Author
Zechariah
Prophet
Written
c. 520–480 BC
Chapters
14
Audience
The post-exilic Jewish community returning from Babylon
A call to repentance and the first vision of a man among the myrtle trees
Chapter 1Read in Bible
Visions of Jerusalem's restoration and the cleansing of the high priest Joshua
Chapter 2 → Chapter 3Read in Bible
Visions of the golden lampstand, Zerubbabel's empowerment, and the flying scroll of judgment
Chapter 4 → Chapter 5Read in Bible
The vision of four chariots and the symbolic crowning of Joshua as a priestly king
Chapter 6Read in Bible
A question about fasting leads to promises of God's faithful restoration of Zion
Chapter 7 → Chapter 8Read in Bible
The first oracle proclaims the coming humble King and the rejection of the foolish shepherd
Chapter 9 → Chapter 11Read in Bible
The second oracle describes Jerusalem's deliverance, mourning for the pierced one, and the cleansing fountain
Chapter 12 → Chapter 13Read in Bible
The apocalyptic Day of the Lord brings final judgment on the nations and God's universal reign from Jerusalem
Chapter 14Read in Bible
"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."
Zechariah 4:6"Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Zechariah 9:9"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son."
Zechariah 12:10"The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name."
Zechariah 14:9Zechariah, a contemporary of Haggai, delivers a series of visions, oracles, and prophecies to encourage the returned exiles to complete the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple and to renew their covenant faithfulness to God. The book contains some of the most detailed messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, foretelling the triumphal entry of Christ, his betrayal for thirty pieces of silver, and his second coming as victorious King. It concludes with an apocalyptic vision of the Day of the Lord and the universal reign of God over all the earth.