Zechariah 7–8

And it came to pass ^ain 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 ^bChisleu; ²when they had sent unto ^cthe house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the Lord, ³and to speak unto ^dthe priests which were in ^cthe house of the Lord of hosts, and to ^ethe prophets, saying, Should I weep in ^fgthe fifth month, ^hseparating myself, as I have done ^lthese 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 ⁱye fasted and mourned in ^fgthe fifth and ^fkseventh month, even ^lthose seventy years, did ye at all fast ⁱunto me, even to me? ⁶And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat ^mfor yourselves, and drink ^mfor yourselves? ⁷Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and ⁿin prosperity, and ^othe cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited ^othe south and ^othe plain?

⁸And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,

⁹Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying,

^pqExecute true judgment,

And ^qshew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

¹⁰And oppress not ^rrthe widow, nor ^rrthe fatherless, ^rrthe stranger, nor ^sthe poor;

And ^tlet none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

¹¹But ^uthey refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder,

And stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

¹²Yea, ^wthey made their hearts as ^xan adamant stone, ^ylest they should hear the law,

And the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent ^yin his spirit ^yby the former prophets:

Therefore ^zcame a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.

¹³Therefore it is come to pass, that ^aas he cried, and they would not hear;

^aSo they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:

¹⁴But I ^bscattered them with a whirlwind ^camong all the nations ^dwhom they knew not:

Thus ^ethe land was desolate ^fafter them, ^gthat no man passed through nor returned:

For they laid ^hthe pleasant land desolate.

VIII.Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

²Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

^aI was jealous for Zion with great jealousy,

And I was jealous for her ^bwith great fury.

³Thus saith the Lord; ^cI am returned unto Zion,

And ^dwill dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:

And Jerusalem shall be called ^ea city of truth;

And ^fthe mountain of the Lord of hosts ^gthe holy mountain.

⁴Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

^hThere shall yet old men and old women dwell ⁱin the streets of Jerusalem,

And every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

⁵And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls

Playing in the streets thereof.

⁶Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

If it be marvellous in the eyes of ^kthe remnant of this people in these days,

^lShould it also be marvellous in my eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.

⁷Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

Behold, ^mI will save my people ⁿfrom the east country,

And ⁿfrom the west country;

⁸And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:

And ^othey shall be my people, and I will be their God,

^pIn truth and in righteousness.

⁹Thus saith the Lord of hosts; ^qLet your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of ^rthe prophets, which were in ^sthe day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. ^10ssFor before these days there was no ^thire for man, nor any hire for beast; ^uneither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. ¹¹But now I will not be unto ^kthe residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. ¹²For ^vthe seed shall be ^wprosperous; ^xthe vine shall give ^zher fruit, and ^ythe ground shall give her increase, and ^zthe heavens shall give their dew; and I will ^acause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. ¹³And it shall come to pass, that as ye were ^ba curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so ^cwill I save you, and ^dye shall be a blessing: ^efear not, but let ^fyour hands be strong. ¹⁴For thus saith the Lord of hosts; ^gAs I thought to punish you, when your fathers ^hprovoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, ⁱand I repented not: ^15gso again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: ^efear ye not. ¹⁶These are the things that ye shall do; ^jSpeak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of ^ktruth and ^kpeace ^lin your gates: ¹⁷and ^mlet none of you ⁿimagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and ^olove no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.

¹⁸And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying, ¹⁹Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of ^pthe fourth month, and the fast of ^qthe fifth, and the fast of ^rthe seventh, and the fast of ^sthe tenth, shall be to the house of Judah ^tjoy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love ^kthe truth and ^kpeace.

²⁰Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people,

And the inhabitants of many cities:

²¹And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,

^uLet us go speedily to pray before the Lord,

And to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.

²²Yea, ^vmany people and strong nations shall come

To seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,

And to pray before the Lord.

²³Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

In those days it shall come to pass, that ^wten men ^xshall take hold out ^yof all languages of the nations,

Even ^xshall take hold of ^zthe skirt of him that is a Jew, saying,

We will go with you: for we have heard ^athat God is with you.

IX.