Zechariah 7

New International Version

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah^(A) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.^(B) ²The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat^(C) the Lord^(D) ³by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn^(E) and fast in the fifth^(F) month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: ⁵“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted^(G) and mourned in the fifth and seventh^(H) months for the past seventy years,^(I) was it really for me that you fasted? ⁶And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?^(J) ⁷Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets^(K) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest^(L) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills^(M) were settled?’”^(N)

⁸And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: ⁹“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;^(O) show mercy and compassion to one another.^(P) ¹⁰Do not oppress the widow^(Q) or the fatherless, the foreigner^(R) or the poor.^(S) Do not plot evil against each other.’^(T)

¹¹“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly^(U) they turned their backs^(V) and covered their ears.^(W) ¹²They made their hearts as hard as flint^(X) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.^(Y) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.^(Z)

¹³“‘When I called, they did not listen;^(AA) so when they called, I would not listen,’^(AB) says the Lord Almighty.^(AC) ¹⁴‘I scattered^(AD) them with a whirlwind^(AE) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.^(AF) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.^(AG)’”

Zechariah 9

New International Version

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9 A prophecy:^(A)

The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
    and will come to rest on Damascus^(B)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
    are on the Lord—^[a]
²and on Hamath^(C) too, which borders on it,
    and on Tyre^(D) and Sidon,^(E) though they are very skillful.
³Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
    she has heaped up silver like dust,
    and gold like the dirt of the streets.^(F)
⁴But the Lord will take away her possessions
    and destroy^(G) her power on the sea,
    and she will be consumed by fire.^(H)
⁵Ashkelon^(I) will see it and fear;
    Gaza will writhe in agony,
    and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
    and Ashkelon will be deserted.
⁶A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
    and I will put an end^(J) to the pride of the Philistines.
⁷I will take the blood from their mouths,
    the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God^(K)
    and become a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.^(L)
⁸But I will encamp^(M) at my temple
    to guard it against marauding forces.^(N)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
    for now I am keeping watch.^(O)

The Coming of Zion’s King

⁹Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!^(P)
    Shout,^(Q) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,^(R)
    righteous and victorious,^(S)
lowly and riding on a donkey,^(T)
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.^(U)
¹⁰I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
    and the battle bow will be broken.^(V)
He will proclaim peace^(W) to the nations.
    His rule will extend from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b] to the ends of the earth.^(X)
¹¹As for you, because of the blood of my covenant^(Y) with you,
    I will free your prisoners^(Z) from the waterless pit.^(AA)
¹²Return to your fortress,^(AB) you prisoners of hope;
    even now I announce that I will restore twice^(AC) as much to you.
¹³I will bend Judah as I bend my bow^(AD)
    and fill it with Ephraim.^(AE)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
    against your sons, Greece,^(AF)
    and make you like a warrior’s sword.^(AG)

The Lord Will Appear

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them;^(AH)
    his arrow will flash like lightning.^(AI)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;^(AJ)
    he will march in the storms^(AK) of the south,
¹⁵    and the Lord Almighty will shield^(AL) them.
They will destroy
    and overcome with slingstones.^(AM)
They will drink and roar as with wine;^(AN)
    they will be full like a bowl^(AO)
    used for sprinkling^[c] the corners^(AP) of the altar.
¹⁶The Lord their God will save his people on that day^(AQ)
    as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
    like jewels in a crown.^(AR)
¹⁷How attractive and beautiful they will be!
    Grain will make the young men thrive,
    and new wine the young women.

Footnotes

Zechariah 9:1 Or Damascus. / For the eye of the Lord is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,
Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
Zechariah 9:15 Or bowl, / like