Zechariah Chapter 7
King James Version (KJV)
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
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of them silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest;
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and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah;
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even he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
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And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of Jehovah.
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And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of Jehovah; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you. And
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this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Jehovah your God.
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And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah in the fourth
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day of the ninth month, even in Chislev.
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Now
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they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Jehovah,
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and to speak unto the priests of the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
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Then came the word of Jehovah of hosts unto me, saying,
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Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh
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month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
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And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in Chislev,
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when Bethel had sent Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to supplicate Jehovah,
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[and] to speak unto the priests that were in the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done now so many years?
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And the word of Jehovah of hosts came unto me, saying,
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Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye really fast unto me, [even] unto me?
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And when ye ate, and when ye drank, was it not you that were eating and drinking?
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Are not these the words that Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at peace, and her cities round about her, when the south and the lowland were inhabited?
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And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying,
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Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew loving-kindness and mercies one to another,
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and oppress not the widow and the fatherless, the stranger and the afflicted; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
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But they refused to hearken, and turned a rebellious shoulder, and made their ears heavy, that they should not hear.
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And they made their heart [as] an adamant, that they should not hear the law, and the words that Jehovah of hosts sent by his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore was there great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.
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And it came to pass, like as he called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts;
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and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not, and the land was desolate after them, so that no one passed through nor returned; and they laid the pleasant land desolate.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
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And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, [that] the word of the Lord came to Zacharias on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, which is Chaseleu.
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And Sarasar and Arbeseer the king and his men sent to Bæthel, and [that] to propitiate the Lord,
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speaking to the priests that were in the house of the Lord Almighty, and to the prophets, saying, The holy offering has come in hither in the fifth month, as it has done already many years.
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And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,
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Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying, Though ye fasted or lamented in the fifth or seventh [months] (yea, behold, these seventy years) have ye at all fasted to me?
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And if ye eat or drink, do ye not eat and drink for yourselves?
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Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round about her, and the hill country and the low country was inhabited?
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And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying,
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Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Judge righteous judgment, and deal mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother:
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and oppress not the widow, or the fatherless, or the stranger, or the poor; and let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother.
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But they refused to attend, and madly turned their back, and made their ears heavy, so that they should not hear.
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And they made their heart disobedient, so as not to hearken to my law, and the words which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the former prophets: so there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty.
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And it shall come to pass, [that] as he spoke, and they hearkened not, so they shall cry, and I will not hearken, saith the Lord Almighty.
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And I will cast them out among all the nations, whom they know not; and the land behind them shall be made utterly destitute of any going through or returning: yea they have made the choice land a desolation.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
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Et factum est in anno quarto Darii regis, factum est verbum Domini ad Zachariam, in quarta mensis noni, qui est Casleu.
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Et miserunt ad domum Dei Sarasar, et Rogommelech, et viri, qui erant cum eo ad deprecandam faciem Domini:
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ut dicerent sacerdotibus domus Domini exercituum, et prophetis loquentes: numquid flendum est mihi in quinto mense, vel sanctificare me debeo, sicut iam feci multis annis?
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Et factum est verbum Domini exercituum ad me, dicens:
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Loquere ad omnem populum terræ, et ad sacerdotes, dicens: Cum ieiunaretis, et plangeretis in quinto et septimo per hos septuaginta annos: numquid ieiunium ieiunastis mihi?
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et cum comedistis, et bibistis, numquid non vobis comedistis, et vobismetipsis bibistis?
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Numquid non sunt verba, quæ locutus est Dominus in manu prophetarum priorum, cum adhuc Ierusalem habitaretur, ut esset opulenta, ipsa et urbes in circuitu eius, et ad Austrum, et in campestribus habitaretur?
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Et factum est verbum Domini ad Zachariam, dicens:
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Hæc ait Dominus exercituum, dicens: Iudicium verum iudicate, et misericordiam, et miserationes facite, unusquisque cum fratre suo.
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Et viduam, et pupillum, et advenam, et pauperem nolite calumniari: et malum vir fratri suo non cogitet in corde suo.
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Et noluerunt attendere, et averterunt scapulam recedentem, et aures suas aggravaverunt ne audirent.
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Et cor suum posuerunt ut adamantem, ne audirent legem, et verba quæ misit Dominus exercituum in spiritu suo per manum prophetarum priorum: et facta est indignatio magna a Domino exercituum.
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Et factum est sicut locutus est, et non audierunt: sic clamabunt, et non exaudiam, dicit Dominus exercituum.
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Et dispersi eos per omnia regna, quæ nesciunt: et terra desolata est ab eis, eo quod non esset transiens et revertens: et posuerunt terram desiderabilem in desertum.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
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In the fourth year of King Darius, the LORD’s word came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
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The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech and their men to entreat the LORD’s favor,
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and to speak to the priests of the house of the LORD of Armies and to the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?”
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Then the word of the LORD of Armies came to me, saying,
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“Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
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When you eat and when you drink, don’t you eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?
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Aren’t these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”
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The LORD’s word came to Zechariah, saying,
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“Thus has the LORD of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.
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Don’t oppress the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’
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But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
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Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law and the words which the LORD of Armies had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of Armies.
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It has come to pass that, as he called and they refused to listen, so they will call and I will not listen,” said the LORD of Armies;
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“but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
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And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, in the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu.
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And Beth-El sendeth Sherezer and Regem-Melech, and its men, to appease the face of Jehovah,
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speaking unto the priests who <FI>are<Fi> at the house of Jehovah of Hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, `Do I weep in the fifth month--being separated--as I have done these so many years?'
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And there is a word of Jehovah of Hosts unto me, saying:
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`Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying:
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When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh <FI>months<Fi> --even these seventy years--did ye keep the fast <FI>to<Fi> Me--Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking?
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`Are not <FI>these<Fi> the words that Jehovah proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets, in Jerusalem's being inhabited, and <FI>in<Fi> safety, and its cities round about it, and the south and the plain--abiding?'
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And there is a word of Jehovah unto Zechariah, saying:
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`Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: True judgment judge ye, And kindness and mercy do one with another.
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And widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart.
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And they refuse to attend, And they give a refractory shoulder, And their ears have made heavy against hearing.
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And their heart they have made adamant, Against hearing the law, and the words, That Jehovah of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And their is great wrath from Jehovah of Hosts.
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And it cometh to pass, as He called, And they have not hearkened, So do they call, and I do not hearken, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
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And I toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land hath been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).