Zechariah 7
Legacy Standard Bible
The People’s Hard Hearts
7 Now it happened that in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is (A)Chislev. 2 And the town of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and [a]their men to [b](B)entreat the favor of Yahweh, 3 speaking to the (C)priests, who belong to the house of Yahweh of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the (D)fifth month [c]and abstain, as I have done these many years?” 4 Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months [d]these (E)seventy years, was it actually for (F)Me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, [e]are you not eating for yourselves and are you not drinking for yourselves? 7 Are not these the words which Yahweh (G)called out by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and (H)at ease along with its cities around it, and the [f](I)Negev and the [g]Shephelah were inhabited?’”
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah saying, 9 “Thus has Yahweh of hosts said, ‘(J)Judge with true justice and show (K)lovingkindness and compassion each to his brother; 10 and (L)do not oppress the widow or the [h]orphan, the sojourner or the afflicted; and do (M)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they (N)refused to give heed and [i](O)turned a stubborn shoulder and [j](P)dulled their ears from hearing. 12 And they made their (Q)hearts [k](R)diamond-hard [l]so that they could not hear the law and the (S)words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the (T)former prophets; therefore great (U)wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 And it happened that just as (V)He called and they would not listen, so (W)they called and I would not listen,” says Yahweh of hosts; 14 “but I [m](X)scattered them with a (Y)storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is (Z)desolated behind them [n]so that (AA)no one was passing through and returning, for they (AB)made the pleasant land desolate.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 7:2 Lit his
- Zechariah 7:2 Lit soften the face of
- Zechariah 7:3 Or dedicating myself; lit abstaining
- Zechariah 7:5 Lit and these
- Zechariah 7:6 Lit is it not you who eat and you who drink
- Zechariah 7:7 South country
- Zechariah 7:7 Or lowland
- Zechariah 7:10 Or fatherless
- Zechariah 7:11 Lit gave
- Zechariah 7:11 Lit heavy, hardened; cf. Ex 8:15; 1 Sam 6:6
- Zechariah 7:12 Lit corundum
- Zechariah 7:12 Lit from hearing
- Zechariah 7:14 Lit stormed them away upon all
- Zechariah 7:14 Lit from passing and from returning
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
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.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 7:11 Hebrew and made their ears too heavy to hear
- Zechariah 7:13 Hebrew he
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
