1And 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 ; 2When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech , and their men , to pray before the LORD , 3And 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 ? 4Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying , 5Speak 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? 6And when ye did eat , and when ye did drink , did not ye eat for yourselves , and drink for yourselves ? 7Should 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 ?
God's Call to Justice and Compassion
8And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah , saying , 9Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts , saying , Execute true judgment , and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother : 10And 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 .
The Consequences of Disobedience
11But they refused to hearken , and pulled away the shoulder , and stopped their ears , that they should not hear . 12Yea, 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 . 13Therefore 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 : 14But 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 .