Zechariah 7-9

Common English Bible

Answering the Bethel delegation

7 In the fourth year of Darius the king, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev.^[a] ²The people of^[b] Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech,^[c] along with his men, to seek the Lord’s favor, ³saying to the priests who were in the house of the Lord of heavenly forces and to the prophets: “Should I weep in the fifth month and abstain as I have done for a number of years?”

⁴Then the word of the Lord of heavenly forces came to me: ⁵Say to all the land’s people and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth month and the seventh month for these past seventy years, did you fast for me? ⁶When you ate and drank, weren’t you the ones eating and drinking? ⁷Weren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem was dwelling quietly along with the surrounding cities, and when the arid southern plain and the western foothills were inhabited?

⁸The Lord’s word came to Zechariah:
⁹The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other! ¹⁰Don’t oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; don’t plan evil against each other! ¹¹But they refused to pay attention. They turned a cold shoulder and stopped listening.

¹²They steeled their hearts against hearing the Instruction and the words that the Lord of heavenly forces sent by his spirit through the earlier prophets. As a result, the Lord of heavenly forces became enraged.

¹³So just as he called and they didn’t listen, when they called, I didn’t listen, says the Lord of heavenly forces. ¹⁴I scattered them throughout the nations whom they didn’t know. The land was devastated behind them, with no one leaving or returning. They turned a delightful land into a wasteland.

8 The word from the Lord of heavenly forces came to me:^[d]
² The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

I care passionately about Zion; I burn with passion for her. ³The Lord proclaims: I have returned to Zion; I will settle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the city of truth; the mountain of the Lord of heavenly forces will be the holy mountain.

⁴The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

Old men and old women will again dwell in the plazas of Jerusalem. Each of them will have a staff in their hand because of their great age. ⁵The city will be full of boys and girls playing in its plazas.

⁶The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

Even though it may seem to be a miracle for the few remaining among this people in these days, should it seem to be a miracle for me? says the Lord of heavenly forces.

⁷The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

I’m about to deliver my people from the land of the east and the land of the west. ⁸I’ll bring them back so they will dwell in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God—in truth and in righteousness.

⁹The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

Be strong, you who are now hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets spoken on the day when the foundations for the house of the Lord of heavenly forces were laid. ¹⁰Before this time, there were no wages for people or animals; there was no relief from distress about going out or coming in, because I set everyone against their own neighbor. ¹¹But now, unlike those earlier days, I’ll be with the few remaining among this people, says the Lord of heavenly forces.

¹²        The seed is healthy:
            the vine will give its fruit.
            The land will give its produce;
            the heavens will give its dew.
                I will give the remnant of this people all these things.
¹³            Just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel,
                so now I will deliver you; you will be a blessing.
        Don’t fear, but be strong.
¹⁴The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

Just as I planned evil against you when your ancestors angered me, says the Lord of heavenly forces, and did not relent, ¹⁵so now I have changed course and again plan to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don’t be afraid.

¹⁶These are the things you should do: Speak the truth to each other; make truthful, just, and peaceable decisions within your gates. ¹⁷Don’t plan evil for each other. Don’t adore swearing falsely, for all of these are things that I hate, says the Lord.

¹⁸The word of the Lord of heavenly forces came to me:
¹⁹ The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah. Love truth and peace!

²⁰The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

Peoples will still come, the inhabitants of many cities. ²¹The inhabitants of one city will go to another saying, “Let’s go and seek the favor of the Lord, and look for the Lord of heavenly forces. I’m going too.” ²²Many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of heavenly forces in Jerusalem and to seek the favor of the Lord.

²³The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:

In those days ten men from nations with entirely different languages will grab hold of a Judean’s clothes and say, “Let’s go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Fate of the nations

9 A pronouncement. The Lord’s word is against the land of Hadrach,
        and Damascus is its resting place,
        for the city of Aram^[e] and all the tribes of Israel belong to the Lord.
²Hamath also borders on it.
Tyre and Sidon, indeed, each is exceedingly wise.
³Tyre built a fortress for herself.
She piled up silver like dust
        and gold like mud in the streets,
⁴but the Lord will take her possessions away
        and knock her wealth into the sea.
She will be devoured with fire.

⁵Ashkelon will look and be afraid.
    Gaza will writhe in agony,
            and also Ekron, because her hope has dried up.
    The king will perish from Gaza;
            Ashkelon won’t be inhabited.
⁶An illegitimate child will dwell in Ashdod;
    I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
⁷I will remove bloody food from his mouth
        and pieces of unclean food from between his teeth.
He will be a survivor who belongs to our God.
        He will be like a chieftain in Judah;
            Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
⁸I will encamp before my house as a guard
    against anyone departing or returning.
        A slave driver will no longer pass through against them,
            for I have seen you^[f] with my eyes.

Joy and protection for Judah and Ephraim

⁹Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion.
        Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem.
Look, your king will come to you.
        He is righteous and victorious.
        He is humble and riding on an ass,
            on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.
¹⁰He^[g] will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
        and the warhorse from Jerusalem.
The bow used in battle will be cut off;
        he will speak peace to the nations.
His rule will stretch from sea to sea,
        and from the river to the ends of the earth.
¹¹Moreover,^[h] by the blood of your covenant,
    I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.
¹²Return to the stronghold, prisoners of hope.
        Moreover, declare today that I will return double to you.
¹³Indeed, I myself will bend Judah as a bow;
        I will fill it with Ephraim.
Zion, I will rouse your sons against your sons. Greece, I will make you
        like a warrior’s sword.
¹⁴The Lord will appear above them;
        his arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the horn;
        he will march forth on the stormy winds of the south.
¹⁵The Lord of heavenly forces will protect them.
        They will devour and subdue like sling stones.^[i]
        They will drink, mumbling like one having wine.
        They will be filled like a bowl, like the corners of the altar.
¹⁶The Lord their God will deliver them on that day as the flock of his people;
        they will be the jewels in a crown dotting his land.
¹⁷What is his goodness,
        and what is his beauty?
Grain will make his young men flourish;
        so too wine his young women.