The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.

Then said I: 'Whither goest thou?' And he said unto me: 'To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.'

And, behold, the angel that spoke with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,

and said unto him: 'Run, speak to this young man, saying: 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein.

For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.

Ho, ho, flee then from the land of the north, saith the LORD; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.

Ho, Zion, escape, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.'

For thus saith the LORD of hosts who sent me after glory unto the nations which spoiled you: 'Surely, he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

For, behold, I will shake My hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them'; and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.

'Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be My people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee'; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

And the LORD shall inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.

Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused out of His holy habitation.

And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

And the LORD said unto Satan: 'The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan, yea, the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this man a brand plucked out of the fire?'

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying: 'Take the filthy garments from off him.' And unto him he said: 'Behold, I cause thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with robes.'

And I said: 'Let them set a fair mitre upon his head.' So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the LORD stood by.

And the angel of the LORD forewarned Joshua, saying:

'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, and wilt also judge My house, and wilt also keep My courts, then I will give thee free access among these that stand by.

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men that are a sign; for, behold, I will bring forth My servant the Shoot.

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone are seven facets; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts: And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig-tree.

And the angel that spoke with me returned, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.

And he said unto me: 'What seest thou?' And I said: 'I have seen, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes, yea, seven, to the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;

and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.'

And I answered and spoke to the angel that spoke with me, saying: 'What are these, my lord?'

Then the angel that spoke with me answered and said unto me: 'Knowest thou not what these are?' And I said: 'No, my lord.'

Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying: 'This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying: Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Who art thou, O great mountain before Zerubbabel? thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.'

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.

For who hath despised the day of small things? even they shall see with joy the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, even these seven, which are the eyes of the LORD, that run to and fro through the whole earth.'

Then answered I, and said unto him: 'What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?'

And I answered the second time, and said unto him: 'What are these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden oil out of themselves?'

And he answered me and said: 'Knowest thou not what these are?' And I said: 'No, my lord.'

Then said he: 'These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.'

Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold a flying roll.

And he said unto me: 'What seest thou?' And I answered: 'I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.'

Then said he unto me: 'This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land; for every one that stealeth shall be swept away on the one side like it; and every one that sweareth shall be swept away on the other side like it.

I cause it to go forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by My name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.'

Then the angel that spoke with me went forth, and said unto me: 'Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.'

And I said: 'What is it?' And he said: 'This is the measure that goeth forth.' He said moreover: 'This is their eye in all the land —

and, behold, there was lifted up a round piece of lead — and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the measure.'

And he said: 'This is Wickedness.' And he cast her down into the midst of the measure, and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the heaven.

Then said I to the angel that spoke with me: 'Whither do these bear the measure?'

And he said unto me: 'To build her a house in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place.

And again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.

In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled bay horses.

Then I answered and said unto the angel that spoke with me: 'What are these, my lord?'

And the angel answered and said unto me: 'These chariots go forth to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

That wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country;

and the bay went forth'. And they sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth; and he said: 'Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth.' So they walked to and fro through the earth.

Then cried he upon me, and spoke unto me, saying: 'Behold, they that go toward the north country have eased My spirit in the north country.'

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, that are come from Babylon; and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;

yea, take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set the one upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest;

and speak unto him, saying: Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying: Behold, a man whose name is the Shoot, and who shall shoot up out of his place, and build the temple of the LORD;

even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and there shall be a priest before his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the LORD.

And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And it shall come to pass, if ye will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God — .'

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev;

When Bethel-sarezer, and Regem-melech and his men, had sent to entreat the favour of the LORD,

and to speak unto the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying: 'Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?'

Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying:

'Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto Me, even to Me?

And when ye eat, and when ye drink, are ye not they that eat, and they that drink?

Should ye not hearken to the words which the LORD hath proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?'

And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying:

'Thus hath the LORD of hosts spoken, saying: Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother;

and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.

But they refused to attend, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.

Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His spirit by the hand of the former prophets; therefore came there great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

And it came to pass that, as He called, and they would not hear; so they shall call, and I will not hear, said the LORD of hosts;

but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the pleasant land desolate.'

And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying:

'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great fury.

Thus saith the LORD: I return unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called The city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts The holy mountain.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the broad places thereof.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts: If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvellous in Mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save My people from the east country, and from the west country;

And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets that were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, even the temple, that it might be built.

For before those days 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 adversary; for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

But now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.

For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.

And it shall come to pass that, as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing; fear not, but let your hands be strong.

For thus saith the LORD of host: As I purposed to do evil unto you, when your fathers provoked Me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not;

so again do I purpose in these days to do good unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear ye not.

These are the things that ye shall do: Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates;

and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.'

And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying:

'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful seasons; therefore love ye truth and peace.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities;

and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying: Let us go speedily to entreat the favour of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will go also.

Yea, many peoples and mighty nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favour of the LORD.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, shall even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'