Zechariah 7-10
Complete Jewish Bible
7 In the fourth year of King Daryavesh, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev, a message from Adonai came to Z’kharyah. 2 He sent Sar’etzer and Regem-Melekh with his men to Beit-El in order to ask Adonai’s favor, 3 as they inquired of the cohanim of the house of Adonai-Tzva’ot and the prophets, “Should we go into mourning and abstain from pleasure during the fifth month, as we have been doing for all these years?” 4 It was then that this message came to me from Adonai-Tzva’ot: 5 “Speak to all the people of the land and to the cohanim. Tell them, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months throughout these seventy years, were you really fasting for me? Was it for me? 6 Rather, when you eat and drink, it’s just to please yourselves, isn’t it? 7 Isn’t this just what Adonai proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Yerushalayim was inhabited and prosperous, as were the cities around her; and the Negev and the Sh’felah were inhabited?’”
8 Then this message from Adonai came to Z’kharyah: 9 “In the past Adonai-Tzva’ot said, ‘Administer true justice. Let everyone show mercy and compassion to his brother. 10 Don’t oppress widows, orphans, foreigners or poor people. Don’t plot evil against each other.’ 11 But they wouldn’t listen, they stubbornly turned their shoulder away and stopped up their ears, so that they wouldn’t have to hear it. 12 Yes, they made their hearts as hard as a diamond, so that they wouldn’t hear the Torah and the messages that Adonai-Tzva’ot had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. This is why great anger came from Adonai-Tzva’ot; 13 and it came about that just as they hadn’t listened when he called, so Adonai-Tzva’ot said, ‘I won’t listen when they call; 14 but with the power of a whirlwind I will disperse them among all the nations which they have not known.’ Thus the land was left desolate after them, so that no one came or went. They had turned a pleasant land into a desert.”
8 A message came from Adonai-Tzva’ot: 2 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘I am extremely jealous on Tziyon’s behalf, and I am jealous for her with great fury.’ 3 Adonai says, ‘I am returning to Tziyon, and I will live in Yerushalayim. Then Yerushalayim will be called Truth City, Adonai-Tzva’ot’s Mountain, the Mountain of the Holy One. 4 Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘Old men and old women will once again sit in the open places of Yerushalayim, each one with his cane in his hand, because of their great age. 5 The city’s open places will also be full of boys and girls playing there.’ 6 Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘This may seem amazing to the survivors in those days, but must it also seem amazing to me?’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 7 Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘I will save my people from lands east and west; 8 I will bring them back, and they will live in Yerushalayim. They will be my people; and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.’
9 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘Take courage, you who are hearing only now, in these days, these words spoken by the prophets when the foundation was being laid for rebuilding the temple, the house of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 10 For prior to that time, there were wages neither for people nor for animals; moreover, it was unsafe for anyone to go out or come in, because of the enemy; for I set all people each against the other. 11 But from now on, I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did before,’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 12 ‘Now they will sow in peace, the vine will give its fruit, the ground will produce its yield, the sky will give its dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 House of Y’hudah and house of Isra’el, just as you were formerly a curse among the nations, so now I will save you; and you will be a blessing. Don’t be afraid, but take courage!’
14 “For Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘Just as I resolved to do you harm when your forefathers provoked me,’ Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘and I did not relent; 15 so now, I resolve to do good to Yerushalayim and to the house of Y’hudah. Don’t be afraid! 16 These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other; in your courts, administer justice that is true and conducive to peace; 17 don’t plot harm against each other; and don’t love perjury; for all these are things I hate,’ says Adonai.”
18 This word of Adonai-Tzva’ot came to me: 19 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘The fast days of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months are to become times of joy, gladness and cheer for the house of Y’hudah. Therefore, love truth and peace.’
20 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘In the future, peoples and inhabitants of many cities will come; 21 the inhabitants of one city will travel to another and say, “We must go to ask Adonai’s favor and consult Adonai-Tzva’ot. I’ll go too.” 22 Yes, many peoples and powerful nations will come to consult Adonai-Tzva’ot in Yerushalayim and to ask Adonai’s favor.’ 23 Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘When that time comes, ten men will take hold — speaking all the languages of the nations — will grab hold of the cloak of a Jew and say, “We want to go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.”’”
9 A prophecy, the word of Adonai:
In the land of Hadrakh and Dammesek
is where [God] comes to rest,
for the eyes of humankind are directed toward Adonai,
as are those of all the tribes of Isra’el,
2 also Hamat at its border,
Tzor and Tzidon, for she is very wise.
3 Tzor built herself a fortified tower,
heaping up silver as if it were dust
and fine gold as if it were mud in the streets.
4 But Adonai will dispossess her
and break her power at sea,
while the city itself
will be destroyed by fire.
5 On seeing this, Ashkelon will be terrified;
‘Azah too will writhe in pain;
likewise ‘Ekron, as her hopes are dashed.
“The king will vanish from ‘Azah,
Ashkelon will be without people,
6 and a mixed people will live in Ashdod,
as I destroy the pride of the P’lishtim.
7 I will end their eating meat with its blood still in it,
snatching the disgusting things from between their teeth.”
But the surviving remnant will belong to our God;
it will be like a clan in Y’hudah;
and ‘Ekron will be like a Y’vusi.
8 “Then I will guard my house against armies,
so that none will march through or return.
No oppressor will ever again overrun them,
for now I am watching with my own eyes.
9 Rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Tziyon!
Shout out loud, daughter of Yerushalayim!
Look! Your king is coming to you.
He is righteous, and he is victorious.
Yet he is humble — he’s riding on a donkey,
yes, on a lowly donkey’s colt.
10 I will banish chariots from Efrayim
and war-horses from Yerushalayim.”
The warrior’s bow will be banished,
and he will proclaim peace to the nations.
He will rule from sea to sea,
and from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.
11 “Also you, by the blood of your covenant,
I release your prisoners from [the dungeon,]
the cistern that has no water in it.
12 Return to the stronghold,
you prisoners with hope!
This day I declare to you
that I will grant you double reparation.
13 For I have bent Y’hudah as my bow
and made Efrayim its arrow.
I will rouse your sons, Tziyon,
and make you like a warrior’s sword
against your sons, Greece.”
14 Adonai will appear over them,
and his arrow will flash like lightning.
Adonai Elohim will blow the shofar
and go out in the whirlwinds of the south.
15 Adonai-Tzva’ot will defend them;
they will devour and trample the sling-stones.
They will drink and roar
as if they had drunk wine;
they will be filled, like basins
and like the corners of the altar.
16 On that day Adonai their God
will save them as the flock of his people;
for they will be like gems in a crown,
sparkling over his countryside.
17 What wealth is theirs, what beauty!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
10 Ask Adonai for rain in the spring,
Adonai who makes the rain clouds;
and he will give them showers of rain,
grass in the field to each one.
2 For the household gods talk nonsense,
the diviners have seen a lie;
their dreams convey delusions,
and the comfort they offer is in vain.
Therefore they go their way like sheep
in distress from lack of a shepherd.
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will vent it on the leaders of the flock.”
For Adonai-Tzva’ot will care for his flock,
the people of Y’hudah;
he will make them like his royal war-horse.
4 From them come cornerstone and tent peg,
from them the bow for battle,
from them all the rulers together.
5 They will be like warriors
trampling the mud of the streets in battle.
They will fight, because Adonai is with them;
they will rout even those on horseback.
6 “I will strengthen the house of Y’hudah
and save the house of Yosef.
I will bring them back in my compassion for them;
they will be as if I hadn’t driven them out;
for I am Adonai their God,
and I will answer them.
7 Efrayim’s men will be like warriors;
their hearts will be cheered as if from wine.
Their children will see it and rejoice,
their hearts will be glad in Adonai.
8 “I will whistle for them and gather them,
because I have redeemed them;
they will be as numerous
as they were before;
9 and I will sow them among the peoples.
In distant lands they will remember me;
they will rear their children and then return.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt
and gather them out of Ashur.
I will bring them into Gil‘ad and the L’vanon,
until there is no more room for them.
11 “Trouble will pass over the sea
and stir up waves in the sea;
all the depths of the Nile will be dried up,
the pride of Ashur will be brought down,
and the scepter of Egypt will leave.
12 But I will strengthen [Isra’el] in Adonai;
they will travel here and there in his name,”
says Adonai.
Zecharyah 7-10
Orthodox Jewish Bible
7 And it came to pass in the shnat arba of Daryavesh HaMelech, that the Devar Hashem came unto Zecharyah in the fourth of the chodesh hateshi’i (ninth month), even in Kislev;
2 And Beth-El had sent Sar-Etzer and Regem-Melech, and their men, to make entreaty for favor before Hashem,
3 And to speak unto the kohanim which were in the Beis Hashem Tzva’os, and to the nevi’im, saying, Should I mourn in the fifth month, hinnazer (separating myself by fasting), as I have done these so many shanim?
4 Then came the Devar Hashem Tzva’os unto me, saying,
5 Speak unto kol Am Ha’Aretz, and to the kohanim, saying, When ye did a tzom and mourned in the fifth and seventh, even these past shivim shanah, did ye at all fast the tzom unto Me, even to Me?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should ye not hear the devarim which Hashem hath preached by the nevi’im harishonim, when Yerushalayim was inhabited and at ease, and the towns thereof round about her, when men inhabited the Negev and the Shefelah?
8 And the Devar Hashem came unto Zecharyah, saying,
9 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os, saying, Administer mishpat emes. And let every man show chesed and rachamim to his brother;
10 And oppress not the almanah, nor the yetomim, the ger, nor the aniyim; and let none of you imagine ra’ah against his brother in your lev.
11 But they refused to heed, and stubbornly stiffened their shoulders, stopped up their oznayim, that they not hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as shamir (diamond, i.e., hard as shamir), and would not yield in mishma’at (obedience) to the Torah and the devarim which Hashem Tzva’os hath sent by His Ruach [Hakodesh] through the hand of the nevi’im harishonim; therefore came a ketzef gadol (great wrath) from Hashem Tzva’os.
13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as He [Hashem] called, and they would not hear; so they called, and I would not hear, saith Hashem Tzva’os;
14 But I dispersed them with a whirlwind among kol HaGoyim which they had not known. Thus HaAretz was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the Eretz Chemdat [Yirmeyah 3:19] desolate.
8 Again the Devar Hashem Tzva’os came to me, saying,
2 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os; I am jealous for Tziyon with kina gedolah (great jealousy) and I am jealous for her with chemah gedolah (great fury).
3 Thus saith Hashem: I will return unto Tziyon, and will dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and Yerushalayim shall be called Ir HaEmes; and Har Hashem Tzva’os, Har HaKodesh.
4 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: Zekenim and zekenot shall yet dwell in the rechovot of Yerushalayim, and every man with his staff in his hand me’rov yamim (because of many days, i.e., old age).
5 And the rechovot of the city shall be full of yeladim and yeladot playing in the rechovot thereof.
6 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the she’erit HaAm HaZeh in those days, should it also be marvellous in Mine eyes? saith Hashem Tzva’os.
7 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: Hineni, I will save My people from the eretz mizrach (land of the east), and from the eretz of the setting sun;
8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Yerushalayim; and they shall be My people, and I will be their G-d, in emes and in tzedakah.
9 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these devarim by the mouth of the nevi’im, on the yom that the Yesod of the Beis Hashem Tzava’os was laid, the Heikhal, that it may be built.
10 For before these days there was no sachar for man, nor any sachar for beast; neither was there any shalom to him that went out or came in because of the tzar (oppressor); for I set all men every one against his neighbor.
11 But now I will not be unto the she’erit HaAm HaZeh as in the former days, saith Hashem Tzva’os.
12 For the zera is of shalom; the gefen shall yield her fruit, and ha’aretz shall give her increase, and HaShomayim shall give their tal; and I will cause the she’erit HaAm HaZeh to possess all these things for a nachalah.
13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a kelalah (curse) among the Goyim, O Bais Yehudah, and Bais Yisroel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a brocha; fear not, but let your hands be strong.
14 For thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: As I determined to bring rah on you, when your avot provoked Me to wrath, saith Hashem Tzava’os, and I relented not with rachamim:
15 So again have I determined in these days to do good unto Yerushalayim and to Bais Yehudah; fear ye not.
16 These are the things that ye must do: Speak ye every man emes to his neighbor; execute the judgment of mishpat shalom in your she’arim (gates, courts);
17 And let none of you imagine ra’ah in your levavot against his neighbor; and love no shevuat sheker (false oath); for all these are things that I hate, saith Hashem.
18 And the Devar Hashem Tzva’os came unto me, saying,
19 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: The tzom of the fourth month, and the tzom of the fifth, and the tzom of the seventh, and the tzom of the tenth, shall be to the Bais Yehudah for sasson and simcha, and mo’adim tovim; therefore love emes and shalom.
20 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come amim (nations), and the inhabitants of many cities;
21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to make entreaty before Hashem, and to seek Hashem Tzva’os. I myself am going.
22 Yea, amim rabbim and Goyim powerful shall come to seek Hashem Tzva’os in Yerushalayim, and to daven before Hashem.
23 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: In those days it shall come to pass, that asarah anashim (ten men) out of kol leshonot HaGoyim (all the tongues of the nations) shall take hold, even take hold of the hem of the robe of a Yehudi (Jew), saying, Let us go with you; for we have heard that Elohim is with you.
9 The burden of the Devar Hashem against Eretz Chadrach, and Damascus its menuchah (resting place); for toward Hashem shall be the eyes of man as of Kol Shivtei Yisroel (all the tribes of Israel).
2 And Chamat at its border; Tzor and Tzidon, though it be very wise.
3 And Tzor did build herself a matzor (stronghold), and heaped up kesef like the dust, and fine gold like the mire of the streets.
4 Hinei, Adonoi will cause it to be taken, and He will strike her power on the yam; and she shall be devoured with eish.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Azah (Gaza) also shall see it, and tremble greatly, and Ekron; for her hope shall be put to shame; and Melech shall perish out of Azah (Gaza), and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 And mamzer shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the ga’on (pride) of the Pelishtim (Philistines).
7 And I will take away his dahm out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; but he will also remain to Eloheinu, and he shall be as a tribe prince in Yehudah, and Ekron like the Yevusi (Jebusite).
8 And I will encamp about Mine Bais against military power, because of him that goes maurading to and fro; and no oppressor shall pass through them any more; for now I am keeping watch with Mine eyes.
9 Rejoice greatly, O Bat Tziyon; shout, O Bat Yerushalayim; hinei, thy Melech cometh unto thee, tzaddik, and having Salvation; ani (lowly, meek), and riding upon a chamor, even upon a colt the foal of a donkey. [Mt 21:5; Yn 12:15]
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephrayim, and the war horse from Yerushalayim, and the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall proclaim shalom unto the Goyim; and His [Moshiach’s] dominion shall be from yam even to yam, and from the [Euphrates] river even to the ends of ha’aretz.
11 As for thee also, by the dahm of thy Brit I release thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no mayim [T.N. Notice the blood of the Covenent is essential to Israel’s Orthodox faith].
12 Return to the stronghold, ye prisoners of tikvah (hope); even today do I proclaim that I will repay double unto thee;
13 I will bend Yehudah as I bend My keshet (bow), fill it with Ephrayim, and I will rouse thy banim, O Tziyon, against thy banim, O Yavan (Greece), and make thee like the cherev (sword) of a gibbor (mighty man).
14 And Hashem shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and Adonoi Hashem shall sound the shofar, and shall march forth with storms of the south.
15 Hashem Tzva’os shall shield them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and shall roar as through yayin; and they shall be full like a bowl, like the corners of the mizbe’ach.
16 And Hashem Eloheihem shall save them in Yom HaHu as the tzon of His people; for they shall be as the jewels of a crown, sparkling in His land.
17 For how great is its goodness, and how great is its beauty! Grain shall make the bochurim thrive, and tirosh, the betulot.
10 Ask ye of Hashem rain in the time of the latter rain; from Hashem who makes the storm clouds, and gives them showers of rain, to every one esev [Gn 1:12] in the sadeh.
2 For the terafim (idols) have spoken aven (deceit, nothing), and the diviners [i.e., fortune tellers] envision sheker, and have told false chalomot (dreams); hevel is their comfort; therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a ro’eh (shepherd).
3 Mine anger was kindled against the ro’im (shepherds), and I punished the attudim (he-goats, leaders); for Hashem Tzva’os hath visited His eder (flock), Bais Yehudah, and hath made them like His majestic war horse.
4 From him [Yehudah] will come forth the Pinnah (Cornerstone, i.e., Moshiach, Yeshayah 28:16; Bereshis 49:10), from him, the Yated (Tent Peg, support, i.e. leader of the people, Yeshayah 22:23-24), from him, the Keshet Milchamah (battle bow, Tehillim 45:5), from him every ruler.
5 Together they [Bais Yehudah, (10:3)] shall be like gibborim, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the milchamah; and they shall fight, because Hashem is with them, and they shall overthrow the riders on susim.
6 And I will strengthen the Bais Yehudah, and I will save the Bais Yosef, and I will restore them; for I have rachamim upon them; and they shall be as though I had not rejected them; for I am Hashem Eloheihem, and I will answer them.
7 And they of Ephrayim shall be like a gibbor (mighty man), and their lev shall have simcha as through yayin; yea, their banim shall see, and have simcha, and their lev shall rejoice in Hashem.
8 I will whistle for them, and I will gather them in; for I have redeemed them; and they shall multiply as they have multiplied.
9 And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember Me in far countries; and they shall survive and live with their banim, and they will return.
10 I will bring them back again also out of Eretz Mitzrayim, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the Eretz Gil‘ad and Levanon; until no more room shall be found for them.
11 And He [Hashem] shall pass through the yam of tzarah, and shall strike the waves in the yam, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the ga’on (pride) of Assyria shall be cast down, and the shevet (scepter, i.e., power) of Mitzrayim shall depart.
12 And I will strengthen them [Ephrayim (10:7)] in Hashem; and they shall walk in Shmo (His Name), saith Hashem.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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