How to loop through a plain JavaScript object with the objects as members?

Under ECMAScript 5, you can combine Object.keys() and Array.prototype.forEach():

var obj = {
  first: "John",
  last: "Doe"
};

//
//	Visit non-inherited enumerable keys
//
Object.keys(obj).forEach(function(key) {

  console.log(key, obj[key]);

});

for (var key in validation_messages) {
    // skip loop if the property is from prototype
    if (!validation_messages.hasOwnProperty(key)) continue;

    var obj = validation_messages[key];
    for (var prop in obj) {
        // skip loop if the property is from prototype
        if (!obj.hasOwnProperty(prop)) continue;

        // your code
        alert(prop + " = " + obj[prop]);
    }
}