29“Now if a man or woman has an infection on the head or on the beard, 30then the priest shall look at the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and there is thin yellowish hair in it, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard. 31But if the priest looks at the infection of the scale, and indeed, it appears to be no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days. 32On the seventh day the priest shall look at the infection, and if the scale has not spread and no yellowish hair has grown in it, and the appearance of the scale is no deeper than the skin, 33then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale seven more days. 34Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale, and if the scale has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35But if the scale spreads farther in the skin after his cleansing, 36then the priest shall look at him, and if the scale has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellowish hair; he is unclean. 37If in his sight the scale has remained, however, and black hair has grown in it, the scale has healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38“When a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, 39then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies are a faint white, it is eczema that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.
40“Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean. 41If his head becomes bald at the front and sides, he is bald on the forehead; he is clean. 42But if on the bald head or the bald forehead, there occurs a reddish-white infection, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or on his bald forehead. 43Then the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body, 44he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head.
45“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
47“When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, 48whether in warp or woof, of linen or of wool, whether in leather or in any article made of leather, 49if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is a leprous mark and shall be shown to the priest. 50Then the priest shall look at the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days. 51He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a leprous malignancy, it is unclean. 52So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any article of leather in which the mark occurs, for it is a leprous malignancy; it shall be burned in the fire.
53“But if the priest shall look, and indeed the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, 54then the priest shall order them to wash the thing in which the mark occurs and he shall quarantine it for seven more days. 55After the article with the mark has been washed, the priest shall again look, and if the mark has not changed its appearance, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire, whether an eating away has produced bareness on the top or on the front of it.
56“Then if the priest looks, and if the mark has faded after it has been washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment or out of the leather, whether from the warp or from the woof; 57and if it appears again in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is an outbreak; the article with the mark shall be burned in the fire. 58The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or any article of leather from which the mark has departed when you washed it, it shall then be washed a second time and will be clean.”
59This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.
The Four Chariots
1Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. 2With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, 3with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. 4Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, 6with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country. 7When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. 8Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”
9The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 10“Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.
The Symbolic Crowns
11Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. 13Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.” ’ 14Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the Lord your God.
22And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
1) How do defiled garments represent hidden sin?
2) What makes mercy and separation equally necessary?
3) How do renewed garments signify restored service?
Contrast the Upright and the Wicked
1The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
2He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is devious in his ways despises Him.
3In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back,
But the lips of the wise will protect them.
4Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
5A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness utters lies.
6A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.
7Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
8The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
9Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is good will.
10The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.
11The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
12There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
13Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,
And the end of joy may be grief.
14The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied with his.
15The naive believes everything,
But the sensible man considers his steps.
16A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
17A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of evil devices is hated.
18The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.
19The evil will bow down before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20The poor is hated even by his neighbor,
But those who love the rich are many.
21He who despises his neighbor sins,
But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.
22Will they not go astray who devise evil?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.
23In all labor there is profit,
But mere talk leads only to poverty.
24The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the folly of fools is foolishness.
25A truthful witness saves lives,
But he who utters lies is treacherous.
26In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And his children will have refuge.
27The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
That one may avoid the snares of death.
28In a multitude of people is a king’s glory,
But in the dearth of people is a prince’s ruin.
29He who is slow to anger has great understanding,
But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.
30A tranquil heart is life to the body,
But passion is rottenness to the bones.
31He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker,
But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.
32The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing,
But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.
33Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,
But in the hearts of fools it is made known.
34Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
35The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely,
But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.
A Call to Repentance
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, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. 4“Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the Lord. 5“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”
Patrol of the Earth
7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which 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, “My lord, what are these?” 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 answered and said, “These are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.” 11So they answered 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 peaceful and quiet.”
12Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?” 13The Lord answered 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, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” 16Therefore thus says the Lord, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.” ’ 17Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”
18Then I lifted up 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 answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” 20Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify 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.”