A Call to Justice and Mercy
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.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
A Call to Justice and Mercy
1 It happened in the fourth year of king Darius that the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. 2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech, and their men, to entreat Yahweh’s favor, 3 and to speak to the priests of the house of Yahweh of Armies, and to the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?” 4 Then the word of Yahweh of Armies 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 in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me? 6 When you eat, and when you drink, don’t you eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? 7 Aren’t these the words which Yahweh proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”
8 The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus has Yahweh of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother. 10 Don’t oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’ 11 But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear. 12 Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Armies had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of Armies. 13 It has come to pass that, as he called, and they refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen,” said Yahweh of Armies; 14 “but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
A Call to Justice and Mercy
1 In 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 Chislev. a 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, b to plead before the LORD 3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
4 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills c were inhabited?’ ”
8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion d and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. e 12 They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.
13 And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts. 14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”
Footnotes:
1 a Chislev is the ninth month of the Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurring within the months of November and December.
2 b Or Bethel-sharezer had sent Regem-melech, along with his men,
7 c Hebrew Shephelah or lowlands ; that is, the western foothills of Judea
9 d Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion ; the range of meaning includes love , goodness , kindness , faithfulness , and mercy , as well as loyalty to a covenant .
11 e Hebrew they made their ears too heavy to hear
A Call to Justice and Mercy
1And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, in the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu. 2And Beth-El sendeth Sherezer and Regem-Melech, and its men, to appease the face of Jehovah, 3speaking unto the priests who are at the house of Jehovah of Hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, 'Do I weep in the fifth month -- being separated -- as I have done these so many years?' 4And there is a word of Jehovah of Hosts unto me, saying: 5'Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying: 6When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh months -- even these seventy years -- did ye keep the fast to Me -- Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking? 7Are not these the words that Jehovah proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets, in Jerusalem's being inhabited, and in safety, and its cities round about it, and the south and the plain -- abiding?'
8And there is a word of Jehovah unto Zechariah, saying: 9'Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: True judgment judge ye, And kindness and mercy do one with another. 10And widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart. 11And they refuse to attend, And they give a refractory shoulder, And their ears have made heavy against hearing. 12And their heart they have made adamant, Against hearing the law, and the words, That Jehovah of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And their is great wrath from Jehovah of Hosts. 13And it cometh to pass, as He called, And they have not hearkened, So do they call, and I do not hearken, Said Jehovah of Hosts. 14And I toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land hath been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!
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