Zechariah 7
International Standard Version
A Rebuke about Selfish Fasts
7 During the fourth year of the reign of[a] King Darius, a message from the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month Kislev.[b] 2 The people of[c] Bethel were sending[d] Sharezer, Regem-melech, and their men to pray in the Lord’s presence 3 and to speak to the priests assigned[e] to the Temple of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies along with the prophets, asking, “Am I to go about mourning, denying myself throughout the fifth month,[f] as I have these many years?”
4 Then this message from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies came to me: 5 “Talk to everyone in the land, as well as to the priests. Ask them, ‘When you were fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh months[g] for the past seventy years, were you really fasting for me? 6 And when you eat and drink, you’re eating and drinking for your own benefit, aren’t you? 7 Isn’t this what the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets, when a prosperous Jerusalem was inhabited, as were its surrounding cities, the Negev,[h] and the Shephelah?’”[i]
The Consequence of Turning from God
8 This message from the Lord came to Zechariah again: 9 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Administer true justice, and show gracious love and mercy toward each other.[j] 10 You are not to wrong the widow, orphans, the foreigner, or the poor, and you are not to plan evil against each other.[k] 11 But they refused to pay attention, turned their backs, and stopped listening. 12 They made their hearts hard like a diamond, to keep from obeying the Law and the messages that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. 13 Therefore, just as when I[l] cried out and they would not listen, so also they will cry out, and I will not listen,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 14 ‘I will scatter them to all of the nations, which they have not known.’”
Now the earth was left desolate after them. As a result, no one came or went because they had turned a pleasant land into a desert.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 7:1 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- Zechariah 7:1 I.e. c. 7 December 518 BC
- Zechariah 7:2 The Heb. lacks The people of
- Zechariah 7:2 Lit. was sending
- Zechariah 7:3 The Heb. lacks assigned
- Zechariah 7:3 I.e. the anniversary month of the Jerusalem temple’s destruction
- Zechariah 7:5 The Heb. lacks months
- Zechariah 7:7 I.e. southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Zechariah 7:7 I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Zechariah 7:9 Lit. toward his brother
- Zechariah 7:10 Lit. toward his brother
- Zechariah 7:13 Lit. he
Zechariah 7
Lexham English Bible
7 And then,[a] in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev. 2 And the people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, and their[b] men, to entreat the favor[c] of Yahweh, 3 saying to the priests of the house of Yahweh of hosts[d] and to the prophets, “Should I mourn in the fifth month and keep myself separate[e] as I have done for these many years?” 4 And the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me? 6 And when you eat and drink, are you not eating and drinking for yourselves? 7 Are not these the words that Yahweh proclaimed through[f] the former prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns[g] were inhabited and at ease, and the Negev[h] and the Shephelah[i] were inhabited?’”
8 And the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Judge with trustworthy justice, and show[j] steadfast love and compassion to one another.[k] 10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart against one another.’[l] 11 But they refused to listen, and turned[m] a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from listening.[n] 12 They made their hearts adamant[o] in order not to hear the law[p] and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through[q] the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 ‘Thus, just as I[r] called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 14 ‘And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable land[s] a desolation.’”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 7:1 Literally “and it happened”
- Zechariah 7:2 Hebrew “his”
- Zechariah 7:2 Literally “the face”
- Zechariah 7:3 Literally “priests who are for the house of Yahweh of hosts”
- Zechariah 7:3 Or “abstain”; some interpret this as a reference to fasting
- Zechariah 7:7 Literally “by the hand of”
- Zechariah 7:7 Literally “her towns around her”
- Zechariah 7:7 The Negev is an arid region south of the Judean hills
- Zechariah 7:7 The Shephelah is a geographical area on the western edge of the Judean hills
- Zechariah 7:9 Literally “do”
- Zechariah 7:9 Literally “a man his brother”
- Zechariah 7:10 Literally “a man his brother”
- Zechariah 7:11 Hebrew “gave”
- Zechariah 7:11 Literally “their ears were heavy from hearing”
- Zechariah 7:12 Literally “They set their hearts like hard stone”
- Zechariah 7:12 Hebrew torah
- Zechariah 7:12 Literally “by the hand of”
- Zechariah 7:13 Hebrew “he called” (but still referring to Yahweh)
- Zechariah 7:14 Hebrew “land of desire,” but this could be understood as a land characterized by desire rather than a desirable land
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