Zecharyah 7-12

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.

11 Open thy delatot (gates), O Levanon, that the eish (fire) may devour thy cedars.

² Wail, O cypress, for the cedar is fallen; the mighty is despoiled; wail, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the dense forest is toppled.

³ Hear the sound of the wailing of the ro’im (shepherds); for their glory is destroyed; the sound of the roaring of young lions; for the ga’on of the Yarden (Jordan) is laid waste.

⁴ Thus Hashem Elohai said: Shepherd the tzon haharegah (the flock marked for slaughter);

⁵ Whose buyers slaughter them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Baruch Hashem, I have become rich! And their own ro’im (shepherds) spare them not.

⁶ Nor will I any more pity the yoshvei ha’aretz (the inhabitants of the land), saith Hashem; and hinei, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the power of his melech; and they shall strike ha’aretz, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

⁷ So I did shepherd the tzon haharegah (the flock marked for slaughter), even aniyei hatzon (the poor of the flock). And I took unto me two maklot (staffs); the one I called No’am (gracious care), and the other I called Chovelim (bindings [of union, cf.11:14]); and I did shepherd the tzon (flock).

⁸ Shloshet haro’im (three of the shepherds) also I disposed of in one month; and my nefesh wearied of them, and their nefesh also abhorred me.

⁹ Then said I, I will not shepherd you; that which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let those that are left eat every one the basar of another.

¹⁰ And I took my staff, even No’am, and I broke it asunder, breaking off my Brit (covenant) which I had made with kol ha’amim (all the peoples).

¹¹ And it was broken on that day; and so the aniyei hatzon (poor of the flock), who were the shomrim giving heed to me, perceived that this was the Devar Hashem.

¹² And I said unto them, If ye think tov, give me my sachar (price); and if not, refrain. So they weighed out for my sachar (price) shloshim kesef (thirty pieces of silver).

¹³ And Hashem said unto me, Throw it unto the yotzer (potter); the magnificent price that I was priced of them. So I took the shloshim hakesef, and threw them to the yotzer (potter) in the Beis Hashem. [Shemot 21:32; Mt 26:14-15; 27:3-10; Ac 1:18-19]

¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff, called Chovelim, breaking off the achavah (brotherhood) between Yehudah and Yisroel.

¹⁵ And Hashem said unto me, Take unto thee yet the keli (implements) of a foolish ro’eh (shepherd).

¹⁶ For, hinei, I will raise up a ro’eh in ha’aretz, which shall not care for the dying, nor look for the na’ar (young one), nor heal that which is injured, nor feed the healthy; but he shall eat the basar of the choice, and tear off their hooves.

¹⁷ Hoy (woe) to the worthless ro’eh (shepherd) that deserteth the tzon! May the cherev (sword) be upon his zero’a (arm), and upon his right eye; let his zero’a wither away, and his right eye be utterly extinguished.

12 The burden of the Devar Hashem concerning Yisroel, saith Hashem, who stretcheth forth Shomayim, and layeth the yesod aretz, and formeth the ruach adam within him.

² Hinei, I will make Yerushalayim a cup of reeling unto kol ha’amim (all the peoples) round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Yehudah and against Yerushalayim.

³ And on Yom HaHu will I make Yerushalayim an even ma’amasah (a burdensome stone) for kol ha’amim: all that burden themselves with it [i.e., try to lift it] shall be cut in pieces, though kol Goyei Ha’Aretz be gathered together against her.

⁴ In Yom HaHu, saith Hashem, I will strike every sus with panic, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the Bais Yehudah, and will strike every sus of the people with blindness.

⁵ And the Aluphei Yehudah (leaders of Yehudah) shall say in their lev, The yoshvei Yerushalayim are my strength in Hashem Tzva’os Eloheihem.

⁶ In Yom HaHu will I make the Aluphei Yehudah like a fire pot in the woods, and like a torch of eish in the omer (sheaves); and they shall devour kol haAm round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Yerushalayim shall be inhabited again in her own site, even in Yerushalayim.

⁷ Hashem also shall save the oholei Yehudah (tents of Yehudah) first, that the glory of the Bais Dovid and the glory of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim do not magnify themselves against Yehudah.

⁸ In Yom Hahu shall Hashem defend the inhabitants of Yerushalayim; and he that is feeble among them in Yom Hahu shall be like Dovid; and the Bais Dovid shall be like Elohim, like the Malach Hashem before them.

⁹ And it shall come to pass in Yom Hahu, that I will seek to destroy kol HaGoyim that attack Yerushalayim.

¹⁰ And I will pour upon the Bais Dovid, and upon the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, the Ruach (Spirit) of Chen (grace) and of Tachanunim (supplications for favor); and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced [dakar, "pierce through" cf. Yeshayah 53:5; Targum HaShivim Tehillim 22:17], and they shall mourn for Him (Moshiach) as one mourneth for his yachid (only son), and shall grieve in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his bechor (firstborn).

¹¹ In Yom Hahu shall there be a great mourning in Yerushalayim, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

¹² And ha’aretz shall mourn, all mishpochot apart; the mishpachat Bais Dovid apart, and their wives apart; the mishpachat Bais Natan apart, and their wives apart; [Shmuel Bais 5:14]

¹³ The mishpachat Bais Levi apart, and their wives apart; the mishpachat Shimei apart, and their wives apart; [Bamidbar 3:17-18,21]

¹⁴ All the mishpochot that remain, all mishpochot apart, and their wives apart.