Zechariah 7:1-14 Don't Oppress Widows, Fatherless, Strangers & Poor

 

Don't Oppress Widows, Fatherless, Strangers & Poor

Zechariah 7:1-14         The Book of Zechariah [in Smaller Chunks]

And the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah, & it [happened during,] the 4th day of the 9th month, even in Chisleu, [a.k.a. Chislev,] in the 4th year king Darius [ruled.]

When they had sent: Sherezer; Regem Melech; & their men to the house of God, to pray before the Lord, & to speak to the priests, & prophets, [who] were in the house of the Lord of Hosts, saying, Should I weep [during] the 5th month, separating myself, as I have done, [all] these many years?

[Deuteronomy 17:9-11 And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, & to the judge, [who] shall be [during] these days, & [inquire;] & they shall [declare to] you the judgment sentence. And you shall do according to the sentence, [that those, whom,] the Lord shall choose [from] that place shall [declare to] you.

And you shall [obey] & do according to all that they [instruct] you, [about] the sentence of the Law, [that] they shall teach you, & [about] the judgment [that] they shall tell you. You shall do [these,] & shall not [turn aside] to the right hand, nor to the left, from the sentence [that] they shall [declare] to you.]

Then, the Word of the Lord of Hosts came to me, saying, Speak to all the people of the land, & to the priests, saying, When you [have] fasted, & mourned in the 5th & 7th months, even [all] those 70 years, did you fast at all to Me, even to Me?

[Isaiah 58:4-7 [Look,] you fast for [conflicts] & [debates,] & to [wickedly strike] with the fist. You shall not fast [like] you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is [this the] fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul?

Is it to bow down his head [like] a [reed,] & to spread sackcloth & ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, & an acceptable day to the Lord? Isn't this the fast that I have chosen, to [loosen] the bands of wickedness, to [lighten] the heavy burdens, & to let the oppressed go free, [so] that you break every yoke?

Isn't it to [distribute] your bread to the hungry, [so] that you bring [in] the poor, [who] are [outcasts,] [into] your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; & that you [don't] hide yourself from your own flesh [& blood?]

And when you [ate,] & [drank,] didn't you eat & drink for yourselves? Shouldn't you hear the Words which the Lord [had] cried] [out] by the [previous] prophets, when Jerusalem & the cities [all around] her [were] inhabited & [prosperous,] when men inhabited the South & the plain? snow. [Although] they [are] red, like crimson, they shall be [white,] [like] wool.]

[Isaiah 1:15-18 And when you spread [out] your hands, I will hide [My] eyes from you. [Yes,] when you make many prayers, I won't hear. Your hands are full of [bloodshed.] Wash [yourselves] & make [yourself] clean. Put away the evil of your [actions] from [in front of My] eyes; & [stop] doing [what is:] evil.

Learn to do well. Seek [justice;] relieve the oppressed; [fairly] judge the fatherless; & plead for the widow. Now, come & let us reason together, says the Lord. [Although your sins [are like] scarlet, they shall be white as snow. [Although] they [are] red like crimson, they shall be [white,] [like] wool.]

And the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, The Lord of Hosts [speaks, this;] saying, Every man: [Carry out] true [justice] & [declare] mercy & [compassion] to his brother.

[Ezekiel 18:5-7 But if a man [is] just & [does what] is lawful & right, & [hasn't] eaten upon the mountains, & has neither lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel.

Nether [has] [he] defiled his neighbor's wife, & [hasn't] come near a woman [during] her [monthly cycle,] & hasn't oppressed any, but has restored his pledge to the debtor, & [hasn't plundered any] by violence, & has given his bread to the hungry, & [has] covered the naked with a garment.]

And [don't] oppress the: widow; fatherless; the [foreigner;] nor the poor. And let none of you imagine evil in his heart against his brother. [Psalm 72:4-5 *He shall judge the poor of the people, & He shall save the children of the needy, & shall break the oppressor in pieces. *They shall fear [respect] You, as long as the sun & moon endure, throughout all generations.]

But they refused to [pay attention,] & pulled away [their shoulders,] & [plugged] their ears, [so] that they [couldn't] hear. [Leviticus 18:5 Therefore, you shall keep My [mandates,] & My judgements, [that] if a man [does] [these,] he shall live [by] them. I Am the Lord.]

[Yes,] they made their hearts [hard] [like an immovable] stone, lest they should hear the Law, & the Words [that] the Lord of Hosts has sent [by] His Spirit, [through] the [previous] prophets. Therefore, great [anger] came from the Lord of Hosts.

[Matthew 23:37-39 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you, [who kill] the prophets, & stone [those, who] are sent to [warn] you. How often I would have gathered your children together, even [like] a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, & you would not!

[Look,] your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, You shall not see Me, [from now on until] you shall say, Blessed is He, [Who] comes in the Name of the Lord.]

Therefore, it [has happened,] that [like] He cried [out,] they wouldn't [listen,] so [when] they cried [out,] I wouldn't hear, says the Lord of Hosts. [Judges 10:13-14 [Still,] you have [abandoned] Me, & served other gods. [For this reason,] I won't deliver you [anymore.] Go & cry [out] to the gods, [that] you have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.]

But I scattered them among the nations that they [didn't] know, with a whirlwind. [Because of this,] the land was desolate after them, [so] that no man [crossed] through, nor returned [through there.] For they [have made] the pleasant land, desolate.

[Nehemiah 1:8-9 I [urge] You, remember the Word that You commanded Your servant, Moses, saying, If you transgress, I will scatter you [around,] among the nations.

But if you [return] to Me, & keep My commandments, & do them, [although] you were cast out to the [furthest parts] of heaven, [still] I will gather them from [there,] & bring them to the place that I have chosen to [put] My Name there.]

Zechariah 6:1-15 The Chariots that Come Out From Between the Brass Mountains

 

The Chariots that Come Out From Between the Brass Mountains

Zechariah 6:1-15         The Book of Zechariah [in Smaller Chunks]

And I turned & [raised my] eyes, looked up & [saw] there came 4 chariots out, from between 2 mountains. And the mountains were mountains of brass. Red horses were in the 1st chariot, & in the 2nd chariot, black horses.

[Revelation 6:4-5 And another horse that was red went out there. And power was given to him, [who] sat [on it] to take peace from the earth, [so] that they [would] kill one another. And a [large] sword was given to him.

And when He had opened the 3rd seal, I heard the 3rd [living creature] say, Come & see. And I [looked,] & [saw,] a black horse. And he, [who] sat on him had a pair of balances, [a.k.a. scales,] in his hand.]

And white horses [were] in the 3rd chariot, & grisled, [a.k.a. dappled,] & bay horses [were] in the 4th chariot. Then, I answered & said the Angel, [who] talked with me, What are these, my lord?

And the Angel answered & said to me, These are the 4 Spirits of the heavens, [who went] from standing [in front of] the Lord, & [that] go [back & forth.] [Zechariah 1:8-10 At night, I [looked] & saw a man riding upon a red horse.

And he stood among the myrtle trees that were [at] the bottom. And behind him there were red horses, [spotted,] & white. Then, I said, O my lord, what are these?

And the Angel, [who] talked with me, said to me, I will [show] you what these [are.] And the man, [who] stood among the myrtle trees answered & said, These are [those,] whom the Lord has sent to walk [back & forth,] through [out] the earth.]

The black horses, [that] are [there,] go [out] into the North country. And the white [horses,] go [out] after them. And the [dappled] [horses,] go [out] toward the South country. And the bay [horses,] went [out,] & sought to go, [so] that they might walk [back & forth,] through [out] the earth.

And he said, Get [yourself] [out from] [here,] & walk [back & forth] through [out] the earth. So, they walked [back & forth] through [out] the earth. Then, he cried [out to] me, & [spoke] to me, saying, [Look,] these, [who] go toward the North country have quieted, [a.k.a. calmed,] My Spirit in the North Country.

And the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, Take with you, [those] of them [from] captivity, even of: Heldai; Tobijah; & Jedaiah, [who have] come from Babylon, & you came the same day. And go into the house of Josiah, [Zephaniah's] son.

Then, take silver & gold, & make crowns, & [put] them upon the head of Joshua, [Josedech's] son, the high priest. And speak to him, saying, The Lord of Hosts says [this; See,] the Man, Whose Name is the BRANCH. [Isaiah 11:1-4 *And there shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, & a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

*And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the Spirit of wisdom & understanding; the Spirit of [advice & strength;] the Spirit of knowledge & the fear [respect] of the Lord.

And shall make Him of [immediate] understanding in the fear [respect] of the Lord. And He shall not judge [according] [to what] His eyes [see.] Neither [shall He] [chastise according] [to what] His ears [hear.]

But He shall judge the poor with righteousness, & [repay] the meek, [a.k.a. humble,] of the earth with equity. And He shall [strike] the earth with the rod [from] His mouth. And He shall slay the wicked with the breath [from] His lips.]

And He shall grow up [from] His place, & He shall [rebuild] the temple of the Lord. [Acts 1:6-11 Therefore, when they [had] come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, at this time, will You restore the kingdom to Israel again?

And He said to them, It isn't for you to know the times or the season, [that] the Father has put in His Own power. But you shall receive power, after The Holy Ghost, [a.k.a. The Holy Spirit, has] come upon you.

And you shall be [My] witnesses, both in Jerusalem, & all Judaea, [a.k.a. Judea,] & in Samaria & to the [furthest parts] of the earth. And when He had spoken these things, while they [watched,] a cloud received Him & He was taken up out of their sight.

And while they [steadily] looked toward heaven as He went up, [saw] 2 men stood by them in white apparel; [who] also said, You men of Galilee, why [do] you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, [Who] is taken up from you into heaven, shall [also,] come in [the same] manner, as you have seen Him go into heaven.]

*Even, He shall [rebuild] the temple of the Lord. And He shall [carry its] glory, & shall sit & rule upon His throne. And He shall be a priest upon His throne, & the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

[Hebrews 5:5-6 Also Christ [didn't] glorify Himself, to be made [a] high priest; but He, [Who] said to Him, You are My Son, today I have begotten You. [Like,] He also says in another place, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec, [a.k.a.Melchizedek.]

And the crowns shall be [for:] Helem; Tobijah; Jedaiah, & Hen, [Zephaniah's] son, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord. And [those, who] are far [away,] shall come & build in the temple of the Lord.

And you shall know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. And this shall [happen,] if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Zechariah 5:1-11 The Flying Scroll

 

The Flying Scroll

Zechariah 5:1-11         The Book of Zechariah [in Smaller Chunks]

Then, I turned & [raised] up [my] eyes, & looked, & [saw] a flying roll, [a.k.a. scroll.] And he said to me, What [do] you [see?] And I answered, I see a flying [scroll;] the length [of it] is 20 cubits, & [its width] [is] 10 cubits.

Then, he said to me, This is the curse that goes [out] over the [surface] of the whole earth. For everyone [who] steals shall be cut off, according to this side [of] [the scroll.] And everyone, [who] swears shall be cut off, according to that side [of] [the scroll.]

[Leviticus 19:11-13 You shall not steal, neither [shall you:] deal falsely, & neither [shall you] lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My Name falsely, & neither shall you [defile] the Name of your God: I AM the Lord. You shall not defraud your neighbor, & neither [shall you] rob him. The wages of him, [who] is hired, shall not [stay] with you all night, until the morning.]

The Lord of Hosts says, I will [carry] it [out] & [the curse] shall enter into the house of the thief, & into the house of him, [who] swears falsely by My Name. [Leviticus 14:43-45 And if the plague [comes] again, & [breaks] out in the house, after he [has;] taken away the stones; scraped the house, & after it is plastered; then, the priest shall come & look, & [see.]

If the plague [has] spread in the house, it is [an active] leprosy in the house. It is unclean. And he shall break down the house, the stones of it; the timber of it; & all the [mortar] of the house. And he shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place.]

And it shall remain in the midst of his house, & shall consume it with [its] timber & [its] stones. [Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers; adulterers; [those who] [swear falsely;] & those, [who] oppress the: [hired worker with] his wages; the widow, & the fatherless. And turn aside the [foreigner] from his [rights,] & [those who don't] fear [respect] Me, says the Lord of Hosts.]

Then, the Angel, [who] talked with me went [out] & said to me, Now, lift up your eyes, & see what this is that goes [out.] And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah, [a.k.a. basket for measuring,] that goes [out.]  He [also] said, This is their resemblance through [out] all the earth.

And, [look,] there was [a lid of a basket] lifted up [weighing:] a talent of lead. And [there was] a woman, [who sat] in the [middle] of the ephah, [basket.] And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast [her,] into the [middle] of the ephah, [basket.] And he [covered] the mouth [of the ephah basket, with the lid] of lead.

Then, [I] raised up [my] eyes, & looked, & [saw,] 2 women came out [of] there. And the wind was [within] their wings. For they had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the ephah, [basket,] between the earth & heaven.

[Jeremiah 8:7 [Yes,] the stork in the [heavens] knows her appointed times. And the turtle, the crane, & the swallow observe the time of their [migration;] but My people [don't] know the judgment of the Lord.]

Then, I said to the Angel, [who] talked with me, [Where are] these [carrying] the ephah, [basket?] And he said to me, To build [a] house [for it] in the land of Shinar, [a.k.a. Babylon.] And it shall be established, [a.k.a. made stable,] [it shall sit] there upon [its] own base.

[Jeremiah 29:27-28 Therefore, why haven't you now [chastised,] Jeremiah, of Anathoth, [who] makes himself a prophet to you? [For the reason that] He sent to us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long. Build [yourselves] houses & [live] in them. And plant gardens, & eat the fruit of them.]

Zechariah 4:1-14 The Olive Trees on the Right & Left Side of the Lampstand

 

The Olive Trees on the Right & Left Side of the Lampstand

Zechariah 4:1-14         The Book of Zechariah [in Smaller Chunks]

And the Angel, [who] talked with me, came again & [woke] me, [like] a man [who] is [awakened] out of his sleep. [Daniel 8:18-19 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep, [with] my face toward the ground.

But he touched me, & [stood] me upright. And he said, [Look,] I will [let] you know what shall be in the time appointed [for] the end, in the [latter times,] of the indignation.]

And [he] said to me, What [do] you [see?] And I said, I have looked & [saw an] all gold candlestick, [a.k.a. lampstand,] with a bowl upon the top of it. And [its stand had] 7 lamps [on it.] And 7 pipes, [a.k.a. glass cylinders,] to [cover] the 7 lamps, [that] are upon the top [of it.]

[Revelation 1:12-13 And I turned to see the voice, that [spoke] with me. And being turned, I saw 7 golden candlesticks, [a.k.a. lampstand.] And in the midst of the 7 candlesticks, One, [similar] to the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the [feet,] & [strapped] around the [chest] with a golden [band.]

And 2 olive trees by it, 1 upon the right side of the bowl, & the other upon the left side [of it.] [Revelation 11:3-5 And I will give power to My 2 witnesses, & they shall prophesy 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.

These are the 2 olive trees, & the 2 candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. If any man [harms] them, fire [goes] out of their mouth, & [devours] their enemies. And if any man [harms] them, he must be killed in this manner.]

So, I answered & [spoke] to the Angel, [who] talked with me, [asking,] What are these, my lord? Then, the Angel, [who] talked with men, answered & said to me, [Don't] you [know] what these [are?] And I said, No, my lord.

Then, he answered & [spoke] to me, saying, This is the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by [strength,] nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.

[Haggai 1:2-4 The Lord of Hosts [speaks this;] saying; This people say, The time [hasn't] come, the time that the Lord's house should be [rebuilt.] Then, the Word of the Lord came [through] Haggai, the prophet, saying, O you, is it time for you to dwell in your [paneled] houses, & this house lies [in ruins?]

O great mountain, who are you, [in front of] Zerubbabel? You shall become a plain, & he shall bring [out its] head stone with shouting, & crying [out,] Grace, grace [be] unto it.

[Matthew 21:42-46 *Jesus [said] to them, Didn't you ever read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same [has] become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, & it is marvelous in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, & given to a nation [producing] the fruits [of it.] *And [whoever] shall fall on this stone, shall be broken. But on [whomever] it shall fall [on,] it will grind him to powder.

And when the chief priests & Pharisees had heard His parables, they [knew] that [Jesus spoke] of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude, because they [considered] Him a prophet.]

[Also,] the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of [the Lord's] house, & his hands shall also finish it. And you shall know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day [for little] things?

For they shall rejoice & shall see the plummet [line] in the hand of Zerubbabel, with those 7 [eyes.] They are the eyes of the Lord, [that] run [back & forth] through the whole earth. Then, I answered & said to him, What are these 2 olive trees on the right side & on the left side of the candlestick?

And I [asked] again, & said to him, What [are] these 2 olive branches, [that] empty out of themselves the golden oil, through the 2 golden pipes?

[Leviticus 24:1-4 And the Lord [spoke] to Moses, saying, Command the children [people] of Israel, that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, to [make] the lamps burn continually.

[Outside] the [veil] of the Testimony, in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, Aaron shall order it from the evening [until] the morning, before the Lord continually.

It shall be a [mandate] forever [during] your generations.] He shall order the lamps [to stay lit,] upon the pure [gold] candlestick before the Lord continually.

And he answered me & said, [Don't] you know what these [are?] And I said, No, my lord. Then he said, These are the 2 anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.