6. I commanded my servants the prophets what to say. I told them what I planned to do. But your people refused to obey me. So I had to punish them. "Then they had a change of heart. They said, 'The Lord who rules over all has punished us because of how we have lived. He was fair and right to do that. He has done to us just what he decided to do.' "
7. During the second year that Darius was king, a message came to me from the Lord. It was the 24th day of the 11th month. That's the month of Shebat.
8. I had a vision at night. I saw a man riding a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a valley. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9. An angel was talking with me. I asked him, "Sir, what are these?" He answered, "I will show you what they are."
10. Then the man who was standing among the myrtle trees said, "They are the messengers the Lord has sent out. He told them to go all through the earth."
11. They brought a report to the angel of the Lord. He was standing among the myrtle trees. They said to him, "We have gone all through the earth. We've found the whole world enjoying peace and rest."
12. Then the angel of the Lord spoke up. He said, "Lord, you rule over all. How long will you keep from showing your tender love to Jerusalem? How long will you keep it from the towns of Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years."
13. So the Lord replied with kind and comforting words. He spoke them to the angel who talked with me.
14. Then the angel said, "Announce this message. Say, 'The Lord who rules over all says, "I am very jealous for my people in Jerusalem and Zion.