memorial in the temple of the Lord .
15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord , and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.'
7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.
2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, together with their men, to entreat the Lord
3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, 'Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?'
4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me:
5 'Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?
6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?
7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?' '
8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah:
9 'This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
11 'But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears.
12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.
13 ' 'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the Lord Almighty.
14 'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.' '
8 Again the word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.'
3 This is what the Lord says: 'I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.'
4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age.
5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.'
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?' declares the Lord Almighty.
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.
8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.'
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.
10 Before that time there were no wages for man or beast. No one could go about his business safely because of his enemy, for I had turned every man against his neighbor.
11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,' declares the Lord Almighty.
12 'The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.
13 As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.'
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me,' says the Lord Almighty,
15 'so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.
16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;
17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all
