Zechariah 7:8–12

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts.

And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.

The word of the Lord came to Zechariah: “The Lord of Armies says this: ‘Make fair decisions. Show faithful love and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the resident alien or the poor, and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear. They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore intense anger came from the Lord of Armies.

Then this message came to Zechariah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

“Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.

And the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Judge with trustworthy justice, and show steadfast love and compassion to one another. You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart against one another.’ But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from listening. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts.

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

Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying,

Execute true judgment,

And shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

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.

But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder,

And stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

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.