Chapter summary

In the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of Chislev, the people of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-melech, and their men to ask the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts and the prophets whether they should continue weeping and fasting in the fifth month as they had done for many years. In response, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, asking the people and the priests if their fasting and mourning over the past seventy years, as well as their eating and drinking, were truly for Him, and reminding them of the words previously proclaimed by the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and surrounding regions were inhabited. The LORD of Hosts then instructed the people through Zechariah to administer true justice, show compassion and loving devotion, refrain from oppressing vulnerable groups like widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor, and avoid plotting evil against one another. However, the people refused to pay attention, turned a stubborn shoulder, stopped their ears, and made their hearts like flint, refusing to listen to the law or the words sent by the Spirit through the earlier prophets. Because of this rebellion, the LORD of Hosts declared that just as they would not listen when He called, He would not listen when they called, resulting in Him scattering them with a whirlwind among unfamiliar nations and leaving their pleasant land utterly desolate.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.