I looked up again, and I saw, and look!—four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot there were red horses, and with the second chariot there were black horses. And with the third chariot there were white horses, and with the fourth chariot there were strong dappled horses. And I answered and said to the angel that was talking to me, "What are these, my lord?" And the angel answered and said to me, "These are the four winds of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses is going out to the north country, and the white horses go after them, while the dappled ones go to the south country." When the strong horses went out, they were anxious to go to patrol the earth. And he said, "Go, patrol the earth." And they patrolled the earth. And he cried out to me and said to me, "See those going out to the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country."

And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, "Collect from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, all of whom came from Babylon—and go on that day, go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Look, here is a man whose name is Branch, and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh. And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them."’ And the crown will be for Helem, for Tobijah, for Jedaiah, and for Hen son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Yahweh. And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God."

And then, in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev. And the people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Yahweh, saying to the priests of the house of Yahweh of hosts and to the prophets, "Should I mourn in the fifth month and keep myself separate as I have done for these many years?" And the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, "Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me? And when you eat and drink, are you not eating and drinking for yourselves? Are not these the words that Yahweh proclaimed through the former prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were inhabited and at ease, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited?’"

And the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Judge with trustworthy justice, and show steadfast love and compassion to one another. You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart against one another.’ But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from listening. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. ‘Thus, just as I called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,’ says Yahweh of hosts. ‘And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable land a desolation.’"

And the word of Yahweh of hosts came, saying, "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion; I am jealous for it with great wrath.’ Thus says Yahweh: ‘I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be called the faithful city, and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the holy mountain.’ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the public squares of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its public squares.’ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Even if it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me?’ declares Yahweh of hosts. Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Look! I am going to save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the west, and I will bring them and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God in faithfulness and in righteousness.’

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts. For before those days there was no wage for people or for animals, and there was no safety from the enemy for those who went out or those who came in, and I sent each person against one another. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. ‘For there will be a sowing of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. And then, just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. You must not be afraid; let your hands be strong!’"

For thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Just as I planned to bring disaster on you when your ancestors provoked me to anger," says Yahweh of hosts, "and I did not regret it, so again I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Do not be afraid! These are the things that you must do: speak truth, each of you, with his neighbor; practice trustworthy judgment and peace in your gates. Do not devise evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love a false oath, because all these are things I hate," declares Yahweh.

And the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, and the tenth month will be for the house of Judah jubilation and joy and merry festivals; therefore love truth and peace.’ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘It will happen again that nations and the inhabitants of many cities will come. And the inhabitants of one city will go to another city, saying, "Let us go immediately to entreat the favor of Yahweh, to seek Yahweh of hosts—I also will go!" And many peoples and powerful nations will come to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Yahweh.’ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from all the nations of every language will take hold of the hem of a Judean man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!"’"

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God sent his one and only Son into the world in order that we may live through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we reside in him and he in us: that he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God. And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as that one is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear includes punishment, and the one who is afraid has not been perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us.

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar, for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen is not able to love God whom he has not seen. And this is the commandment we have from him: that the one who loves God should love his brother also.