Zechariah 7-8

Contemporary English Version

A Question about Going without Eating

7 On the fourth day of Chislev, the ninth month of the fourth year that Darius was king of Persia,^[a] the Lord again spoke to me. ^2-3 It happened after the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer with Regem-Melech and his men to ask the priests in the Lord's temple and the prophets to pray for them. So they prayed, “Should we mourn and go without eating during the fifth month,^[b] as we have done for many years?”

^4-5 It was then that the Lord All-Powerful told me to say to everyone in the country, including the priests:

For 70 years you have gone without eating during the fifth and seventh months of the year. But did you really do it for me? ⁶ And when you eat and drink, isn't it for your own enjoyment? ⁷ My message today is the same one I commanded the earlier prophets^[c] to speak to Jerusalem and its villages when they were prosperous, and when all of Judah, including the Southern Desert and the hill country, was filled with people.

^8-9 So once again, I, the Lord All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! ¹⁰ Don't mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.”

^11-12 But everyone who heard those prophets, stubbornly refused to obey. Instead, they turned their backs on everything my Spirit^[d] had commanded the earlier prophets to preach. So I, the Lord, became angry ¹³ and said, “You people paid no attention when I called out to you, and now I'll pay no attention when you call out to me.”

¹⁴ That's why I came with a whirlwind and scattered them among foreign nations, leaving their lovely country empty of people and in ruins.^[e]

The Lord's Promises to Zion

8 The Lord All-Powerful said to me:

² I love Zion so much that her enemies make me angry. ³ I will return to Jerusalem and live there on Mount Zion. Then Jerusalem will be known as my faithful city, and Zion will be known as my holy mountain.

⁴ Very old people with walking sticks will once again sit around in Jerusalem, ⁵ while boys and girls play in the streets. ⁶ This may seem impossible for my people who are left, but it isn't impossible for me, the Lord All-Powerful. ⁷ I will save those who were taken to lands in the east and the west, ⁸ and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, faithful to bring about justice.

⁹ I am the Lord All-Powerful! So don't give up. Think about the message my prophets spoke when the foundation of my temple was laid. ¹⁰ Before that time, neither people nor animals were rewarded for their work, and no one was safe anywhere, because I had turned them against each other.

¹¹ My people, only a few of you are left, and I promise not to punish you as I did before. ¹² Instead, I will make sure that your crops are planted in peace and your vineyards are fruitful, that your fields are fertile, and the dew falls from the sky. ¹³ People of Judah and Israel, you have been a curse to the nations, but I will save you and make you a blessing to them. So don't be afraid or lose courage.

¹⁴ When your ancestors made me angry, I decided to punish you with disasters, and I didn't hold back. ¹⁵ Now you no longer need to be afraid. I have decided to treat Jerusalem and Judah with kindness. ^16 (A) But you must be truthful with each other, and in court you must give fair decisions that lead to peace. ¹⁷ Don't ever plan evil things against others or tell lies under oath. I, the Lord, hate such things.

A Time of Celebration

¹⁸ The Lord All-Powerful told me to say:

¹⁹ People of Judah, I, the Lord, demand that whenever you go without food as a way of worshiping me, it should become a time of celebration. No matter if it's the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, or the tenth month, you should have a joyful festival. So love truth and live at peace.

²⁰ I tell you that people will come here from cities everywhere. ²¹ Those of one town will go to another and say, “We're going to ask the Lord All-Powerful to treat us with kindness. Come and join us.”

²² Many people from strong nations will come to Jerusalem to worship me and to ask me to treat them with kindness. ²³ When this happens, ten people from nations with different languages will grab a Jew by his clothes and say, “Let us go with you. We've heard that God is on your side.” I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!