“Thus has the LORD of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother. 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.’Zechariah 7:9–10 · World English Bible
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Zechariah 7:8–14
The LORD’s word came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus has the LORD of Armies spoken, saying, ‘Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother. 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.’ But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear. 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. 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; “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.”
Context note · editorial
Zechariah recalls the LORD's demand for fair judgment and compassion, especially toward widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. The following account of refusal shows how seriously communal neglect is treated.
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