Zechariah Chapter 1
So in the eighth month of Darius's second year, God slid into Zechariah, Berechiah's son, with a word, no cap.
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
For real, God’s been mad upset with your peeps.
The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. {sore...: Heb. with displeasure}
So you gotta tell them, “The Lord of hosts says: Come back to me, and I’ll come back to you, fr.”
Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Don't be acting like your ancestors, the ones the old prophets called out, saying, “Ditch your sus ways!” But they just brushed it off, periodt.
Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and {from} your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
Where your fam at? And the prophets, do they last forever?
Your fathers, where {are} they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
But the messages and rules I dropped on my prophets—didn’t your ancestors vibe with that? They came back and said, "God's been real with us, just like we deserved."
But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us. {take...: or, overtake}
On the 24th day of the 11th month, Sebat, in Darius's second year, God hit up Zechariah again.
Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which {is} the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
I peeped at night and spotted a dude on a red horse just chillin' among myrtle trees, with some red, speckled, and white horses behind him.
I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that {were} in the bottom; and behind him {were there} red horses, speckled, and white. {speckled: or, bay}
I was like, “Yo, what’s the deal with these?” And the angel chatting with me said, “I’ll break it down for you.”
Then said I, O my lord, what {are} these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these {be}.
The dude among the myrtle trees replied, “These are the ones God sent to cruise around the earth.”
And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These {are they} whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
They told the angel standing there, “We’ve been cruisin’ all over the earth, and everything’s chill and at peace.”
And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
Then the angel of the Lord was like, “Yo, Lord of hosts, how long until you show some love to Jerusalem and Judah? You’ve been mad for 70 years, no cap.”
Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
And the Lord responded with solid and comforting words to the angel talking to me.
And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me {with} good words {and} comfortable words.
So the angel said, “Shout this: The Lord of hosts is super jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, like, majorly.”
So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
And I’m way upset with the chill nations because I was only slightly mad, and they made it worse, fr.
And I am very sore displeased with the heathen {that are} at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
So here’s the scoop from the Lord: I’m back in Jerusalem with mercy, my house is getting built there, and a line’s gonna be laid over it.
Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
Shout this too: The Lord of hosts says, “My cities will flourish and expand, and I’ll comfort Zion and pick Jerusalem again.”
Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. {prosperity: Heb. good}
Then I looked up and saw four horns.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
I asked the angel, “What’s up with these?” And he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What {be} these? And he answered me, These {are} the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
And the Lord showed me four carpenters.
And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
I asked, “What’s their vibe?” And he said, “These are the carpenters that will take down the horns that scattered Judah, so nobody could stand tall. They’re here to take down the horns of those nations that were flexing over Judah.”
Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These {are} the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up {their} horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.