| New King James Version | English Standard Version |
| 1Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev, | 1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. |
| 2when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the LORD, | 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD, |
| 3and to ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?” | 3saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” |
| 4Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, | 4Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me: |
| 5“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me? | 5“Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? |
| 6When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? | 6And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? |
| 7Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ” | 7Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’” |
| 8Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, | 8And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, |
| 9“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. | 9“Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, |
| 10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’ | 10do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” |
| 11“But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. | 11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. |
| 12Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. | 12They 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. |
| 13Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts. | 13“As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts, |
| 14“But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.” | 14“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
|
