1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. (Ne 1:1; Zec 1:1; Zec 1:7)2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, (1Sa 13:12; Zec 8:21; Mal 1:9)3saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” (2Ki 25:8; Ezr 5:1; Ezr 6:14; Zec 8:9; Zec 8:19; Zec 12:12; Mal 2:7)4Then 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 the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? (2Ki 25:25; Isa 58:4; Zec 1:12; Zec 7:3)6And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? (1Co 11:20)7Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’” (Jer 17:26; Zec 1:5; Zec 7:12)8And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,9“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, (Isa 1:17; Jer 21:12; Mic 6:8; Mt 23:23)10do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” (Ex 22:21; Pr 22:22; Isa 1:23; Jer 5:28; Zec 8:17)11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.[1] (Ne 9:29; Zec 1:4)12They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. (2Ch 36:16; Ne 9:30; Eze 11:19; Eze 36:26; Zec 7:7; 1Th 2:16)13“As I[2] called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, (Pr 1:24; Isa 1:15; Jer 11:11)14“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” (De 28:33; Jer 7:34; Eze 12:19; Zep 3:6; Zec 2:6; Zec 9:8)
Zechariah 7
New International Version
Justice and mercy, not fasting
1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.2The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord3by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, ‘Should I mourn and fast in the fifth 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 and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?7Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?” ’8And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah:9‘This is what the Lord Almighty said: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”11‘But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.12They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.13‘ “When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord Almighty.14“I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no-one travelled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.” ’
Zechariah 7
King James Version
1And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;2When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,3And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?4Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,5Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month , even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?6And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves , and drink for yourselves ?7Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?8And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,9Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:10And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.11But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.12Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.13Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:14But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
Zechariah 7
New International Reader’s Version
Have justice and mercy
1During 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.2The people of Bethel wanted to ask the LORD for his blessing. So they sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek and their men.3They 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.’4Then 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?6And when you were eating and drinking, weren’t you just enjoying good food for yourselves?7Didn’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.” ’8Another message from the LORD came to me.9Here is what the LORD who rules over all said to his people. ‘Treat everyone with justice. Show mercy and tender concern to one another.10Do 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.’11But they refused to pay attention to the LORD. They were stubborn. They turned their backs and covered their ears.12They 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.14I used a violent storm 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.’