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The Reason the Land Became Desolate

In the fourth year of King Darius,[a] the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev.[b]

The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem Melek with their men to plead for the favor of the Lord by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Armies and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me:

Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests.

When you fasted and lamented during the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you eat and drink, is it not for yourselves that you eat and drink? Weren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and when the Negev and the Shephelah[c] were inhabited?

Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah:

This is what the Lord of Armies says. Execute true justice. Each man is to show kindness and compassion to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless child, the foreigner living among you, or the poor. Make sure that none of you plan evil in your heart against your brother.

11 But they refused to pay attention. They turned a stubborn shoulder and covered their ears so that they would not hear. 12 They made their hearts like the hardest rock[d] so that they would not hear the law and the words that the Lord of Armies sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. As a result, the fierce anger from the Lord of Armies was great.

13 When I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord of Armies. 14 I scattered them with a windstorm, among all the nations which they did not know. So the land was left desolate behind them. No one traveled back and forth through it. They made the pleasant land desolate.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 7:1 That is, 518 bc
  2. Zechariah 7:1 That is, November/December
  3. Zechariah 7:7 The Negev and Shephelah are the dry southland and the western foothills of Judah.
  4. Zechariah 7:12 Perhaps diamond or flint

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

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) The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(C) the Lord(D) 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?”

Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: “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? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?(J) 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)

And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “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)’”