Zechariah 7
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Reason the Land Became Desolate
7 In the fourth year of King Darius,[a] the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev.[b]
2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem Melek with their men to plead for the favor of the Lord 3 by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Armies and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me:
5 Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests.
When you fasted and lamented during the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and drink, is it not for yourselves that you eat and drink? 7 Weren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and when the Negev and the Shephelah[c] were inhabited?
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah:
9 This is what the Lord of Armies says. Execute true justice. Each man is to show kindness and compassion to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless child, the foreigner living among you, or the poor. Make sure that none of you plan evil in your heart against your brother.
11 But they refused to pay attention. They turned a stubborn shoulder and covered their ears so that they would not hear. 12 They made their hearts like the hardest rock[d] so that they would not hear the law and the words that the Lord of Armies sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. As a result, the fierce anger from the Lord of Armies was great.
13 When I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord of Armies. 14 I scattered them with a windstorm, among all the nations which they did not know. So the land was left desolate behind them. No one traveled back and forth through it. They made the pleasant land desolate.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 7:1 That is, 518 bc
- Zechariah 7:1 That is, November/December
- Zechariah 7:7 The Negev and Shephelah are the dry southland and the western foothills of Judah.
- Zechariah 7:12 Perhaps diamond or flint
Zechariah 7
New King James Version
Obedience Better than Fasting
7 Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev, 2 when [a]the people sent [b]Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to [c]the house of God, [d]to pray before the Lord, 3 and to (A)ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in (B)the fifth month and [e]fast as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you (C)fasted and mourned in the fifth (D)and seventh months (E)during those seventy years, did you really fast (F)for Me—for Me? 6 (G)When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? 7 Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the (H)former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and (I)the [f]South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”
Disobedience Resulted in Captivity
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(J)‘Execute true justice,
Show [g]mercy and compassion
Everyone to his brother.
10 (K)Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
(L)Let none of you plan evil in his heart
Against his brother.’
11 “But they refused to heed, (M)shrugged[h] their shoulders, and (N)stopped[i] their ears so that they could not hear. 12 Yes, they made their (O)hearts like flint, (P)refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. (Q)Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. 13 Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so (R)they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts. 14 “But (S)I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 7:2 Lit. they, cf. v. 5
- Zechariah 7:2 Or Sar-Ezer
- Zechariah 7:2 Heb. Bethel
- Zechariah 7:2 Or to entreat the favor of
- Zechariah 7:3 Lit. consecrate myself
- Zechariah 7:7 Heb. Negev
- Zechariah 7:9 Or lovingkindness
- Zechariah 7:11 Lit. gave a stubborn or rebellious shoulder
- Zechariah 7:11 Lit. made their ears heavy
Zechariah 7
Expanded Bible
The People Should Show Mercy
7 In the fourth year Darius was king, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Kislev [December 7, 518 bc], the ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to Zechariah. 2 The city of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and their men to ·ask the Lord a question [or seek the Lord’s favor]. 3 They went to the prophets and priests who were at the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. The men said, “For years in the fifth month of each year we have ·shown our sadness [mourned; wept] and fasted. Should we continue to do this?”
4 The ·Lord All-Powerful spoke his word [L word of the Lord All-Powerful/of Heaven’s Armies/T of hosts came] to me, saying, 5 “Tell the priests and the people in the land: ‘For seventy years you fasted and ·cried [mourned] in the fifth and seventh months, but ·that was not [L was it…?] really for me. 6 And when you ate and drank, ·it was really [L was it not…?] for yourselves. 7 Wasn’t this the same thing the Lord said through the ·earlier [former] prophets, when Jerusalem and the surrounding towns were at peace and wealthy, and people lived in the ·southern area [L Negev] and the ·western hills [or lowland; L Shephelah]?’”
8 And the ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to Zechariah again, saying, 9 “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: ‘·Do what is right and true [Administer true justice]. Be kind and ·merciful [compassionate] to each other. 10 Don’t ·hurt [oppress] widows and ·orphans [the fatherless], foreigners or the poor [Ex. 22:21–24; 23:9; Lev. 19:33–34; Deut 24:17–18]; don’t ·even think of doing evil to [or secretly plot evil against] somebody else.’
11 “But they refused to pay attention; they ·were stubborn [turned their backs; L gave a stubborn shoulder] and ·did not want to listen anymore [covered their ears]. 12 They made their hearts ·as hard as rock [like flint] and would not listen to the ·teachings [law; L Torah] of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. And they would not hear the words he sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] became very angry.
13 “‘When I called to them, they would not listen. So when they called to me, I would not listen,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 14 ‘I scattered them like a ·hurricane [whirlwind] ·to other countries [among all the nations] they did not know. This good land was left so ·ruined behind them [desolate] that no one ·could live there [or traveled through it]. They had made the ·desired [pleasant] land ·a ruin [desolate; a wasteland].’”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.