7 The Lord spoke to Zechariah when Darius had been king for four years. It was the fourth day of the ninth month. The name of the month was Kislev. 2 Then the people in Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their men to Jerusalem. They came to ask the Lord to help them. 3 They came to the house of the Lord Almighty to speak to the priests and to the prophets. They asked, ‘Should we cry and not eat our food in the fifth month? We have done this for many years.’ [ a ]
4 The Lord Almighty spoke to me. 5 He said, ‘Say this to all the people in this country and to the priests: “You lived in Babylon for many years. You ate no food and you were sad in the fifth month and in the seventh month. But you did not do this for me. 6 You ate and you drank. But you ate and you drank for yourselves. 7 These are the words that I, the Lord , spoke by my prophets in past years. At that time, the people in Jerusalem lived without trouble. Many rich people lived in Jerusalem. People in the Negev region in the south and in the low hills in the west also lived safely.” ’
8 The Lord spoke again to Zechariah. He said, 9 ‘The Lord Almighty has said, “Be sure that you are fair to all people. Be kind to each other. 10 Do not cheat widows or children who have no family. Do not cheat foreigners or poor people. Do not think secretly of ways to hurt each other.”
11 But the people would not listen and they turned away. They put their hands over their ears, because they did not want to hear. 12 They decided that they would not listen to God's rules or to the messages from the prophets. But the Lord Almighty had sent those messages by His Spirit. So I, the Lord Almighty, was very angry.
13 When I spoke to them, they did not listen. So when they prayed to me, I did not listen to them, says the Lord Almighty. 14 As a storm takes things away, I took my people away to strange countries. The country that they left became an empty country. Nobody lived in it. That is how they made the good country an empty country.’
7 Zechariah received a message from the Lord in the fourth year that Darius [ a ] was the king of Persia. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev). 2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and his men to ask the Lord a question. 3 They went to the prophets and to the priests at the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. They asked them this question: “For many years we have shown our sadness for the destruction of the Temple. In the fifth month of each year, we have had a special time of crying and fasting. Should we continue to do this?”
4 I received this message from the Lord All-Powerful: 5 “Tell the priests and the other people in this country this: ‘For seventy years you fasted and showed your sadness in the fifth month and in the seventh month. But was that fasting really for me? 6 And when you ate and drank, was that for me? No, it was for your own good. 7 The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing long ago. That was when Jerusalem was still a rich city filled with people and there were still people living in the surrounding towns, in the Negev, and in the western foothills.’”
8 This is the Lord ’s message to Zechariah:
9 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful said:
‘You must do what is right and fair.
You must be kind and
show mercy to each other.
10 Don’t hurt widows and orphans,
strangers, or poor people.
Don’t even think of doing bad things to each other!’”
11 But they refused to listen
and refused to do what he wanted.
They closed their ears so that they
could not hear what God said.
12 They were very stubborn
and would not obey the law.
The Lord All-Powerful used his Spirit
and sent messages to his people through the prophets.
But the people would not listen,
so the Lord All-Powerful became very angry.
13 So the Lord All-Powerful said,
“I called to them,
and they did not answer.
So now, if they call to me,
I will not answer.
14 I will bring the other nations against them like a storm.
They didn’t know those nations,
but the country will be destroyed
after those nations pass through.
This pleasant country will be destroyed.”
7 And 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;
2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the Lord ,
3 And 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?
4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,
5 Speak 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?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should 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?
8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
10 And 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.
11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
12 Yea, 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.
13 Therefore 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:
14 But 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.
7 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 ( A ) Chislev. 2 Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and [ a ] their men to [ b ] ( B ) seek the favor of the Lord , 3 speaking to the ( C ) priests who belong to the house of the Lord of armies, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the ( D ) fifth month [ c ] and fast, as I have done these many years?” 4 Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘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 drink, [ e ] do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words which the Lord ( G ) proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and ( H ) carefree along with its cities around it, and the [ f ] ( I ) Negev and the [ g ] foothills were inhabited?’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “This is what the Lord of armies has said: ‘ ( J ) Dispense true justice and practice ( K ) kindness and compassion each to his brother; 10 and ( L ) do not oppress the widow or the [ h ] orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do ( M ) not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they ( N ) refused to pay attention, and [ i ] ( O ) turned a stubborn shoulder and [ j ] ( P ) plugged their ears from hearing. 12 They also made their ( Q ) hearts as hard as ( R ) a diamond [ k ] so that they could not hear the Law and the ( S ) words which the Lord of armies had sent by His Spirit through the ( T ) former prophets; therefore great ( U ) wrath came from the Lord of armies. 13 And just as ( V ) He called and they would not listen, so ( W ) they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of armies; 14 “but I [ l ] ( X ) scattered them with a ( Y ) storm wind among all the nations whom they did not know. So the land was ( Z ) desolated behind them [ m ] so that ( AA ) no one went back and forth, since they ( AB ) made the pleasant land desolate.”
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah ( A ) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. ( B ) 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat ( C ) the Lord ( D ) 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn ( E ) and fast in the fifth ( F ) month, as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted ( G ) and mourned in the fifth and seventh ( H ) months for the past seventy years, ( I ) was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? ( J ) 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets ( K ) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest ( L ) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills ( M ) were settled?’” ( N )
8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; ( O ) show mercy and compassion to one another. ( P ) 10 Do not oppress the widow ( Q ) or the fatherless, the foreigner ( R ) or the poor. ( S ) Do not plot evil against each other.’ ( T )
11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly ( U ) they turned their backs ( V ) and covered their ears. ( W ) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint ( X ) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. ( Y ) So the Lord Almighty was very angry. ( Z )
13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; ( AA ) so when they called, I would not listen,’ ( AB ) says the Lord Almighty. ( AC ) 14 ‘I scattered ( AD ) them with a whirlwind ( AE ) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. ( AF ) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate. ( AG ) ’”
