A Call for Justice and Mercy

7 oIn the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is pChislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men qto entreat the favor of the Lord, 3 rsaying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and sthe prophets, “Should I weep and tabstain in uthe fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then 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 uthe fifth month and in vthe seventh, for these wseventy years, xwas it xfor me that you fasted? 6 yAnd when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 zWere not these the words that the Lord proclaimed aby the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, bwith her cities around her, and the bSouth and the blowland were inhabited?’ ”

8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, cRender true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 ddo not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, eor the poor, and flet none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But gthey refused to pay attention hand turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.1 12 iThey made their hearts diamond-hard jlest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent jby his Spirit through kthe former prophets. lTherefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 m“As I2 called, and they would not hear, mso they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 n“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all othe nations that they had not known. pThus the land they left was desolate, qso that no one went to and fro, rand 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: sI am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: tI have returned to Zion and uwill dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, vand Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, wand the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: xOld men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: yIf it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, zshould it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, aI will save my people bfrom the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. cAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God, din faithfulness and in righteousness.”

9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: e“Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of fthe prophets who were present on gthe day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days hthere 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. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 iFor there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, jand the heavens shall give their dew. kAnd I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as lyou have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, mso will I save you, and nyou shall be a blessing. oFear not, but elet your hands be strong.”

14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: p“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, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ofear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: qSpeak the truth to one another; rrender in your gates judgments sthat are true and make for peace; 17 tdo not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ulove no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the vfourth month and the fast of the wfifth and the fast of the xseventh and the fast of the ytenth shall be to the house of Judah zseasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love atruth and peace.

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, b‘Let us go at once cto entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 bMany peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and cto entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days dten men efrom the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for fwe 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 gDamascus is its resting place.

For the Lord has an eye on mankind

and on all the tribes of Israel,1

2  hand on Hamath also, which borders on it,

iTyre and iSidon, though jthey are very wise.

3  Tyre has built herself ka rampart

and lheaped up silver like dust,

and fine gold like the mud of the streets.

4  But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions

and strike down mher power on the sea,

and nshe shall be devoured by fire.

5  oAshkelon 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  pa mixed people2 shall dwell in Ashdod,

and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.

7  I will take away qits blood from its mouth,

and rits abominations from between its teeth;

sit too shall be a remnant for our God;

it shall be like ta clan in Judah,

and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.

8  Then uI will encamp at my house as a guard,

vso that none shall march to and fro;

wno oppressor shall again march over them,

xfor now I see with my own eyes.

The Coming King of Zion

9  yRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

zBehold, ayour king is coming to you;

righteous and having salvation is he,

bhumble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10  cI will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and dthe war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

and ehe shall speak peace to the nations;

fhis rule shall be from sea to sea,

and from gthe River3 to the ends of the earth.

11  As for you also, because of hthe blood of my covenant with you,

iI will set your prisoners free from jthe waterless pit.

12  Return to your stronghold, O kprisoners of hope;

today I declare that lI will restore to you double.

13  For mI have bent Judah as my bow;

I have made Ephraim its arrow.

I will stir up your sons, O Zion,

against your sons, nO Greece,

and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

The Lord Will Save His People

14  Then the Lord will appear over them,

and ohis arrow will go forth like lightning;

pthe Lord God will sound the trumpet

and will march forth in qthe whirlwinds rof the south.

15  The Lord of hosts swill protect them,

and tthey shall devour, uand tread down the sling stones,

and vthey shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,

and be full like a bowl,

drenched wlike the corners of the altar.

16  On that day the Lord their God will save them,

as xthe flock of his people;

for ylike the jewels of a crown

they shall shine on his land.

17  zFor how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!

aGrain shall make the young men flourish,

and new wine the young women.