A Call for Justice and Mercy

Zechariah 7

1 o In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is p Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men q to entreat the favor of the Lord, 3 r saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and s the prophets, "Should I weep and t abstain in u the 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 u the fifth month and in v the seventh, for these w seventy years, x was it x for me that you fasted? 6 y And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 z Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed a by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, b with her cities around her, and the b South and the b lowland were inhabited?"

8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, c Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 d do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, e or the poor, and f let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." 11 But g they refused to pay attention h and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 1 12 i They made their hearts diamond-hard j lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent j by his Spirit through k the former prophets. l Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 m "As I 2 called, and they would not hear, m so they called, and I would not hear," says the Lord of hosts, 14 n "and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all o the nations that they had not known. p Thus the land they left was desolate, q so that no one went to and fro, r and the pleasant land was made desolate."

  1. Cross References
    Zechariah 1:1
    In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying.
    Zechariah 1:7
    On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying.
  2. Cross References
    Nehemiah 1:1
    The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital.
  3. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:21 - 22
    The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.
    1 Samuel 13:12
    I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.' So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.
    Malachi 1:9
    And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.
  4. Cross References
    Malachi 2:7
    For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
  5. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:9
    Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
    Ezra 5:1
    Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.
    Ezra 6:14
    And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
  6. Cross References
    Zechariah 12:12
    The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves.
  7. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:19
    Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
    2 Kings 25:8
    In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month - that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon - Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
  8. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:3
    Saying 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?
  9. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:25
    But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
  10. Cross References
    Zechariah 1:12
    Then the angel of the Lord said, 'O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:4 - 5
    Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.
  12. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:4 - 5
    Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.
  13. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 11:20 - 21
    When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat.
  14. Cross References
    Zechariah 1:5 - 6
    Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
  15. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:12
    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.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 17:26
    And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord.
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 17:26
    And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 17:26
    And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord.
  19. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:17
    Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
    Jeremiah 21:12
    O house of David! Thus says the Lord : "'Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of your evil deeds.'
    Micah 6:8
    He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
    Matthew 23:23
    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:23
    Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.
    Jeremiah 5:28
    They have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
    Exodus 22:21 - 22
    You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
  21. Cross References
    Proverbs 22:22
    Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate.
  22. Cross References
    Zechariah 8:17
    Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.
  23. Cross References
    Zechariah 1:4
    Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.' But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.
  24. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:29
    And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey.
  25. Cross References
    Ezekiel 11:19
    And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.
    Ezekiel 36:26
    And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
  26. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:30
    Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
  27. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:30
    Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
  28. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:7
    Were 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?
  29. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 36:16
    But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
    1 Thessalonians 2:16
    By hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved - so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has come upon them at last!
  30. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:15
    When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
    Jeremiah 11:11
    Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them.
    Proverbs 1:24 - 28
    Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded.
  31. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:15
    When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
    Jeremiah 11:11
    Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them.
    Proverbs 1:24 - 28
    Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded.
  32. Cross References
    Zechariah 2:6
    Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.
  33. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:33
    A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.
  34. Cross References
    Ezekiel 12:19
    And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it.
  35. Cross References
    Zechariah 9:8
    Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes.
    Zephaniah 3:6
    I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant.
  36. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:34
    And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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