Zechariah 1:1-6

New International Reader's Version

The Lord Wants His People to Return to Him

1 A message from the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet. Zechariah was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Iddo. It was the eighth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia. Here is what Zechariah said.

² The Lord who rules over all was very angry with your people of long ago. ³ And now he says to us, “Return to me. Then I will return to you,” announces the Lord. ⁴ “Do not be like your people of long ago. The earlier prophets gave them my message. I said, ‘Stop doing what is evil. Turn away from your sinful practices.’ But they would not listen to me. They would not pay any attention,” announces the Lord. ⁵ “Where are those people now? And what about my prophets? Do they live forever? ⁶ I commanded my servants the prophets what to say. I told them what I planned to do. But your people refused to obey me. So I had to punish them.

“Then they had a change of heart. They said, ‘The Lord who rules over all has punished us because of how we have lived. He was fair and right to do that. He has done to us just what he decided to do.’ ”