The Hypocrisy of False Fasting

7 In King Darius’ fourth year, on the fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month,^[a] the Lord’s message came to Zechariah. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their companions to seek the Lord’s favor ³ by asking both the priests of the temple^[b] of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month,^[c] fasting as we have done over the years?” ⁴ The message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies then came to me, ⁵ “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh^[d] months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me—for me, indeed? ⁶ And now when you eat and drink, are you not doing so for yourselves? ⁷ Should you not have obeyed the words that the Lord cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the foothills^[e] were also populated?’”

⁸ Again the Lord’s message came to Zechariah: ⁹ “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other. ¹⁰ You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the resident foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow citizen.’^[f]

¹¹ “But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. ¹² Indeed, they made their hearts as hard as diamond,^[g] so that they could not obey the law of Moses^[h] and the other words the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies poured out great wrath.

¹³ “‘Just as I^[i] called out, but they would not obey, so they will call out, but I will not listen,’ the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says. ¹⁴ ‘Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.’ Thus the land became desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful^[j] land a waste.”

The Blessing of True Fasting

8 Then the message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies^[k] came to me as follows: ² “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘I am very much concerned for Zion; indeed, I am so concerned for her that my rage will fall on those who hurt her.’ ³ The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,” “holy mountain.”’ ⁴ Moreover, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘Old men and women will once more live in the plazas of Jerusalem, each one leaning on a cane because of advanced age. ⁵ And the streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing.^{[l] 6} And,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘though such a thing may seem to be difficult in the opinion of the small community of those days, will it also appear difficult to me?’ asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

⁷ “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies asserts, ‘I am about to save my people from the lands of the east and the west. ⁸ And I will bring them to settle within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God,^[m] in truth and righteousness.’

⁹ “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies also says, ‘Gather strength, you who are listening to these words today from the mouths of the prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,^[n] so that the temple might be built. ¹⁰ Before that time there was no compensation for man or animal, nor was there any relief from adversity for those who came and went, because I had pitted everybody—each one—against everyone else. ¹¹ But I will be different now to this remnant of my people from the way I was in those days,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ¹² ‘for there will be a peaceful time of sowing, the vine will produce its fruit, and the ground its yield, and the skies^[o] will rain down dew. Then I will allow the remnant of my people to possess all these things. ¹³ And it will come about that just as you, both Judah and Israel, were a curse to the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid! Instead, be strong.’

¹⁴ “For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘As I had planned to hurt^[p] you when your fathers made me angry,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘and I was not sorry, ¹⁵ so, to the contrary, I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and Judah—do not fear! ¹⁶ These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts.^{[q] 17} Do not plan evil in your hearts against one another. Do not favor a false oath—these are all things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”

¹⁸ The message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies came to me as follows: ¹⁹ “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘The fast of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth^[r] months will become joyful and happy, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’ ²⁰ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘It will someday come to pass that people—residents of many cities—will come. ²¹ The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, “Let’s go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Indeed, I’ll go with you.”’ ²² Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask his favor. ²³ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of—indeed, grab—the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”^[s]

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son^[a] of Iddo^[b] prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. ² Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began^[c] to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

³ At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked, “Who gave you authority^[d] to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?”^{[e] 4} They^[f] also asked them, “What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?” ⁵ But God was watching over^[g] the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped^[h] until a report could be dispatched^[i] to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues (who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates) sent to King Darius. ⁷ The report they sent to him was written as follows:^[j]

“To King Darius: All greetings!^{[k] 8} Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones,^[l] and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands. ⁹ We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders. ¹¹ They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king^[m] of Israel built it and completed it. ¹² But after our ancestors^[n] angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands^[o] of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon.^{[p] 13} But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon,^[q] King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God. ¹⁴ Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace^[r] of Babylon—even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented^[s] to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor. ¹⁵ He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.”^{[t] 16} Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment^[u] it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’

¹⁷ “Now if the king is so inclined,^[v] let a search be conducted in the royal archives^[w] there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”

Darius Issues a Decree

6 So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives^[x] of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon. ² A scroll was found in the citadel^[y] of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows:

“Memorandum: ³ In the first year of his reign,^[z] King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place.^[aa] Its height is to be 90 feet and its width 90 feet,^{[ab] 4} with three layers of large stones^[ac] and one^[ad] layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized^[ae] by the royal treasury.^{[af] 5} Furthermore, let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’

⁶ “Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates—all of you stay far away from there. ⁷ Leave the work on this temple of God alone.^[ag] Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.

⁸ “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates, the complete costs are to be given to these men so that there may be no interruption of the work.^{[ah] 9} Whatever is needed—whether oxen or rams or lambs for burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by^[ai] the priests who are in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without any neglect, ¹⁰ so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family.^[aj]

¹¹ “I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled^[ak] on it, and his house is to be reduced^[al] to a rubbish heap^[am] for this indiscretion.^{[an] 12} May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation^[ao] who reaches out^[ap] to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”

The Temple Is Finally Dedicated

¹³ Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly—with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions.^{[aq] 14} The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time^[ar] Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth^[as] year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶ The people^[at] of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles^[au]—observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of this temple of God they offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, in accord with^[av] the book of Moses.