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].’”
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
Zechariah 7
New International Reader's Version
Have Justice and Mercy
7 During the fourth year that Darius was king, a message from the Lord came to me. It was the fourth day of the ninth month. That’s the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel wanted to ask the Lord for his blessing. So they sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek and their men. 3 They went to the prophets and priests at the Lord’s temple. They asked them, “Should we mourn and go without eating in the fifth month? That’s what we’ve done for many years.”
4 Then the message came to me from the Lord who rules over all. He said, 5 “Ask the priests and all the people in the land a question for me. Say to them, ‘You mourned and fasted in the fifth and seventh months. You did it for the past 70 years. But did you really do it for me? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, weren’t you just enjoying good food for yourselves? 7 Didn’t I tell you the same thing through the earlier prophets? That was when Jerusalem and the towns around it were at rest and enjoyed success. People lived in the Negev Desert and the western hills at that time.’ ”
8 Another message from the Lord came to me. 9 Here is what the Lord who rules over all said to his people. “Treat everyone with justice. Show mercy and tender concern to one another. 10 Do not take advantage of widows. Do not mistreat children whose fathers have died. Do not be mean to outsiders or poor people. Do not make evil plans against one another.”
11 But they refused to pay attention to the Lord. They were stubborn. They turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as the hardest stone. They wouldn’t listen to the law. They wouldn’t pay attention to the Lord’s messages. So the Lord who rules over all was very angry. After all, his Spirit had spoken to his people through the earlier prophets.
13 “When I called, they did not listen,” says the Lord. “So when they called, I would not listen. 14 I used a windstorm to scatter them among all the nations. They were strangers there. The land they left behind became dry and empty. No one could even travel through it. This is how they turned the pleasant land into a dry and empty desert.”
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