A Call for Justice and Mercy
1oIn the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is pChislev. 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men qto entreat the favor of the Lord, 3rsaying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and sthe prophets, “Should I weep and tabstain in uthe fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
4Then 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 uthe fifth month and in vthe seventh, for these wseventy years, xwas it xfor me that you fasted? 6yAnd when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7zWere not these the words that the Lord proclaimed aby the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, bwith her cities around her, and the bSouth and the blowland were inhabited?’”
8And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9“Thus says the Lord of hosts, cRender true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10ddo not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, eor the poor, and flet none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11But gthey refused to pay attention hand turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.1 12iThey made their hearts diamond-hard jlest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent jby his Spirit through kthe former prophets. lTherefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13m“As I2 called, and they would not hear, mso they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14n“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all othe nations that they had not known. pThus the land they left was desolate, qso that no one went to and fro, rand the pleasant land was made desolate.”
The Prophesied Kingdom — Part One
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 36:31 • ID: 2390The Prophesied Kingdom — Part Two
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 43:38 • ID: 2391Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.