Zechariah 1 - 3, Revelation 14 - 15, Song of Songs 1

Return to Me, Declares Yahweh

1In the eighth month of the second year of ^aDarius, the word of ¹Yahweh came to ^bZechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of ^cIddo, saying, ²“Yahweh was very ^awrathful against your fathers. ³“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “^aReturn to Me,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts. ⁴“Do not be ^alike your fathers, to whom the ^bformer prophets called out, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “^cReturn now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did ^dnot listen or give heed to Me,” declares Yahweh. ⁵“Your ^afathers, where are they? And the ^bprophets, do they live forever? ⁶“But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My slaves the prophets, ^aovertake your fathers? Then they ¹returned and said, ‘^bAs Yahweh of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has done with us.’”’”

A Man on a Red Horse

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying, ⁸I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a ^ared horse, and he was standing among the ^bmyrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel, and ^cwhite horses behind him. ⁹Then I said, “My ^alord, what are these?” And the ^bangel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” ¹⁰And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom Yahweh has sent to ¹^,^apatrol the earth.” ¹¹So they answered the angel of Yahweh who was ^astanding among the myrtle trees and said, “We have ¹patrolled the earth, and behold, ^ball the earth is sitting still and quiet.”

¹²Then the angel of Yahweh answered and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, ^ahow long will You ^bhave no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been ^cindignant these ^dseventy years?” ¹³Yahweh answered the ^aangel who was speaking with me with good words, ^bcomforting words. ¹⁴So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “^aCall out, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “I am ^bexceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵“But I am very ^awrathful with the nations who are ^bat ease; for I was only a little wrathful, but they ^chelped increase the calamity.” ¹⁶‘Therefore thus says Yahweh, “I will ^areturn to Jerusalem with compassion; My ^bhouse will be built in it,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and a measuring ^cline will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ ¹⁷“Again, call out, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “My ^acities will again overflow with good, and Yahweh will again ^bcomfort Zion and again ^cchoose Jerusalem.”’”

Four Horns and Craftsmen

¹⁸¹Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there were four horns. ¹⁹So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the ^ahorns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰Then Yahweh showed me four ^acraftsmen. ²¹And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the ^ahorns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to cause them to tremble, to ^bthrow down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”

A Man with a Measuring Cord

2¹Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there was a man with a ^ameasuring cord in his hand. ²So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To ^ameasure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.” ³And behold, the ^aangel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him ⁴and said to him, “Run, speak to that ^ayoung man, saying, ‘^bJerusalem will be inhabited ¹^,^cwithout walls because of the ^dmultitude of men and cattle within it. ⁵‘Indeed I,’ declares Yahweh, ‘will be a ^awall of fire ¹around her, and I will be the ^bglory in her midst.’”

⁶“¹Ho there! ^aFlee from the land of the north,” declares Yahweh, “for I have ^bdispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares Yahweh. ⁷“Woe, Zion! ^aEscape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” ⁸For thus says Yahweh of hosts, “After ¹^,^aglory He has sent Me against the nations which have taken you as spoil, for he who touches you, touches the ²^,^bapple of His eye. ⁹“For behold, I will ^awave My hand over them so that they will be ^bspoil for their slaves. Then you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent Me. ¹⁰“^aSing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold, I am coming and I will ^bdwell in your midst,” declares Yahweh. ¹¹“^aAnd many nations will join themselves to Yahweh in that day and will become My people. Then I will ^bdwell in your midst, and you will ^cknow that Yahweh of hosts has sent Me to you. ¹²“Then Yahweh will ^ainherit Judah as His portion in the holy land and will again ^bchoose Jerusalem.

¹³“¹^,^aBe silent, all flesh, before Yahweh; for He is ^baroused from His holy habitation.”

The High Priest and a Branch

3Then he showed me ^aJoshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and ¹^,^bSatan standing at his right hand to accuse him. ²And Yahweh said to Satan, “^aYahweh rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, Yahweh who has ^bchosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a ^cbrand delivered from the fire?” ³Now Joshua was clothed with ^afilthy garments and standing before the angel. ⁴And he answered and spoke to those who were standing before him, saying, “^aRemove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have ^bmade your iniquity pass away from you and ¹will ^cclothe you with festal robes.” ⁵Then I said, “Let them put a clean ^aturban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of Yahweh was standing by.

⁶And the angel of Yahweh testified to Joshua, saying, ⁷“Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘If you will ^awalk in My ways and if you will keep the responsibility given by Me, then you will also ^brender justice in My house and also keep My ^ccourts, and I will grant you ¹access to walk among these who are standing here. ⁸‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a ^awondrous sign, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the ¹^,^bBranch. ⁹‘For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are ^aseven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will ^bremove the iniquity of that land in one day. ¹⁰‘In that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘every one of you will call for his neighbor to sit under his ^avine and under his fig tree.’”

The Lamb and the 144,000

14Then I looked, and behold, ^athe Lamb was standing on ^bMount Zion, and with Him ^c144,000, having ^dHis name and the ^ename of His Father written ^fon their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven, like ^athe sound of many waters and like the ^bsound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of ^charpists playing on their harps. ³And they *¹sang ^aa new song before the throne and before the ^bfour living creatures and the ^celders. And ^dno one could learn that song except the ^e144,000 who had been ^fpurchased from the earth. ⁴^aThese are the ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who ^bfollow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been ^cpurchased from among men ^das first fruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵And ^ano lie was found in their mouth; they are ^bblameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in ^amidheaven, having ^ban eternal gospel to proclaim to ^cthose who ¹inhabit the earth, and to ^devery nation and tribe and tongue and people. ⁷And he said with a loud voice, “^aFear God, and ^bgive Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who ^cmade the heaven and the earth and sea and ^dsprings of waters.”

⁸And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “¹^,^aFallen, fallen is ^bBabylon the great, she who has ^cmade all the nations drink of the ^dwine of the wrath of her ²sexual immorality.”

⁹Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^aworships the beast and his ^bimage, and receives a ^cmark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰and he also will drink of the ^awine of the wrath of God, which is mixed ¹in full strength ^bin the cup of His rage, and he will be tormented with ^cfire and ²brimstone in the presence of the ^dholy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹“And the ^asmoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; ^bthey have no rest day and night, those who ^cworship the beast and his ^dimage, and ¹whoever receives the ^emark of his name.” ¹²Here is ^athe perseverance of the saints who ^bkeep the commandments of God and ¹^,^ctheir faith in Jesus.

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘^aBlessed are the dead who ^bdie in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” ^csays the Spirit, “so that they may ^drest from their labors, for their ^edeeds follow with them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

¹⁴Then I looked, and behold, a ^awhite cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one ^blike ¹a son of man, having a golden ^ccrown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵And another angel ^acame out of the sanctuary, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, “¹^,^bPut in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the ^charvest of the earth ²is ripe.” ¹⁶Then He who sits on the cloud ¹swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷And another angel ^acame out of the sanctuary which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸Then another angel, ^athe one who has authority over fire, came out from ^bthe altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “¹^,^cPut in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters ²from the vine of the earth, ^dbecause her grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹So the angel ¹swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into ^athe great wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰And ^athe wine press was trodden ^boutside the city, and ^cblood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, ¹for a distance of ²1,600 stadia.

Seven Angels, Seven Plagues

15Then I saw ^aanother sign in heaven, great and marvelous, ^bseven angels who have ^cseven plagues, which are ^dthe last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

²Then I saw something like a ^asea of glass mixed with fire, and those who have ^bovercome ¹the ^cbeast and ^dhis image and the ^enumber of his name, standing on the ^fsea of glass, having ^gharps of God. ³And they *sang the ^asong of Moses, ^bthe slave of God, and the ^csong of the Lamb, saying, “^dGreat and marvelous are Your works,^eO ¹Lord God, the Almighty;Righteous and true are Your ways,^fKing of the ²nations!

⁴“^aWho will not fear, O ¹Lord, and glorify Your name?For You alone are holy;For ^ball the nations will come and worship before You,For Your ²^,^crighteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵And after these things I looked, and ^athe sanctuary of the ^btabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, ⁶and the ^aseven angels who have the seven plagues ^bcame out of the sanctuary, clothed in ¹linen, clean and bright, and ^cgirded around their chests with golden sashes. ⁷Then one of the ^afour living creatures gave to the ^bseven angels seven ^cgolden bowls full of the ^dwrath of God, who ^elives forever and ever. ⁸And the sanctuary was filled with ^asmoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

The Shulammite Bride’s Desire

1The ¹Song of ^aSongs, which is Solomon’s.

²“¹May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!For your ^alove is better than wine.³“Your ^aoils have a pleasing fragrance,Your ^bname is like ¹purified oil;Therefore the ²^,^cmaidens love you.⁴“Draw me after you and let us run together!The ^aking has brought me into his chambers.”“¹We will rejoice in you and be glad;We will ²extol your ^blove more than wine.Rightly do they love you.”⁵“¹I am black but ^alovely,O ^bdaughters of Jerusalem,Like the ^ctents of ^dKedar,Like the curtains of Solomon.⁶“Do not look at me because I am ¹swarthy,For the sun has burned me.My ^amother’s sons were angry with me;They made me ^bcaretaker of the vineyards,But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.⁷“Tell me, O you ^awhom my soul loves,Where do you ^bshepherd your flock,Where do you make it ^clie down at noon?For why should I be like one who ¹veils herselfBeside the flocks of your ^dcompanions?”

Solomon and His Bride Extol Each Other

⁸“¹If you yourself do not know,^aMost beautiful among women,Go forth on the trail of the flockAnd pasture your young goatsBy the dwellings of the shepherds.⁹“To a ^amare of mine among the chariots of PharaohI compare you, O ^bmy darling.¹⁰“Your ^acheeks are lovely with ornaments,Your neck with strings of ¹^,^bbeads.”¹¹“¹We will make for you ornaments of goldWith beads of silver.”¹²“¹While the king was at his ²banqueting table,My ³^,^aperfume gave forth its fragrance.¹³“My beloved is to me a pouch of ^amyrrhWhich lies all night between my breasts.¹⁴“My beloved is to me a cluster of ^ahenna blossomsIn the vineyards of ^bEngedi.”¹⁵“¹^,^aBehold, you are beautiful, my darling,Behold, you are beautiful!Your ^beyes are like doves.”¹⁶“¹Behold, you are handsome, ^amy beloved,Indeed, so pleasant!Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!¹⁷“The beams of our houses are ^acedars,Our rafters, ¹^,^bcypresses.