New International Reader’s Version (1998) (Biblia.com)

Treat Everyone Fairly

7 During the fourth year that Darius was king, a message came to me from the Lord. It was the fourth day of the ninth month. That’s the month of Kislev.

2The people of Bethel wanted to ask the Lord to show them his favor. So they sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their men. 3They went to the prophets and priests at the Lord’s temple. They asked them, “Should we sob and go without eating in the fifth month? That’s what we’ve done for many years.”

4Then the message came to me from the Lord who rules over all. He said, 5“Ask the priests and all of the people in the land a question for me. Say to them, ‘You sobbed and fasted in the fifth and seventh months. You did it for the past 70 years. But did you really do it for me? 6And when you were eating and drinking, weren’t you just enjoying good food for yourselves?

7“ ‘Didn’t I tell you the same thing through the earlier prophets? That was when Jerusalem and the towns around it were at rest and enjoyed success. People lived in the Negev Desert and the western hills at that time.’ ”

8Another message came to me from the Lord. 9He rules over all. He says to his people, “Treat everyone fairly. Show faithful love and tender concern to one another. 10Do not take advantage of widows. Do not mistreat children whose fathers have died. Do not crush strangers or poor people. Do not make evil plans against one another.”

11But they refused to pay attention to the Lord. They were stubborn. They turned their backs and covered up their ears. 12They made their hearts as hard as the hardest stone. They wouldn’t listen to the law. They wouldn’t pay attention to the Lord’s messages.

So the Lord who rules over all was very angry. After all, his Spirit had spoken to his people through the earlier prophets.

13“When I called, they did not listen,” says the Lord. “So when they called, I would not listen. 14I used a windstorm to scatter them among all of the nations. They were strangers there. The land they left behind became dry and empty. No one could even travel through it. That is how they turned the pleasant land into a dry and empty desert.”

	About New International Reader’s Version (1998) The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God.
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