Zechariah 7-10

English Standard Version

A Call for Justice and Mercy

7 ^(A)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 ^(B)Chislev. ²Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men ^(C)to entreat the favor of the Lord, ³^(D)saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and ^(E)the prophets, “Should I weep and ^(F)abstain in ^(G)the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

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 ^(H)the fifth month and in ^(I)the seventh, for these ^(J)seventy years, ^(K)was it ^(L)for me that you fasted? ⁶^(M)And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ⁷^(N)Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed ^(O)by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, ^(P)with her cities around her, and the ^(Q)South and the ^(R)lowland were inhabited?’”

⁸And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(S)Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, ¹⁰^(T)do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, ^(U)or the poor, and ^(V)let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” ¹¹But ^(W)they refused to pay attention ^(X)and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.^[a] ¹²^(Y)They made their hearts diamond-hard ^(Z)lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent ^(AA)by his Spirit through ^(AB)the former prophets. ^(AC)Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. ¹³^(AD)“As I^[b] called, and they would not hear, ^(AE)so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, ¹⁴^(AF)“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all ^(AG)the nations that they had not known. ^(AH)Thus the land they left was desolate, ^(AI)so that no one went to and fro, ^(AJ)and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

8 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, ²“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AK)I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. ³Thus says the Lord: ^(AL)I have returned to Zion and ^(AM)will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, ^(AN)and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, ^(AO)and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. ⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AP)Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. ⁵And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. ⁶Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AQ)If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, ^(AR)should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? ⁷Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, ^(AS)I will save my people ^(AT)from the east country and from the west country, ⁸and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. ^(AU)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, ^(AV)in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

⁹Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AW)“Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of ^(AX)the prophets who were present on ^(AY)the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. ¹⁰For before those days ^(AZ)there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. ¹¹But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. ¹²^(BA)For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, ^(BB)and the heavens shall give their dew. ^(BC)And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. ¹³And as ^(BD)you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, ^(BE)so will I save you, and ^(BF)you shall be a blessing. ^(BG)Fear not, but ^(BH)let your hands be strong.”

¹⁴For thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(BI)“As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, ¹⁵so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ^(BJ)fear not. ¹⁶These are the things that you shall do: ^(BK)Speak the truth to one another; ^(BL)render in your gates judgments ^(BM)that are true and make for peace; ¹⁷^(BN)do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ^(BO)love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

¹⁸And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ¹⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the ^(BP)fourth month and the fast of the ^(BQ)fifth and the fast of the ^(BR)seventh and the fast of the ^(BS)tenth shall be to the house of Judah ^(BT)seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love ^(BU)truth and peace.

²⁰“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ²¹The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ^(BV)‘Let us go at once ^(BW)to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ ²²^(BX)Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and ^(BY)to entreat the favor of the Lord. ²³Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ^(BZ)ten men ^(CA)from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for ^(CB)we have heard that God is with you.’”

Judgment on Israel's Enemies

9 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
    and ^(CC)Damascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
    and on all the tribes of Israel,^[c]
²^(CD)and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
    ^(CE)Tyre and ^(CF)Sidon, though ^(CG)they are very wise.
³Tyre has built herself ^(CH)a rampart
    and ^(CI)heaped up silver like dust,
    and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
⁴But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
    and strike down ^(CJ)her power on the sea,
    and ^(CK)she shall be devoured by fire.

⁵^(CL)Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
    Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
    Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
    Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
⁶^(CM)a mixed people^[d] shall dwell in Ashdod,
    and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
⁷I will take away ^(CN)its blood from its mouth,
    and ^(CO)its abominations from between its teeth;
^(CP)it too shall be a remnant for our God;
    it shall be like ^(CQ)a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
⁸Then ^(CR)I will encamp at my house as a guard,
    ^(CS)so that none shall march to and fro;
^(CT)no oppressor shall again march over them,
    ^(CU)for now I see with my own eyes.

The Coming King of Zion

⁹^(CV)Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
^(CW)Behold, ^(CX)your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
^(CY)humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰^(CZ)I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
    and ^(DA)the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
    and ^(DB)he shall speak peace to the nations;
^(DC)his rule shall be from sea to sea,
    and from ^(DD)the River^[e] to the ends of the earth.
¹¹As for you also, because of ^(DE)the blood of my covenant with you,
    ^(DF)I will set your prisoners free from ^(DG)the waterless pit.
¹²Return to your stronghold, O ^(DH)prisoners of hope;
    today I declare that ^(DI)I will restore to you double.
¹³For ^(DJ)I have bent Judah as my bow;
    I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
    against your sons, ^(DK)O Greece,
    and wield you like a warrior's sword.

The Lord Will Save His People

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them,
    and ^(DL)his arrow will go forth like lightning;
^(DM)the Lord God will sound the trumpet
    and will march forth in ^(DN)the whirlwinds ^(DO)of the south.
¹⁵The Lord of hosts ^(DP)will protect them,
    and ^(DQ)they shall devour, ^(DR)and tread down the sling stones,
and ^(DS)they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
    and be full like a bowl,
    drenched ^(DT)like the corners of the altar.

¹⁶On that day the Lord their God will save them,
    as ^(DU)the flock of his people;
for ^(DV)like the jewels of a crown
    they shall shine on his land.
¹⁷^(DW)For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
    ^(DX)Grain shall make the young men flourish,
    and new wine the young women.

The Restoration for Judah and Israel

10 Ask rain ^(DY)from the Lord
    in the season of ^(DZ)the spring rain,
from the Lord ^(EA)who makes the storm clouds,
    and ^(EB)he will give them showers of rain,
    to everyone the vegetation in the field.
²For ^(EC)the household gods ^(ED)utter nonsense,
    and the diviners see lies;
^(EE)they tell false dreams
    and give empty consolation.
Therefore ^(EF)the people wander like sheep;
    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.

³^(EG)“My anger is hot against the shepherds,
    and ^(EH)I will punish the leaders;^[f]
for ^(EI)the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
⁴From him shall come ^(EJ)the cornerstone,
    from him ^(EK)the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
    from him every ruler—^(EL)all of them together.
⁵They shall be like mighty men in battle,
    ^(EM)trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they shall put to shame ^(EN)the riders on horses.

⁶^(EO)“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
    and ^(EP)I will save the house of Joseph.
^(EQ)I will bring them back ^(ER)because I have compassion on them,
    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
    for ^(ES)I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
⁷Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
    and ^(ET)their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
    their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.

⁸^(EU)“I will whistle for them and ^(EV)gather them in,
    for I have redeemed them,
    and ^(EW)they shall be as many as they were before.
⁹^(EX)Though I scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far countries ^(EY)they shall remember me,
    and with their children they shall live and return.
¹⁰^(EZ)I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
    and gather them from Assyria,
and ^(FA)I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
    ^(FB)till there is no room for them.
¹¹^(FC)He shall pass through the sea of troubles
    and strike down the waves of the sea,
    ^(FD)and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
    and ^(FE)the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
¹²^(FF)I will make them strong in the Lord,
    and ^(FG)they shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Zechariah 7:11 Hebrew and made their ears too heavy to hear
Zechariah 7:13 Hebrew he
Zechariah 9:1 Or For the eye of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, is toward the Lord
Zechariah 9:6 Or a foreign people; Hebrew a bastard
Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
Zechariah 10:3 Hebrew the male goats