The Prophet Zechariah

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- Chapter 7 -

And it happened, in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev.

And Sharezer and Regemmelech, and the men who were with them, sent to the house of God, to entreat the face of the Lord,

to speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and to the prophets, saying: “Must there be weeping with me in the fifth month, and must I sanctify myself, as I have now done for many years?”(a)

And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:

Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: Although you may have fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years, did you indeed keep a fast unto me?(b)

And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves, and drink only for yourselves?

Are not these the words that the Lord has spoken by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was still inhabited, so that it would prosper, itself and the cities around it, and those inhabitants towards the South and in the plains?

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge with true judgment, and act with mercy and compassion, each and every one with his brother.

And do not find fault with the widow, and the orphan, and the newcomer, and the poor. And let not a man consider evil in his heart towards his brother.

But they were not willing to pay attention, and they turned aside their shoulder to depart, and they pressed upon their ears, so that they would not hear.

And they set their heart like the hardest stone, so that they would not hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts has sent with his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets. And so a great indignation came from Lord of hosts.

And it happened, just as he had spoken, and they did not pay attention. So then, they shall cry out, and I will not heed, says the Lord of hosts.

And I dispersed them throughout all the kingdoms that they did not know. And the land was left desolate behind them, so that no one was passing through or returning. And they made the desirable land into a deserted place.

Footnotes

(a)7:3 The fifth month:They fasted on the tenth day of the fifth month; because on that day the temple was burnt. Therefore they inquire whether they are to continue the fast, after the temple is rebuilt. See this query answered in the 19th verse of the following chapter.(Challoner)

(b)7:5 The repetition of ‘ieiunium ieiunastis’ (literally, ‘did you fast a fast’) intensifies the meaning, as in ‘did you really keep a fast unto me?’ The word ‘numquid’ implies that the answer is ‘no.’ Notice that the verbs ‘ieiunaretis, et plangeretis’ are subjunctive, which in this context indicates that there was not sufficient fasting and weeping. But in the next verse, the verbs referring to eating and drinking are indicative, not subjunctive. They were good at eating and drinking, but not so good with the fasting and weeping.(Conte)

In the fourth year of King Darius, the LORD’s word came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.

The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech and their men to entreat the LORD’s favor,

and to speak to the priests of the house of the LORD of Armies and to the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?”

Then the word of the LORD of Armies came to me, saying,

“Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?

When you eat and when you drink, don’t you eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?

Aren’t these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”

The LORD’s word came to Zechariah, saying,

“Thus has the LORD of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.

Don’t oppress the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’

But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.

Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law and the words which the LORD of Armies had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of Armies.

It has come to pass that, as he called and they refused to listen, so they will call and I will not listen,” said the LORD of Armies;

“but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”