Zechariah 7-8

English Standard Version

A Call for Justice and Mercy

7 ^(A)In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is ^(B)Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men ^(C)to entreat the favor of the Lord, ^3 (D)saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and ^(E)the prophets, “Should I weep and ^(F)abstain in ^(G)the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in ^(H)the fifth month and in ^(I)the seventh, for these ^(J)seventy years, ^(K)was it ^(L)for me that you fasted? ^6 (M)And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ^7 (N)Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed ^(O)by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, ^(P)with her cities around her, and the ^(Q)South and the ^(R)lowland were inhabited?’”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(S)Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, ^10 (T)do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, ^(U)or the poor, and ^(V)let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” ¹¹ But ^(W)they refused to pay attention ^(X)and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.^{[a] 12 (Y)}They made their hearts diamond-hard ^(Z)lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent ^(AA)by his Spirit through ^(AB)the former prophets. ^(AC)Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. ^13 (AD)“As I^[b] called, and they would not hear, ^(AE)so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, ^14 (AF)“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all ^(AG)the nations that they had not known. ^(AH)Thus the land they left was desolate, ^(AI)so that no one went to and fro, ^(AJ)and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

8 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AK)I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(AL)I have returned to Zion and ^(AM)will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, ^(AN)and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, ^(AO)and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. ⁴ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AP)Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. ⁵ And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. ⁶ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AQ)If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, ^(AR)should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? ⁷ Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, ^(AS)I will save my people ^(AT)from the east country and from the west country, ⁸ and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. ^(AU)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, ^(AV)in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

⁹ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AW)“Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of ^(AX)the prophets who were present on ^(AY)the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. ¹⁰ For before those days ^(AZ)there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. ¹¹ But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. ^12 (BA)For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, ^(BB)and the heavens shall give their dew. ^(BC)And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. ¹³ And as ^(BD)you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, ^(BE)so will I save you, and ^(BF)you shall be a blessing. ^(BG)Fear not, but ^(BH)let your hands be strong.”

¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(BI)“As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, ¹⁵ so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ^(BJ)fear not. ¹⁶ These are the things that you shall do: ^(BK)Speak the truth to one another; ^(BL)render in your gates judgments ^(BM)that are true and make for peace; ^17 (BN)do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ^(BO)love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

¹⁸ And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the ^(BP)fourth month and the fast of the ^(BQ)fifth and the fast of the ^(BR)seventh and the fast of the ^(BS)tenth shall be to the house of Judah ^(BT)seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love ^(BU)truth and peace.

²⁰ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ²¹ The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ^(BV)‘Let us go at once ^(BW)to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ ^22 (BX)Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and ^(BY)to entreat the favor of the Lord. ²³ Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ^(BZ)ten men ^(CA)from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for ^(CB)we have heard that God is with you.’”