Zechariah 7-9

New King James Version

Obedience Better than Fasting

7 Now 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, ²when ^[a]the people sent ^[b]Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to ^[c]the house of God, ^[d]to pray before the Lord, ³and to ^(A)ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in ^(B)the fifth month and ^[e]fast as I have done for so many years?”

⁴Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ⁵“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you ^(C)fasted and mourned in the fifth ^(D)and seventh months ^(E)during those seventy years, did you really fast ^(F)for Me—for Me? ⁶^(G)When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? ⁷Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the ^(H)former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and ^(I)the ^[f]South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”

Disobedience Resulted in Captivity

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(J)‘Execute true justice,
Show ^[g]mercy and compassion
Everyone to his brother.
¹⁰^(K)Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
^(L)Let none of you plan evil in his heart
Against his brother.’

¹¹“But they refused to heed, ^(M)shrugged^[h] their shoulders, and ^(N)stopped^[i] their ears so that they could not hear. ¹²Yes, they made their ^(O)hearts like flint, ^(P)refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. ^(Q)Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. ¹³Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so ^(R)they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts. ¹⁴“But ^(S)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.”

Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future

8 Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, ²“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(T)‘I am ^[j]zealous for Zion with great ^[k]zeal;
With great ^[l]fervor I am zealous for her.’

³“Thus says the Lord:

^(U)‘I will return to Zion,
And ^(V)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem ^(W)shall be called the City of Truth,
^(X)The Mountain of the Lord of hosts,
^(Y)The Holy Mountain.’

⁴“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(Z)‘Old men and old women shall again sit
In the streets of Jerusalem,
Each one with his staff in his hand
Because of ^[m]great age.
⁵The streets of the city
Shall be ^(AA)full of boys and girls
Playing in its streets.’

⁶“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘If it is ^[n]marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
^(AB)Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’
Says the Lord of hosts.

⁷“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, ^(AC)I will save My people from the land of the ^[o]east
And from the land of the ^[p]west;
⁸I will ^(AD)bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
^(AE)They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
^(AF)In truth and righteousness.’

⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(AG)‘Let your hands be strong,
You who have been hearing in these days
These words by the mouth of ^(AH)the prophets,
Who spoke in ^(AI)the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts,
That the temple might be built.
¹⁰For before these days
There were no ^(AJ)wages for man nor any hire for beast;
There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;
For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.

¹¹^(AK)But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.

¹²‘For^(AL) the ^[q]seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
^(AM)The ground shall give her increase,
And ^(AN)the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.
¹³And it shall come to pass
That just as you were ^(AO)a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and ^(AP)you shall be a blessing.
Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.’

¹⁴“For thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(AQ)‘Just as I determined to ^[r]punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
^(AR)‘And I would not relent,
¹⁵So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear.
¹⁶These are the things you shall ^(AS)do:
^(AT)Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
¹⁷^(AU)Let none of you think evil in ^[s]your heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”

¹⁸Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ¹⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(AV)‘The fast of the fourth month,
^(AW)The fast of the fifth,
^(AX)The fast of the seventh,
^(AY)And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be ^(AZ)joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
^(BA)Therefore love truth and peace.’

²⁰“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Peoples shall yet come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
²¹The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
^(BB)“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
²²Yes, ^(BC)many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’

²³“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men ^(BD)from every language of the nations shall ^(BE)grasp the ^[t]sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard ^(BF)that God is with you.” ’ ”

Israel Defended Against Enemies

9 The ^[u]burden of the word of the Lord
Against the land of Hadrach,
And ^(BG)Damascus its resting place
(For ^(BH)the eyes of men
And all the tribes of Israel
Are on the Lord);
²Also against ^(BI)Hamath, which borders on it,
And against ^(BJ)Tyre and ^(BK)Sidon, though they are very ^(BL)wise.

³For Tyre built herself a tower,
Heaped up silver like the dust,
And gold like the mire of the streets.
⁴Behold, ^(BM)the Lord will cast her out;
He will destroy ^(BN)her power in the sea,
And she will be devoured by fire.

⁵Ashkelon shall see it and fear;
Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;
And ^(BO)Ekron, for He dried up her expectation.
The king shall perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

⁶“A^[v] mixed race shall settle ^(BP)in Ashdod,
And I will cut off the pride of the ^(BQ)Philistines.
⁷I will take away the blood from his mouth,
And the abominations from between his teeth.
But he who remains, even he shall be for our God,
And shall be like a leader in Judah,
And Ekron like a Jebusite.
⁸^(BR)I will camp around My house
Because of the army,
Because of him who passes by and him who returns.
No more shall an oppressor pass through them,
For now I have seen with My eyes.

The Coming King^(BS)

⁹“Rejoice ^(BT)greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, ^(BU)your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰I ^(BV)will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The ^(BW)battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be ^(BX)‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

God Will Save His People

¹¹“As for you also,
Because of the blood of your covenant,
I will set your ^(BY)prisoners free from the waterless pit.
¹²Return to the stronghold,
^(BZ)You prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore ^(CA)double to you.
¹³For I have bent Judah, My bow,
Fitted the bow with Ephraim,
And raised up your sons, O Zion,
Against your sons, O Greece,
And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”

¹⁴Then the Lord will be seen over them,
And ^(CB)His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And go ^(CC)with whirlwinds from the south.
¹⁵The Lord of hosts will ^(CD)defend them;
They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine;
They shall be filled with blood like ^[w]basins,
Like the corners of the altar.
¹⁶The Lord their God will ^(CE)save them in that day,
As the flock of His people.
For ^(CF)they shall be like the ^[x]jewels of a crown,
^(CG)Lifted like a banner over His land—
¹⁷For ^(CH)how great is ^[y]its goodness
And how great its ^(CI)beauty!
^(CJ)Grain shall make the young men thrive,
And new wine the young women.

Footnotes

Zechariah 7:2 Lit. they, cf. v. 5
Zechariah 7:2 Or Sar-Ezer
Zechariah 7:2 Heb. Bethel
Zechariah 7:2 Or to entreat the favor of
Zechariah 7:3 Lit. consecrate myself
Zechariah 7:7 Heb. Negev
Zechariah 7:9 Or lovingkindness
Zechariah 7:11 Lit. gave a stubborn or rebellious shoulder
Zechariah 7:11 Lit. made their ears heavy
Zechariah 8:2 Or jealous
Zechariah 8:2 Or jealousy
Zechariah 8:2 Lit. heat or rage
Zechariah 8:4 Lit. many days
Zechariah 8:6 Or wonderful
Zechariah 8:7 Lit. rising sun
Zechariah 8:7 Lit. setting sun
Zechariah 8:12 Lit. seed of peace
Zechariah 8:14 Lit. bring calamity to you
Zechariah 8:17 Lit. his
Zechariah 8:23 Lit. wing, corner of a garment
Zechariah 9:1 oracle, prophecy
Zechariah 9:6 Lit. An illegitimate one
Zechariah 9:15 Sacrificial basins
Zechariah 9:16 Lit. stones
Zechariah 9:17 Lit. His

Luke 13

New King James Version

Repent or Perish

13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had ^[a]mingled with their sacrifices. ²And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶He also spoke this parable: ^(A)“A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it ^[b]use up the ground?’ ⁸But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹^[c]And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can ^(B)cut it down.’ ”

A Spirit of Infirmity

¹⁰Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way ^[d]raise herself up. ¹²But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your ^(C)infirmity.” ¹³^(D)And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had ^(E)healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ^(F)“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and ^(G)not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵The Lord then answered him and said, ^[e]“Hypocrite! ^(H)Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶So ought not this woman, ^(I)being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were ^(J)done by Him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(K)

¹⁸^(L)Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a ^[f]large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(M)

²⁰And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ²¹It is like ^[g]leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^(N)measures^[h] of meal till it was all leavened.”

The Narrow Way^(O)

²²^(P)And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there ^(Q)few who are saved?”

And He said to them, ²⁴^(R)“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for ^(S)many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵^(T)When once the Master of the house has risen up and ^(U)shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ^(V)‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ^(W)‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ ²⁶then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ ²⁷^(X)But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. ^(Y)Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ²⁸^(Z)There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, ^(AA)when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. ³⁰^(AB)And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

³¹^[i]On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³²And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(AC)I shall be ^[j]perfected.’ ³³Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(AD)

³⁴^(AE)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵See! ^(AF)Your house is left to you desolate; and ^[k]assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ^(AG)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”