Zechariah 7-8

New American Standard Bible

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is ^(A)Chislev. ² Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and ^[a]their men to ^[b](B)seek the favor of the Lord, ³ speaking to the ^(C)priests who belong to the house of the Lord of armies, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the ^(D)fifth month ^[c]and fast, as I have done these many years?” ⁴ Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying, ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months ^[d]these ^(E)seventy years, was it actually for ^(F)Me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you eat and drink, ^[e]do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ⁷ Are these not the words which the Lord ^(G)proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and ^(H)carefree along with its cities around it, and the ^[f](I)Negev and the ^[g]foothills were inhabited?’”

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹ “This is what the Lord of armies has said: ‘^(J)Dispense true justice and practice ^(K)kindness and compassion each to his brother; ¹⁰ and ^(L)do not oppress the widow or the ^[h]orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do ^(M)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ ¹¹ But they ^(N)refused to pay attention, and ^[i](O)turned a stubborn shoulder and ^[j](P)plugged their ears from hearing. ¹² They also made their ^(Q)hearts as hard as ^(R)a diamond ^[k]so that they could not hear the Law and the ^(S)words which the Lord of armies had sent by His Spirit through the ^(T)former prophets; therefore great ^(U)wrath came from the Lord of armies. ¹³ And just as ^(V)He called and they would not listen, so ^(W)they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of armies; ¹⁴ “but I ^[l](X)scattered them with a ^(Y)storm wind among all the nations whom they did not know. So the land was ^(Z)desolated behind them ^[m]so that ^(AA)no one went back and forth, since they ^(AB)made the pleasant land desolate.”

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

8 Then the word of the Lord of armies came, saying, ² “The Lord of armies says this: ‘I am ^(AC)exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ ³ The Lord says this: ‘I will return to Zion and ^(AD)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of ^(AE)Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of armies will be called the Holy Mountain.’ ⁴ The Lord of armies says this: ‘^(AF)Old men and old women will again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each person with his staff in his hand because of ^[n]age. ⁵ And the public squares of the city will be filled with ^(AG)boys and girls playing in its squares.’ ⁶ The Lord of armies says this: ‘If it is ^(AH)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be ^(AI)too difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁷ The Lord of armies says this: ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the ^[o](AJ)east and from the land of the ^[p]west; ⁸ and I will ^(AK)bring them back and they will ^(AL)live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be ^(AM)My people, and I will be their God in ^[q]truth and righteousness.’

⁹ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘Let your hands be ^(AN)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the ^(AO)prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of armies was laid, so that the temple might be built. ¹⁰ For before those days there was ^(AP)no wage for man nor any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no ^[r](AQ)peace because of ^[s]his enemies, and I ^(AR)sent all the people against one another. ¹¹ But now I will ^(AS)not ^[t]treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of armies. ¹² ‘For there will be ^(AT)the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their ^(AU)dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people ^(AV)all these things as an inheritance. ¹³ And it will come about that just as you were a ^(AW)curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a ^(AX)blessing. Do not fear; let your ^(AY)hands be strong.’

¹⁴ “For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Just as I ^(AZ)determined to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and I have not ^(BA)relented, ¹⁵ so I have again determined in these days to ^(BB)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ^(BC)Do not fear! ¹⁶ These are the things which you shall do: speak the ^(BD)truth to one another; ^(BE)judge with truth and judgment for peace at your ^[u]gates. ¹⁷ Also let none of you ^(BF)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love ^[v](BG)perjury; for all these things are what I ^(BH)hate,’ declares the Lord.”

¹⁸ Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘The fast of the ^(BI)fourth, the fast of the ^(BJ)fifth, the fast of the ^(BK)seventh, and the fast of the ^(BL)tenth months will become ^(BM)joy, jubilation, and ^[w]cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so ^(BN)love truth and peace.’

²⁰ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘It will yet turn out that ^(BO)peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities. ²¹ The inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, “Let’s go at once to ^(BP)plead for the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of armies; ^[x]I also will go.” ²² So ^(BQ)many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of armies in Jerusalem, and to ^(BR)plead for the favor of the Lord.’ ²³ The Lord of armies says this: ‘In those days ten people from all the ^[y]nations will ^[z](BS)grasp the ^[aa]garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”