The Question of Fasting and a Call to Justice
Zechariah 7:1-14
Zec.7.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בשנת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ארבע: NUM,card,f
- לדריוש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- זכריה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בארבעה: PREP+NUM,card,m,sg
- לחדש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- התשעי: ADJ,ord,m,sg,def
- בכסלו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- Zechiah 1:1 (verbal): Same book and similar dating formula: both verses introduce a prophetic word to Zechariah with precise regnal year and month (word of the LORD coming to Zechariah).
- Haggai 1:1 (verbal): Contemporary prophetic introduction using a Darius regnal date and monthly dating; both open with 'the word of the LORD came' and situate the oracle historically in the Persian period.
- Jeremiah 25:1 (structural): Example of the common prophetic opening formula—'the word that came to [prophet] in the X year of [king]'—showing the convention of dating oracles by regnal years.
- Ezekiel 1:1 (structural): Another prophetic inauguration that uses precise chronological markers (year, month, day) to introduce a vision/oracle and locate it historically, paralleling Zechariah’s dated introduction.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev), the word of the LORD came to Zechariah.
- And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Darius that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, in Kislev.
Zec.7.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- שר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אצר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ורגם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ואנשיו: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- לחלות: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Amos 7:10-12 (thematic): Mentions the priest of Bethel (Amaziah) confronting a prophet and the local religious authority at Bethel—parallels Zech.7.2’s reference to Bethel’s priests and local religious dealings.
- 1 Kings 12:28-32 (allusion): Jeroboam establishes Bethel as an alternative worship center and appoints non‑Levitical priests—background for why persons at Bethel (e.g., Sherezer, Regem‑Melech) function as religious intermediaries.
- 2 Kings 23:15-16 (thematic): Josiah’s destruction of the altar and the high place at Bethel and removal of its practices highlights Bethel’s status as a distinct cultic center with its own priests, the situation to which Zech.7.2 refers.
- 2 Chronicles 30:1-5 (structural): Hezekiah sends letters and envoys to call the people to the LORD and to the temple—parallels the practice of sending messengers to inquire of or entreat the LORD on communal religious questions as in Zech.7.2.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the people of Bethel sent Sherezer and Regem‑melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD.
- Then the men of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem‑melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD,
Zec.7.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- אל: NEG
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cns
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- האבכה: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- בחדש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- החמשי: ADJ,ord,m,sg,def
- הנזר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כאשר: CONJ
- עשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- כמה: ADV
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Zechariah 7:4-6 (structural): Immediate divine answer to the question in v.3, challenging the people about the meaning and authenticity of their fasting and mourning.
- Zechariah 8:19 (thematic): Mentions the same fasts (fourth, fifth, seventh, tenth) and announces they will be turned into seasons of joy—continuation of the theme about the significance and future of these commemorations.
- Isaiah 58:3-7 (thematic): Condemns hypocritical fasting and defines true fasting as acts of justice and mercy—parallels God's critique of ritual mourning unaccompanied by right conduct in Zech 7.
- 2 Kings 25:8 (allusion): Reports that Nebuchadnezzar burned the house of the LORD on the seventh day of the fifth month—the historical event that the fifth-month fast commemorates.
- Jeremiah 52:12-13 (allusion): Parallel account to 2 Kings of the fall of Jerusalem in the fifth month, providing the historical background for the fast mentioned in Zech 7:3.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and to the prophets, “Should I mourn in the fifth month as I have done these many years?”
- saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and to the prophets, "Should I mourn in the fifth month—fast as I have done these many years?"
Zec.7.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Jer.1:4 (verbal): Uses the same prophetic introduction "ויהי דבר־יהוה אלי לאמר"—the standard formula announcing that YHWH is speaking to the prophet (commissioning/oracle context).
- Hag.1:1 (verbal): Haggai opens with the same kind of formula ("דבר־יהוה אל־חגי הנביא לאמר"); both texts use a dated, authoritative declaration from the LORD of hosts to a prophet.
- Zech.1:7 (structural): Within the same book Zechariah repeatedly employs the "דבר־יהוה אלי" formula to introduce visions/oracles (e.g., 1:7), showing a consistent rhetorical pattern for launching prophetic speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
- And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zec.7.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- כל: DET
- עם: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- כי: CONJ
- צמתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- וספוד: VERB,qal,inf
- בחמישי: PREP+NUM,ord,m,sg
- ובשביעי: PREP+NUM,ord,m,sg
- וזה: CONJ+PRON,dem,m,sg,abs
- שבעים: NUM,card,m,pl
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הצום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- צמתני: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 58:3-7 (thematic): Both passages critique fasting that is merely ritual or self‑serving; Zech 7:5 asks whether the fasts were truly for the Lord, echoing Isaiah's demand that fasting be accompanied by justice and right conduct.
- Zechariah 8:19 (structural): Within the same book this verse names the same fasts (including the fifth and seventh months) and promises their transformation into joy—directly related to Zech 7's inquiry about the meaning and purpose of those fasts.
- Joel 2:15-16 (thematic): Joel calls for a sacred assembly and communal fasting as the nation's response to crisis; parallels Zech 7's setting of public fasts and raises similar questions about communal ritual and its intent.
- Nehemiah 9:1-3 (structural): A post‑exilic example of the community gathering, fasting, and confessing their sins; parallels Zech 7's context of communal fasts and the theme of repentance and proper orientation toward God.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh months, was it for me that you fasted these seventy years?”
- "Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months—for seventy years—was it to me that you fasted?
Zec.7.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וכי: CONJ
- תאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,mp
- וכי: CONJ
- תשתו: VERB,qal,imperf,2,m,pl,NA
- הלוא: PART
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- האכלים: PART,qal,ptcp,act,m,pl,def
- ואתם: CONJ+PRON,2,pl
- השתים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Isaiah 58:3-7 (thematic): Direct critique of fasting observed hypocritically—God challenges the people's fasting as self-serving rather than directed to him, paralleling Zechariah's question about eating/drinking for themselves.
- Isaiah 1:11-17 (thematic): Condemns empty sacrifices and religious observance without justice and righteousness—echoes Zechariah's rebuke of ritual acts (eating/drinking/fasting) that lack true devotion to God.
- Psalm 50:8-13 (verbal): God's rhetorical questions (‘Do I eat the flesh of bulls?... If I were hungry...’) parallel Zechariah's interrogative challenge about whether the fasts and meals were meant for God or for the people themselves.
- Amos 5:21-24 (thematic): Rejection of festivals and religious observance when unjust conduct continues—like Zech.7:6, Amos emphasizes that outward worship is unacceptable without ethical faithfulness.
- Micah 6:6-8 (thematic): Rejects costly ritual offerings as substitutes for obedience and justice—parallels Zechariah's thrust that ritual eating/drinking/fasting are hollow if not accompanied by true covenantal behavior.
Alternative generated candidates
- “And when you eat and when you drink, are you not the ones who eat and drink?”
- When you eat and when you drink, are you not eating and drinking for yourselves?
Zec.7.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הלוא: PART
- את: PRT,acc
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הראשנים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- בהיות: PREP+VERB,qal,ptc,0,m,sg
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישבת: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ושלוה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועריה: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- סביבתיה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,fs
- והנגב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והשפלה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 7:25 (verbal): God says he has repeatedly sent 'all my servants the prophets' to the people — closely echoes Zech.7:7's reference to the LORD calling by the former prophets.
- Amos 3:7 (thematic): States that the LORD does nothing without revealing his counsel to his servants the prophets — thematically parallels the idea of God speaking through earlier prophets.
- Hosea 12:10 (verbal): Declares 'I have also spoken by the prophets' and 'I gave them many visions' — a verbal and thematic parallel about God's revelation through former prophets.
- 2 Chronicles 36:15–16 (verbal): Describes how God repeatedly sent messengers/prophets to Jerusalem but they were rejected — echoes Zech.7:7's reference to the LORD's prior prophetic warnings when the land was inhabited.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Were not the words that the LORD pronounced through the former prophets spoken when Jerusalem dwelt in security, when her cities around were at peace and the Negev and the Shephelah lived in their towns?”
- Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem dwelt in prosperity, with her towns round about her, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited?
Zec.7.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- זכריה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Zechariah 1:7 (verbal): Same introductory formula—'the word of the LORD came to Zechariah'—introducing a prophetic vision/oracle in the same book.
- Jeremiah 1:4 (verbal): Uses the identical prophetic formula 'the word of the LORD came to me, saying,' marking divine communication that commissions or instructs the prophet.
- Micah 1:1 (structural): Begins with 'The word of the LORD that came to Micah,' a standard prophetic book opening that parallels Zechariah's introductory oracle structure.
- Hosea 1:1 (verbal): Another prophetic-book opening—'the word of the LORD that came unto Hosea'—showing the common prophetic formula used to introduce oracles across the Hebrew prophets.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
- Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to Zechariah, saying,
Zec.7.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שפטו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- וחסד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ורחמים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Micah 6:8 (verbal): Both verses summarize God's demand as practical ethics: 'do justice' and 'love/cherish mercy' (Micah's 'do justice, love kindness' closely parallels Zech. 7:9).
- Isaiah 1:17 (thematic): Isaiah calls for seeking justice, defending the oppressed, and caring for the vulnerable—echoing Zechariah's injunction to enact true justice and show mercy and compassion.
- Amos 5:24 (thematic): Amos stresses that justice and righteousness are God's priority over ritual observance ('let justice roll on'); this mirrors Zechariah's emphasis on ethical conduct rather than mere cultic form.
- Matthew 23:23 (verbal): Jesus reproaches religious leaders for neglecting 'justice, mercy, and faithfulness,' a New Testament echo of the triad in Zech. 7:9 (justice and mercy foremost).
- Psalm 82:3 (thematic): Psalm 82's call to 'defend the weak and fatherless' and 'maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed' parallels Zechariah's charge to practice justice and compassion toward others.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgment; show steadfast love and mercy to one another.
- "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Administer true judgment; show kindness and compassion, each one toward his brother.
Zec.7.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואלמנה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויתום: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועני: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תעשקו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ורעת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- תחשבו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- בלבבכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Exodus 22:21-24 (verbal): Direct legal parallel: forbids wronging/afflicting the sojourner, widow and orphan—language and social concern closely mirror Zech 7:10.
- Deuteronomy 24:17 (verbal): Prohibits perverting justice toward the sojourner and the fatherless; echoes the same prohibition against mistreating vulnerable groups.
- Jeremiah 7:6 (verbal): Closely parallels the charge not to oppress the sojourner, the orphan and the widow within a prophetic exhortation to ethical reform.
- Isaiah 1:17 (thematic): Commands active justice—‘defend the oppressed, give justice to the fatherless, plead for the widow’—thematic reinforcement of Zecharias’ concern for the vulnerable.
- Psalm 82:3 (thematic): Calls for giving justice to the weak and the fatherless and upholding the rights of the afflicted—echoes Zech 7:10’s social-justice imperative.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the sojourner or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.”
- Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the resident alien or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
Zec.7.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וימאנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- להקשיב: VERB,qal,inf
- ויתנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כתף: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סררת: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ואזניהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
- הכבידו: VERB,piel,perf,3,m,pl
- משמוע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 6:10 (verbal): Speaks of making ears heavy/shutting eyes so people do not perceive—language closely parallels Zech.7:11's 'stopped their ears' motif.
- Jeremiah 7:24 (thematic): Describes people who 'did not listen or incline their ear' and followed a stubborn heart, echoing Zechariah's indictment of refusal to heed God's word.
- Ezekiel 3:7 (allusion): Speaks of Israel's 'hard forehead' and 'stubborn heart' and their unwillingness to listen to the prophet—similar imagery of obstinate refusal to hear.
- Deuteronomy 31:27 (verbal): God addresses Israel's 'stiff-necked' or stubborn disposition—parallel motif of bodily stubbornness (neck/shoulder) used to describe refusal to obey.
Alternative generated candidates
- But they refused to listen; they turned their shoulders, made their ears heavy from hearing, and stiffened their necks.
- But they refused to listen; they turned their shoulders, made their ears heavy, and stopped their ears from hearing.
Zec.7.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ולבם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שמיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משמוע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- התורה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ברוחו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הראשנים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- קצף: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- גדול: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מאת: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 6:9-10 (thematic): Both describe people who hear prophetic words yet are rendered incapable of understanding or repenting—God’s message meets a hardened, unresponsive people.
- Ezekiel 3:7 (verbal): Ezekiel speaks of a hard forehead and stubborn heart that will not listen to the prophet—language and idea closely parallel Zech.7:12’s depiction of refusal to hear.
- Isaiah 63:10 (allusion): Isaiah says the people ‘rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit,’ linking human resistance to the Spirit-sent prophets with divine displeasure, as Zech.7:12 does.
- Acts 7:51-52 (thematic): Stephen accuses his audience of being ‘stiff-necked’ and resisting the Holy Spirit and persecuting prophets—an NT reflection of the same prophet-ignoring, Spirit-rejecting phenomenon in Zech.7:12.
- Exodus 32:9 (verbal): God calls Israel a ‘stiff-necked people’ when they refuse his commands—ancient legal/prophetic language for hardness of heart like Zechiah’s ‘made their hearts like flint.’
Alternative generated candidates
- Their hearts became like flint, unwilling to hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets; therefore the LORD of hosts was very angry.
- Their heart became like flint against hearing the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets; therefore there was great wrath from the LORD of hosts.
Zec.7.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כאשר: CONJ
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- כן: ADV
- יקראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- אשמע: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 81:11 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language about the people refusing God's voice (“my people would not hearken to my voice”), paralleling Zech 7:13’s motif of failing to hear God’s call.
- Proverbs 1:24-25 (verbal): God’s summons and the people's refusal are phrased closely (“I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one regarded”), echoing the call-and-nonresponse dynamic in Zech 7:13.
- Isaiah 65:12 (verbal): Declares the same cause-and-effect judgment language (“when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear”), linking Israel’s failure to heed God with ensuing punishment, as in Zech 7:13.
- Jeremiah 7:13 (thematic): God recounts sending prophets who were not listened to (“I sent unto you all my servants the prophets… yet ye have not hearkened”), thematically paralleling Zechariah’s critique of persistent disobedience and ignored warnings.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it came about: when he called, they did not listen; so they called, and I would not listen, declares the LORD of hosts.
- And it came to pass: as when I called and they would not hear, so when they called, I would not hear, says the LORD of hosts.
Zec.7.14 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואסערם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעום: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl,OBJ=3,m,pl
- והארץ: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נשמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחריהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- מעבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומשב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישימו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חמדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לשמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:33 (verbal): God declares, “I will scatter you among the nations,” and speaks of the land becoming desolate as a consequence of covenant unfaithfulness—language closely reflected in Zech 7:14.
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (allusion): A covenant curse promising Israel will be scattered “from one end of the earth to the other” and the land left desolate—background law-text for prophetic declarations of exile.
- Ezekiel 36:19 (verbal): “I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries,” a near verbal parallel describing scattering and the resulting desolation/judgment.
- Jeremiah 9:16 (verbal): Jeremiah foretells that God will scatter the people among the nations and leave the land desolate as punishment—same theme and similar wording.
- 2 Kings 17:6 (thematic): Historical fulfillment: the Assyrian capture and exile of Israel (carried into Assyria) exemplifies the scattering of the people and desolation of the land described in Zech 7:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- So I scattered them among the nations they did not know; and the land they left behind became a desolation after them, and its spoil was taken — it became a desolation among the nations.”
- So I scattered them among all the nations which they had not known; the land they left behind sighed after them and became a desolation and a waste, and they made the pleasant land a desolate inheritance."
In the fourth year of King Darius the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev.
Then the men of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem‑Melech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD.
They said to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and to the prophets, "Should I mourn in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?" And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
"Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh months—for these seventy years—was it really for me that you fasted?
When you eat and when you drink, are you not eating and drinking for yourselves?
Did you pay attention to the words that the LORD proclaimed by the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem lived at ease, its towns round about her, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited? And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Administer true justice; practice kindness and mercy; let each one deal faithfully with his neighbor.
Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the sojourner or the poor; and do not devise evil against one another in your hearts. But they refused to listen; they turned their backs, stiffened their necks, and stopped their ears to hearing.
They set their hearts like flint, refusing to heed the Torah and the words that the LORD of hosts sent by his Spirit through the former prophets; and great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.
"As when I called and they would not listen, so they shall call and I will not listen, says the LORD of hosts.
Therefore I will scatter them among all the nations whom they did not know; and the land shall be left behind them a desolation, and they shall make the pleasant land a desolation for its name.