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Zechariah 7-10
The Message
Zechariah 7-10
The Message
“You’re Interested in Religion, I’m Interested in People”
7 On the fourth day of the ninth month, in the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, God’s Message again came to Zechariah.
2-3 The town of Bethel had sent a delegation headed by Sarezer and Regem-Melech to pray for God’s blessing and to confer with the priests of the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and also with the prophets. They posed this question: “Should we plan for a day of mourning and abstinence next August, the seventieth anniversary of Jerusalem’s fall, as we have been doing all these years?”
4-6 God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave me this Message for them, for all the people and for the priests: “When you held days of fasting every fifth and seventh month all these seventy years, were you doing it for me? And when you held feasts, was that for me? Hardly. You’re interested in religion, I’m interested in people.
7-10 “There’s nothing new to say on the subject. Don’t you still have the message of the earlier prophets from the time when Jerusalem was still a thriving, bustling city and the outlying countryside, the Negev and Shephelah, was populated? [This is the message that God gave Zechariah.] Well, the message hasn’t changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now:
“‘Treat one another justly.
Love your neighbors.
Be compassionate with each other.
Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor.
Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.’
11-13 “But did your ancestors listen? No, they set their jaws in defiance. They shut their ears. They steeled themselves against God’s revelation and the Spirit-filled sermons preached by the earlier prophets by order of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. And God became angry, really angry, because he told them everything plainly and they wouldn’t listen to a word he said.
13-14 “So [this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said] if they won’t listen to me, I won’t listen to them. I scattered them to the four winds. They ended up strangers wherever they were. Their ‘promised land’ became a vacant lot—weeds and tin cans and thistles. Not a sign of life. They turned a dreamland into a wasteland.”
Rebuilding the Temple
8 1-2 And then these Messages from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“I am zealous for Zion—I care!
I’m angry about Zion—I’m involved!”
* * *
God’s Message:
3 “I’ve come back to Zion,
I’ve moved back to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s new names will be Truth City,
and Mountain of God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
and Mount Holiness.”
* * *
4-5 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Old men and old women will come back to Jerusalem, sit on benches on the streets and spin tales, move around safely with their canes—a good city to grow old in. And boys and girls will fill the public parks, laughing and playing—a good city to grow up in.”
* * *
6 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Do the problems of returning and rebuilding by just a few survivors seem too much? But is anything too much for me? Not if I have my say.”
* * *
7-8 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“I’ll collect my people from countries to the east and countries to the west. I’ll bring them back and move them into Jerusalem. They’ll be my people and I’ll be their God. I’ll stick with them and do right by them.”
* * *
9-10 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Get a grip on things. Hold tight, you who are listening to what I say through the preaching of the prophets. The Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies has been reestablished. The Temple is being rebuilt. We’ve come through a hard time: You worked for a pittance and were lucky to get that; the streets were dangerous; you could never let down your guard; I had turned the world into an armed camp.
11-12 “But things have changed. I’m taking the side of my core of surviving people:
Sowing and harvesting will resume,
Vines will grow grapes,
Gardens will flourish,
Dew and rain will make everything green.
12-13 “My core survivors will get everything they need—and more. You’ve gotten a reputation as a bad-news people, you people of Judah and Israel, but I’m coming to save you. From now on, you’re the good-news people. Don’t be afraid. Keep a firm grip on what I’m doing.”
Keep Your Lives Simple and Honest
14-17 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“In the same way that I decided to punish you when your ancestors made me angry, and didn’t pull my punches, at this time I’ve decided to bless Jerusalem and the country of Judah. Don’t be afraid. And now here’s what I want you to do: Tell the truth, the whole truth, when you speak. Do the right thing by one another, both personally and in your courts. Don’t cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don’t do or say what isn’t so. I hate all that stuff. Keep your lives simple and honest.” Decree of God.
* * *
18-19 Again I received a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“The days of mourning set for the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be turned into days of feasting for Judah—celebration and holiday. Embrace truth! Love peace!”
* * *
20-21 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“People and their leaders will come from all over to see what’s going on. The leaders will confer with one another: ‘Shouldn’t we try to get in on this? Get in on God’s blessings? Pray to God-of-the-Angel-Armies? What’s keeping us? Let’s go!’
22 “Lots of people, powerful nations—they’ll come to Jerusalem looking for what they can get from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, looking to get a blessing from God.”
* * *
23 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“At that time, ten men speaking a variety of languages will grab the sleeve of one Jew, hold tight, and say, ‘Let us go with you. We’ve heard that God is with you.’”
The Whole World Has Its Eyes on God
9 1-6 War Bulletin:
God’s Message challenges the country of Hadrach.
It will settle on Damascus.
The whole world has its eyes on God.
Israel isn’t the only one.
That includes Hamath at the border,
and Tyre and Sidon, clever as they think they are.
Tyre has put together quite a kingdom for herself;
she has stacked up silver like cordwood,
piled gold high as haystacks.
But God will certainly bankrupt her;
he will dump all that wealth into the ocean
and burn up what’s left in a big fire.
Ashkelon will see it and panic,
Gaza will wring its hands,
Ekron will face a dead end.
Gaza’s king will die.
Ashkelon will be emptied out,
And a villain will take over in Ashdod.
6-8 “I’ll take proud Philistia down a peg:
I’ll make him spit out his bloody spoils
and abandon his vile ways.”
What’s left will be all God’s—a core of survivors,
a family brought together in Judah—
But enemies like Ekron will go the way of the Jebusites,
into the dustbin of history.
“I will set up camp in my home country
and defend it against invaders.
Nobody is going to hurt my people ever again.
I’m keeping my eye on them.
A Humble King Riding a Donkey
9-10 “Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!
Raise your voice, Daughter Jerusalem!
Your king is coming!
a good king who makes all things right,
a humble king riding a donkey,
a mere colt of a donkey.
I’ve had it with war—no more chariots in Ephraim,
no more war horses in Jerusalem,
no more swords and spears, bows and arrows.
He will offer peace to the nations,
a peaceful rule worldwide,
from the four winds to the seven seas.
11-13 “And you, because of my blood covenant with you,
I’ll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells.
Come home, hope-filled prisoners!
This very day I’m declaring a double bonus—
everything you lost returned twice-over!
Judah is now my weapon, the bow I’ll pull,
setting Ephraim as an arrow to the string.
I’ll wake up your sons, O Zion,
to counter your sons, O Greece.
From now on
people are my swords.”
14-17 Then God will come into view,
his arrows flashing like lightning!
Master God will blast his trumpet
and set out in a whirlwind.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies will protect them—
all-out war,
The war to end all wars,
no holds barred.
Their God will save the day. He’ll rescue them.
They’ll become like sheep, gentle and soft,
Or like gemstones in a crown,
catching all the colors of the sun.
Then how they’ll shine! shimmer! glow!
the young men robust, the young women lovely!
God’s Work of Rebuilding
10 Pray to God for rain—it’s time for the spring rain—
to God, the rainmaker,
Spring thunderstorm maker,
maker of grain and barley.
2-3 “Store-bought gods babble gibberish.
Religious experts spout rubbish.
They pontificate hot air.
Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke.
And so the people wander like lost sheep,
poor lost sheep without a shepherd.
I’m furious with the so-called shepherds.
They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.”
* * *
3-5 God-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in
and take care of his flock, the people of Judah.
He’ll revive their spirits,
make them proud to be on God’s side.
God will use them in his work of rebuilding,
use them as foundations and pillars,
Use them as tools and instruments,
use them to oversee his work.
They’ll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one,
their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud,
Courageous and vigorous because God is with them,
undeterred by the world’s thugs.
* * *
6-12 “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah;
I’ll save the people of Joseph.
I know their pain and will make them good as new.
They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened.
And why? Because I am their very own God,
I’ll do what needs to be done for them.
The people of Ephraim will be famous,
their lives brimming with joy.
Their children will get in on it, too—
oh, let them feel blessed by God!
I’ll whistle and they’ll all come running.
I’ve set them free—oh, how they’ll flourish!
Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth,
they’ll remember me in the faraway places.
They’ll keep the story alive in their children,
and they will come back.
I’ll bring them back from the Egyptian west
and round them up from the Assyrian east.
I’ll bring them back to sweet Gilead,
back to leafy Lebanon.
Every square foot of land
will be marked by homecoming.
They’ll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves.
Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle.
Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare,
bully Egypt exposed as a fraud.
But my people—oh, I’ll make them strong, God-strong!
and they’ll live my way.” God says so!
* * *
Zechariah 7-10
New International Version
Zechariah 7-10
New International Version
Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah(A) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.(B) 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(C) the Lord(D) 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(E) and fast in the fifth(F) month, as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(G) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(H) months for the past seventy years,(I) was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?(J) 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets(K) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest(L) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills(M) were settled?’”(N)
8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;(O) show mercy and compassion to one another.(P) 10 Do not oppress the widow(Q) or the fatherless, the foreigner(R) or the poor.(S) Do not plot evil against each other.’(T)
11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly(U) they turned their backs(V) and covered their ears.(W) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint(X) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(Y) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.(Z)
13 “‘When I called, they did not listen;(AA) so when they called, I would not listen,’(AB) says the Lord Almighty.(AC) 14 ‘I scattered(AD) them with a whirlwind(AE) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.(AF) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.(AG)’”
The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem
8 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous(AH) for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return(AI) to Zion(AJ) and dwell in Jerusalem.(AK) Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,(AL) and the mountain(AM) of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.(AN)”
4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem,(AO) each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.(AP)”
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time,(AQ) but will it seem marvelous to me?(AR)” declares the Lord Almighty.
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.(AS) 8 I will bring them back(AT) to live(AU) in Jerusalem; they will be my people,(AV) and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.(AW)”
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong(AX) so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets(AY) said who were present when the foundation(AZ) was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages(BA) for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely(BB) because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,”(BC) declares the Lord Almighty.
12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,(BD) the ground will produce its crops,(BE) and the heavens will drop their dew.(BF) I will give all these things as an inheritance(BG) to the remnant of this people.(BH) 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse[a](BI) among the nations, so I will save(BJ) you, and you will be a blessing.[b](BK) Do not be afraid,(BL) but let your hands be strong.(BM)”
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster(BN) on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good(BO) again to Jerusalem and Judah.(BP) Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth(BQ) to each other, and render true and sound judgment(BR) in your courts;(BS) 17 do not plot evil(BT) against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.(BU) I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
18 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth,(BV) fifth,(BW) seventh(BX) and tenth(BY) months will become joyful(BZ) and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth(CA) and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat(CB) the Lord and seek(CC) the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”(CD)
23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”(CE)
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 A prophecy:(CF)
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus(CG)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord—[c]
2 and on Hamath(CH) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(CI) and Sidon,(CJ) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(CK)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(CL) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(CM)
5 Ashkelon(CN) will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end(CO) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(CP)
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(CQ)
8 But I will encamp(CR) at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.(CS)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.(CT)
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!(CU)
Shout,(CV) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,(CW)
righteous and victorious,(CX)
lowly and riding on a donkey,(CY)
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(CZ)
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.(DA)
He will proclaim peace(DB) to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River[d] to the ends of the earth.(DC)
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant(DD) with you,
I will free your prisoners(DE) from the waterless pit.(DF)
12 Return to your fortress,(DG) you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice(DH) as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow(DI)
and fill it with Ephraim.(DJ)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,(DK)
and make you like a warrior’s sword.(DL)
The Lord Will Appear
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;(DM)
his arrow will flash like lightning.(DN)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;(DO)
he will march in the storms(DP) of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield(DQ) them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.(DR)
They will drink and roar as with wine;(DS)
they will be full like a bowl(DT)
used for sprinkling[e] the corners(DU) of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day(DV)
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.(DW)
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
The Lord Will Care for Judah
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(DX) to all people,
and plants of the field(DY) to everyone.
2 The idols(DZ) speak deceitfully,
diviners(EA) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(EB) that are false,
they give comfort in vain.(EC)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(ED)
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;(EE)
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.(EF)
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,(EG)
from him the tent peg,(EH)
from him the battle bow,(EI)
from him every ruler.
5 Together they[f] will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(EJ)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(EK)
6 “I will strengthen(EL) Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion(EM) on them.(EN)
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer(EO) them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(EP)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice(EQ) in the Lord.
8 I will signal(ER) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous(ES) as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.(ET)
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.(EU)
I will bring them to Gilead(EV) and Lebanon,
and there will not be room(EW) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(EX)
Assyria’s pride(EY) will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter(EZ) will pass away.(FA)
12 I will strengthen(FB) them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,(FC)”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 8:13 That is, your name has been used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, you have been regarded as under a curse.
- Zechariah 8:13 Or and your name will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or and you will be seen as blessed
- Zechariah 9:1 Or Damascus. / For the eye of the Lord is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 9:15 Or bowl, / like
- Zechariah 10:5 Or ruler, all of them together. / 5 They
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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