In the eighth month of Darius’ ¹  second year, ²  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, ³  son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in Darius’ second year, ¹  the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo, as follows:

He ¹  said to them, “What things?” “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied, “a man ²  who, with his powerful deeds and words, proved to be a prophet ³  before God and all the people;

so that the word ¹  of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, ²  “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord ³  been revealed?” ⁴ 

So then, because ¹  he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants ²  on his throne, ³ 

Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey ¹  him in everything he tells you. ² 

So they began to leave, ¹  unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors ²  through the prophet Isaiah

Then ¹  I saw three unclean spirits ²  that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

And the devil who deceived ¹  them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, ²  where the beast and the false prophet are ³  too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ¹  there are no longer any prophets ²  and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ³ 

“That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.

You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; You have destroyed your own people! ¹ 

(Now it used to be in Israel that whenever someone went to inquire of God he would say, “Come on, let’s go to the seer.” For today’s prophet used to be called a seer.)

Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed ¹  him king in Gihon. They went up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. That is the sound you hear.

“Before I formed you in your mother’s womb ¹  I chose you. ²  Before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

I will punish any prophet, priest, or other person who says “The Lord’s message is burdensome.” ¹  I will punish both that person and his whole family.’” ² 

So Baruch son of Neriah did exactly what the prophet Jeremiah had told him to do. He read what the Lord had said from the scroll in the temple of the Lord. ¹ 

He also ordered Jerahmeel, who was one of the royal princes, ¹  Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord hid them.

King Zedekiah sent ¹  Jehucal ²  son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah ³  son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah. He told them to say, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.”

Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders.