Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹The pronouncement which Habakkuk the prophet saw:

²How long, LORD, have I called for help, And You do not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.

³Why do You make me see disaster, And make me look at destitution? Yes, devastation and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.

⁴Therefore the Law is ignored, And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out confused.

⁵“Look among the nations! Watch! Be horrified! Be frightened speechless! For I am accomplishing a work in your days— You would not believe it even if you were told!

⁶For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That grim and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth, To take possession of dwelling places that are not theirs.

⁷They are terrifying and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.

⁸Their horses are faster than leopards, And quicker than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen charge along, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.

⁹All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They gather captives like sand.

¹⁰They make fun of kings, And dignitaries are an object of laughter to them. They laugh at every fortress, Then heap up dirt and capture it.

¹¹Then they fly along like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.”

¹²Are You not from time everlasting, LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, LORD, have appointed them to deliver judgment; And You, O Rock, have destined them to punish.

¹³Your eyes are too pure to look at evil, And You cannot look at harm favorably. Why do You look favorably At those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?

¹⁴Why have You made people like the fish of the sea, Like crawling things that have no ruler over them?

¹⁵The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are joyful.

¹⁶Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net, Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful.

¹⁷Will they therefore empty their net, And continually slay nations without sparing?

¹I will stand at my guard post And station myself on the watchtower; And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, And how I may reply when I am reprimanded.

²Then the LORD answered me and said, “Write down the vision And inscribe it clearly on tablets, So that one who reads it may run.

³For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hurries toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay long.

⁴“Behold, as for the impudent one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous one will live by his faith.

⁵Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man, So that he does not achieve his objective. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all the nations And collects to himself all the peoples.

⁶“Will all of these not take up a song of ridicule against him, Even a saying and insinuations against him And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his— For how long— And makes himself rich with debts!’

⁷Will your creditors not rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them.

⁸Since you have looted many nations, All the rest of the peoples will loot you— Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.

⁹“Woe to him who makes evil profit for his household, To put his nest on high, To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!

¹⁰You have planned a shameful thing for your house By bringing many peoples to an end; So you are sinning against yourself.

¹¹For the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework.

¹²“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, And founds a town with violence!

¹³Is it not indeed from the LORD of armies That peoples labor merely for fire, And nations become weary for nothing?

¹⁴For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

¹⁵“Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink; To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk, So as to look at their genitalia!

¹⁶You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Drink, you yourself, and expose your own foreskin! The cup in the LORD’S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.

¹⁷For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, And the devastation of its animals by which you terrified them, Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.

¹⁸“What benefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it, Or a cast metal image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.

¹⁹Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ That is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet there is no breath at all inside it.

²⁰But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.”

¹A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

²LORD, I have heard the report about You, and I was afraid. LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known. In anger remember mercy.

³God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.

⁴His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And the hiding of His might is there.

⁵Before Him goes plague, And plague comes forth after Him.

⁶He stood and caused the earth to shudder; He looked and caused the nations to jump. Yes, the everlasting mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His paths are everlasting.

⁷I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.

⁸Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your rage against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?

⁹You removed Your bow from its holder, The arrows of Your word were sworn. Selah You divided the earth with rivers.

¹⁰The mountains saw You and quaked; The downpour of waters swept by. The deep raised its voice, It lifted high its hands.

¹¹Sun and moon stood in their lofty places; They went away at the light of Your arrows, At the radiance of Your flashing spear.

¹²In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations.

¹³You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You smashed the head of the house of evil To uncover him from foot to neck. Selah

¹⁴You pierced with his own arrows The head of his leaders. They stormed in to scatter us; Their arrogance was like those Who devour the oppressed in secret.

¹⁵You trampled on the sea with Your horses, On the foam of many waters.

¹⁶I heard, and my inner parts trembled; At the sound, my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble; Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will attack us.

¹⁷Even if the fig tree does not blossom, And there is no fruit on the vines, If the yield of the olive fails, And the fields produce no food, Even if the flock disappears from the fold, And there are no cattle in the stalls,

¹⁸Yet I will triumph in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

¹⁹The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like deer’s feet, And has me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

¹The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

²“I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

³“I will remove human and animal life; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

⁴“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.

⁵And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights, And those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by Milcom,

⁶And those who have turned back from following the LORD, And those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.”

⁷Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, Because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.

⁸“Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.

⁹And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.

¹⁰And on that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, Wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills.

¹¹Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar, Because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.

¹²And it will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the people Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good nor harm!’

¹³Their wealth will become plunder, And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

¹⁴The great day of the LORD is near, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly.

¹⁵That day is a day of anger, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,

¹⁶A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

¹⁷I will bring distress on mankind So that they will walk like those who are blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood will be poured out like dust, And their flesh like dung.

¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to save them On the day of the LORD’S anger; And all the earth will be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a horrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

¹Gather yourselves together, yes, join together, You nation without shame,

²Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like chaff— Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you.

³Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have practiced His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden On the day of the LORD’S anger.

⁴For Gaza will be abandoned, And Ashkelon will become a desolation; The inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will eliminate you So that there will be no inhabitant.

⁶So the seacoast will become grazing places, With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.

⁷And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah, They will drive sheep to pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the LORD their God will care for them And restore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard the taunting of Moab And the abusive speech of the sons of Ammon, With which they have taunted My people And boasted against their territory.

⁹Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of armies, The God of Israel, “Moab will assuredly be like Sodom, And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah— Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, And a permanent desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

¹⁰This they will have in return for their arrogance, because they have taunted and boasted against the people of the LORD of armies.

¹¹The LORD will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

¹²“You also, Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”

¹³And He will stretch out His hand against the north And eliminate Assyria, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness.

¹⁴Flocks will lie down in her midst, All animals that range in herds; Both the pelican and the hedgehog Will spend their nights in the tops of her pillars; Birds will sing in the window, Devastation will be on the threshold; For He has uncovered the cedar work.

¹⁵This is the presumptuous city That dwells securely, Who says in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become a desolation, A resting place for animals! Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt.

¹Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The oppressive city!

²She obeyed no voice, She accepted no discipline. She did not trust in the LORD, She did not approach her God.

³Her leaders within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.

⁴Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.

⁵The LORD is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the criminal knows no shame.

⁶“I have eliminated nations; Their corner towers are deserted. I have laid waste their streets, With no one passing by; Their cities have been laid waste, Without a person, without an inhabitant.

⁷I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me, You will accept discipline.’ So her dwelling will not be eliminated In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her. Instead, they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

⁸“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.

⁹For then I will restore to the peoples pure lips, So that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.

¹¹On that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, arrogant ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.

¹²But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD.

¹³The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to frighten them.”

¹⁴Shout for joy, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, Israel! Rejoice and triumph with all your heart, Daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will no longer fear disaster.

¹⁶On that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp.

¹⁷The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

¹⁸I will gather those who are worried about the appointed feasts— They came from you, Zion; The disgrace of exile is a burden on them.

¹⁹Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors; I will save those who limp And gather the scattered, And I will turn their shame into praise and fame In all the earth.

²⁰At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will make you famous and praiseworthy Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.

¹In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

²“This is what the LORD of armies says: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time for the house of the LORD to be rebuilt.” ’ ”

³Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,

⁴“Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house remains desolate?”

⁵Now then, the LORD of armies says this: “Consider your ways!

⁶You have sown much, only to harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but there is not enough for anyone to get warm; and the one who earns, earns wages to put into a money bag full of holes.”

⁷The LORD of armies says this: “Consider your ways!

⁸Go up to the mountains, bring wood, and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be honored,” says the LORD.

⁹“You start an ambitious project, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the LORD of armies. “It is because of My house which remains desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

¹⁰Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.

¹¹And I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on mankind, on cattle, and on all the products of the labor of your hands.”

¹²Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, just as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the LORD.

¹³Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke by the commission of the LORD to the people, saying, “ ‘I am with you,’ declares the LORD.”

¹⁴So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of armies, their God,

¹⁵on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

¹On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,

²“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

³‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?

⁴But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the LORD of armies.

⁵‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit remains in your midst; do not fear!’

⁶For this is what the LORD of armies says: ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.

⁷I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of armies.

⁸‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of armies.

⁹‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of armies.”

¹⁰On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying,

¹¹“The LORD of armies says this: ‘Now ask the priests for a ruling:

¹²If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’ ” And the priests answered, “No.”

¹³Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.”

¹⁴Then Haggai responded and said, “ ‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

¹⁵But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,

¹⁶from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty.

¹⁷I struck you and every work of your hands with scorching wind, mildew, and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the LORD.

¹⁸‘Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was founded, consider:

¹⁹Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’ ”

²⁰Then the word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

²¹“Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

²²And I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, every one by the sword of another.’

²³‘On that day,’ declares the LORD of armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ ” declares the LORD of armies.

¹In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,

²“The LORD was very angry with your fathers.

³Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of armies says: “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of armies, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of armies.

⁴“Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies says: “Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the LORD.

⁵“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

⁶But did My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, not overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of armies planned to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:

⁸I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel, and white horses behind him.

⁹Then I said, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel 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 responded and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”

¹¹So they responded to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is still and quiet.”

¹²Then the angel of the LORD said, “LORD of armies, how long will You take no pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant for these seventy years?”

¹³And the LORD responded to the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words.

¹⁴So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies says: “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.

¹⁵But I am very angry with the nations who are carefree; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.”

¹⁶Therefore the LORD says this: “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of armies, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.” ’

¹⁷Again, proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies says: “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”

¹⁸Then I raised my eyes and looked, 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 horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

²⁰Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

²¹And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah so that no one lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to frighten them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”

¹Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.

²So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.”

³And behold, the angel who had been speaking with me was going out, and another angel was going out to meet him.

⁴And he said to him, “Run, speak to that young man there, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited as open country because of the multitude of people and cattle within it.

⁵But I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire to her on all sides, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”

⁶“You there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “because I have spread you out like the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD.

⁷“You, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”

⁸For the LORD of armies says this: “After glory He has sent me against the nations that plunder you, for the one who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.

⁹For behold, I am going to wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of armies has sent Me.

¹⁰Shout for joy and rejoice, daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD.

¹¹“And many nations will join themselves to the LORD on that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of armies has sent Me to you.

¹²And the LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

¹³“Be silent, all mankind, before the LORD; for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”

¹Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right to accuse him.

²And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a log snatched from the fire?”

³Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before the angel.

⁴And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you and will clothe you with festive robes.”

⁵Then I said, “Have them put a clean headband on his head.” So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.

⁶And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,

⁷“The LORD of armies says this: ‘If you walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both govern My house and be in charge of My courtyards, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.

⁸Now listen, Joshua, you high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a sign: for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch.

⁹For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of armies, ‘and I will remove the guilt of that land in one day.

¹⁰On that day,’ declares the LORD of armies, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”

¹Then the angel who had been speaking with me returned and woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep.

²And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;

³also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”

⁴Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

⁶Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of armies.

⁷‘What are you, you great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

⁸Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁹“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of armies has sent me to you.

¹⁰For who has shown contempt for the day of small things? But these seven will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the eyes of the LORD roaming throughout the earth.”

¹¹Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”

¹²And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”

¹³So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

¹⁴Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”

¹Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.

²And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”

³Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the entire land; everyone who steals certainly will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears falsely will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.

⁴I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of armies, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and destroy it with its timber and stones.”

⁵Then the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, “Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.”

⁶And I said, “What is it?” Then he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land.

⁷And behold, a lead cover was lifted up.” He continued, “And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”

⁸Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its opening.

⁹Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.

¹⁰So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”

¹¹Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”