builde it an house in the lande of Shinar, and it shall be established and set there vpon her owne place.

Againe, I turned and lift vp mine eyes, and looked: and beholde, there came foure charets out from betweene two mountaines, and the mountaines were mountaines of brasse.

In the first charet were red horses, and in the second charet blacke horses,

And in the thirde charet white horses, and in the fourth charet, horses of diuers colours, and reddish.

Then I answered, and saide vnto the Angell that talked with mee, What are these, my Lord?

And the Angell answered, and sayde vnto mee, These are the foure spirites of the heauen, which goe foorth from standing with the Lord of all the earth.

That with the blacke horse went forth into the land of the North, and the white went out after them, and they of diuers colours went forth toward the South countrey.

And the reddish went out, and required to go, and passe through the world, and he sayde, Goe passe through the worlde. So they went thorowout the world.

Then cryed hee vpon me, and spake vnto me, saying, Beholde, these that goe towarde the North countrey, haue pacified my spirit in the North countrey.

And the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

Take of them of ye captiuitie, euen of Heldai, and of Tobijah, and Iedaiah, which are come from Babel, and come thou the same day, and goe vnto the house of Ioshiah, the sonne of Zephaniah.

Take euen siluer, and golde, and make crownes, and set them vpon the head of Iehoshua, the sonne of Iehozadak the hie Priest,

And speake vnto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hostes, and sayth, Behold the man whose name is the Branch, and he shall growe vp out of his place, and he shall build the Temple of the Lord.

Euen hee shall build the Temple of the Lord, and he shall beare the glory, and shall sit and rule vpon his throne, and he shalbe a Priest vpon his throne, and the counsell of peace shall be betweene them both.

And the crownes shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Iedaiah, and to Hen the sonne of Zephaniah, for a memoriall in the Temple of the Lord.

And they that are farre off, shall come and build in the Temple of the Lord, and ye shall know, that the Lord of hostes hath sent me vnto you. And this shall come to passe, if ye will obey the voyce of the Lord your God.

And in the fourth yeere of King Darius, the worde of the Lord came vnto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth moneth, euen in Chisleu,

For they had sent vnto the House of God Sharezer, and Regem-melech and their men to pray before the Lord,

And to speake vnto the Priests, which were in the House of the Lord of hostes, and to the Prophets, saying, Should I weepe in the fift moneth, and separate my selfe as I haue done these so many yeeres?

Then came the word of the Lord of hostes vnto me, saying,

Speake vnto all the people of the land, and to the Priests, and say, When ye fasted, and mourned in the fift and seuenth moneth, euen the seuentie yeeres, did ye fast vnto me? doe I approoue it?

And when ye did eate, and when ye did drinke, did ye not eate for your selues, and drinke for your selues?

Should ye not heare the wordes, which the Lord hath cryed by the ministerie of the former Prophets when Ierusalem was inhabited, and in prosperitie, and the cities thereof round about her, when the South and the plaine was inhabited?

And the worde of the Lord came vnto Zechariah, saying,

Thus speaketh the Lord of hostes, saying, Execute true iudgement, and shewe mercy and compassion, euery man to his brother,

And oppresse not the widowe, nor the fatherles, the stranger nor the poore, and let none of you imagine euil against his brother in your heart.

But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their eares, that they should not heare.

Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, least they should heare the Lawe and the wordes which the Lord of hostes sent in his spirit by the ministerie of ye former Prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hostes.

Therefore it is come to passe, that as he cried, and they would not heare, so they cried, and I would not heare, sayth the Lord of hostes.

But I scattered them among all the nations, whom they knew not: thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they layd the pleasant land waste.

Againe the worde of the Lord of hostes came to me, saying,

Thus saith the Lord of hostes, I was ielous for Zion with great ielousie, and I was ielous for her with great wrath.

Thus saith the Lord, I wil returne vnto Zion, and wil dwel in the mids of Ierusalem: and Ierusalem shalbe called a citie of trueth, and the Mountaine of the Lord of hostes, the holy Mountaine.

Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, There shall yet olde men and olde women dwell in the streetes of Ierusalem, and euery man with his staffe in his hand for very age.

And the streetes of the citie shalbe full of boyes and girles, playing in the streetes thereof.

Thus saith the Lord of hostes, Though it be vnpossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these dayes, should it therefore be vnpossible in my sight, sayth the Lord of hostes?

Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Beholde, I will deliuer my people from the East countrey, and from the West countrey.

And I wil bring them, and they shall dwel in the mids of Ierusalem, and they shalbe my people, and I wil be their God in trueth, and in righteousnes.

Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Let your hands be strong, ye that heare in these dayes these words by the mouth of the Prophets, which were in the day, that the foundation of the House of the Lord of hostes was laide, that the Temple might be builded.

For before these dayes there was no hire for man nor any hire for beast, neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men, euery one against his neighbour.

But nowe, I wil not intreate the residue of this people as aforetime, saith the Lord of hostes.

For the seede shall be prosperous: the vine shall giue her fruite, and the ground shall giue her increase, and the heauens shall giue their dewe, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possesse all these things.

And it shall come to passe, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Iudah, and house of Israel, so wil I deliuer you, and ye shalbe a blessing: feare not, but let your hands be strong.

For thus sayth the Lord of hostes, As I thought to punish you, when your fathers prouoked me vnto wrath, sayth the Lord of hostes, and repented not,

So againe haue I determined in these daies to doe well vnto Ierusalem, and to the house of Iudah: feare ye not.

These are ye things that ye shall doe. Speake ye euery man the trueth vnto his neighbour: execute iudgement truely and vprightly in your gates,

And let none of you imagine euill in your hearts against his neighbour, and loue no false othe: for all these are the things that I hate, saith the Lord.

And the worde of the Lord of hostes came vnto me, saying,

Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, The fast of the fourth moneth, and the fast of the fift, and the fast of the seuenth, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Iudah ioy and gladnes, and prosperous hie feasts: therefore loue the trueth and peace.

Thus saith the Lord of hostes, That there shall yet come people, and the inhabitants of great cities.

And they that dwell in one citie, shall go to another, saying, Vp, let vs go and pray before the Lord, and seeke the Lord of hostes: I wil go also.

Yea, great people and mightie nations shall come to seeke the Lord of hostes in Ierusalem, and to pray before the Lord.

Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, In those dayes shall ten men take holde out of all languages of the nations, euen take holde of the skirt of him that is a Iewe, and say, We will go with you: for we haue heard that God is with you.

The burden of the worde of the Lord in the land of Hadrach: and Damascus shalbe his rest: when the eyes of man, euen of all the tribes of Israel shalbe toward the Lord.

And Hamath also shall border thereby: Tyrus also and Zidon, though they be very wise.

For Tyrus did build her selfe a strong holde, and heaped vp siluer as the dust, and golde as the myre of the streetes.

Beholde, the Lord wil spoyle her, and he wil smite her power in the Sea, and she shalbe deuoured with fire.

Ashkelon shall see it, and feare, and Azzah also shalbe very sorowfull, and Ekron: for her countenance shalbe ashamed, and the King shall perish from Azzah, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

And the stranger shall dwell in Ashdod, and I wil cut off the pride of the Philistims.

And I wil take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from betweene his teeth: but he that remaineth, euen he shalbe for our God, and he shalbe as a prince in Iudah, but Ekron shalbe as a Iebusite.

And I will campe about mine House against the armie, against him that passeth by, and against him that returneth, and no oppressour shall come vpon them any more: for now haue I seene with mine eyes.

Reioyce greatly, O daughter Zion: shoute for ioy, O daughter Ierusalem: beholde, thy King commeth vnto thee: he is iust and saued himselfe, poore and riding vpon an asse, and vpon a colt the foale of an asse.

And I wil cut off the charets from Ephraim, and the horse from Ierusalem: the bowe of the battel shalbe broken, and he shall speake peace vnto the heathen, and his dominion shalbe from sea vnto sea, and from the Riuer to the end of the land.

Thou also shalt be saued through the blood of thy couenant. I haue loosed thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.

Turne you to the strong holde, ye prisoners of hope: euen to day doe I declare, that I will render the double vnto thee.

For Iudah haue I bent as a bowe for me: Ephraims hand haue I filled, and I haue raised vp thy sonnes, O Zion, against thy sonnes, O Grecia, and haue made thee as a gyants sword.

And the Lord shalbe seene ouer them, and his arrowe shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blowe the trumpet, and shall come forth with the whirlewindes of the South.

The Lord of hostes shall defend them, and they shall deuoure them, and subdue them with sling stones, and they shall drinke, and make a noyse as thorowe wine, and they shalbe filled like bowles, and as the hornes of the altar.

And the Lord their God shall deliuer them in that day as the flocke of his people: for they shall be as the stones of the crowne lifted up upon his land.

For howe great is his goodnesse! and howe great is his beautie! corne shall make the yong men cherefull, and newe wine the maides.

Aske you of the Lord raine in the time of the latter raine: so shall the Lord make white cloudes, and giue you showers of raine, and to euery one grasse in the field.

Surely the idols haue spoken vanitie, and the southsayers haue seene a lye, and the dreamers haue tolde a vaine thing: they comfort in vaine: therefore they went away as sheepe: they were troubled, because there was no shepheard.

My wrath was kindled against the shepherdes, and I did visite the goates: but the Lord of hostes will visite his flocke the house of Iudah, and will make them as his beautifull horse in the battell.

Out of him shall the corner come foorth: out of him the nayle, out of him ye bowe of battell, and out of him euery appointer of tribute also.

And they shalbe as the mightie men, which treade downe their enemies in the mire of the streetes in the battell, and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.

And I will strengthen the house of Iudah, and I will preserue the house of Ioseph, and I wil bring them againe, for I pitie them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will heare them.

And they of Ephraim shall be as a gyant, and their heart shall reioyce as thorowe wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad: and their heart shall reioyce in the Lord.

I will hisse for them, and gather them: for I haue redeemed them: and they shall encrease, as they haue encreased.

And I will sowe them among the people, and they shall remember me in farre countreys: and they shall liue with their children and turne againe.

I will bring them againe also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Asshur: and I will bring them into the land of Gilead, and Lebanon, and place shall not be found for them.

And he shall goe into the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waues in the sea, and all the depthes of the riuer shall drye vp: and the pride of Asshur shall be cast downe, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away.

And I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walke in his Name, sayth the Lord.

Open thy doores, O Lebanon, and the fire shall deuoure thy cedars.

Houle, firre trees: for the cedar is fallen, because all the mightie are destroyed: houle ye, O okes of Bashan, for ye defesed forest is cut downe.

There is the voyce of the houling of the shepherdes: for their glorie is destroyed: the voyce of ye roaring of lyons whelpes: for the pride of Iorden is destroyed.

Thus sayeth the Lord my God, Feede the sheepe of the slaughter.

They that possesse them, slay them and sinne not: and they that sell them, say, Blessed be the Lord: for I am riche, and their owne shepherds spare them not.

Surely I wil no more spare those that dwell in the land, sayth the Lord: but loe, I will deliuer the men euery one into his neighbours hand, and into the hand of his King: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hands I wil not deliuer them.

For I fed the sheepe of slaughter, euen the poore of the flocke, and I tooke vnto me two staues: the one I called Beautie, and the other I called Bandes, and I fed the sheepe.

Three shepherdes also I cut off in one moneth, and my soule lothed them, and their soule abhorred me.

Then said I, I will not feede you: that that dyeth, let it dye: and that that perisheth, let it perish: and let the remnant eate, euery one the flesh of his neighbour.

And I tooke my staffe, euen Beautie, and brake it, that I might disanull my couenant, which I had made with all people.

And it was broken in that day: and so the poore of the sheepe that waited vpon me, knew that it was the worde of the Lord.

And I said vnto them, If ye thinke it good, giue me my wages: and if no, leaue off: so they weighed for my wages thirtie pieces of siluer.

And the Lord said vnto me, Cast it vnto the potter: a goodly price, that I was valued at of them. And I tooke the thirtie pieces of siluer, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

Then brake I mine other staffe, euen the Bandes, that I might dissolue the brotherhood betweene Iudah and Israel.

And the Lord said vnto me, Take to thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepheard.

For loe, I will rayse vp a shepheard in the land, which shall not looke for the thing, that is lost, nor seeke the tender lambes, nor heale that that is hurt, nor feede that that standeth vp: but he shall eate the flesh of the fat, and teare their clawes in pieces.

O idole shepheard that leaueth the flocke: the sword shalbe vpon his arme, and vpon his right eye. His arme shall be cleane dryed vp, and his right eye shall be vtterly darkened.

The burden of the worde of the Lord vpon Israel, sayth the Lord, which spred the heauens, and layed the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirite of man within him.