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Zechariah

Contains visions encouraging the rebuilding of the temple and messianic prophecies.

Chapter 7

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1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

*In the fourth year of King Darius, God spoke to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, during a time called Chisleu.

2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,

*When they sent Sherezer and Regemmelech, along with their people, to the temple to pray to God.

3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

*And talk to the priests in the Lord's temple and the prophets, asking if I should cry in the fifth month, separating myself like I have done for many years.

4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

*Then, the message from God, the powerful leader, came to me, saying,

5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

*Talk to everyone and the priests, asking, During the fifth and seventh months, when you fasted and cried for 70 years, did you really do it for me?

6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

*When you ate food and drank water, didn't you do it for yourself?

7 Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?

*Why wouldn't you listen to the words the LORD shared through earlier prophets when Jerusalem was thriving and its nearby cities were also full of people, during the time when people lived in the south and the flatlands?

8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

*And God spoke to Zechariah, saying,

9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

*So says the LORD, the leader of all, "Do fair judgments and show kindness and care to everyone towards their brothers."

10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

*Don't mistreat widows, orphans, foreigners, or those with no money. Also, don't think bad things about your brother in your heart.

11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

*But they didn't listen, turned away, and wouldn't let their ears take in anything.

12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

*Yes, they hardened their hearts like a very strong stone, so they wouldn't listen to God's laws and messages sent by earlier prophets. Because of this, a fierce anger from God came down upon them.

13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:

*So, because he shouted but they didn't listen, now they shout and I won't listen, says the Lord of all armies.

14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

*But I blew a powerful wind, scattering them among many countries they didn't know. As a result, the land was empty and nobody traveled through it; it was all destroyed and uninhabited.

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* work in progress, there will be mistakes

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