⁷ This is what the Lord said through the earlier prophets at the time when Jerusalem was prosperous and filled with people and when there were many people living not only in the towns around the city but also in the southern region and in the western foothills.

Disobedience, the Cause of Exile

⁸ The Lord gave this message to Zechariah: ⁹ “Long ago I gave these commands to my people: ‘You must see that justice is done, and must show kindness and mercy to one another.