The LORD's word came to Zechariah:
The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other!
Don't oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; don't plan evil against each other!
But they refused to pay attention. They turned a cold shoulder and stopped listening.
They steeled their hearts against hearing the Instruction and the words that the LORD of heavenly forces sent by his spirit through the earlier prophets. As a result, the LORD of heavenly forces became enraged.
So just as he called and they didn't listen, when they called, I didn't listen, says the LORD of heavenly forces.
I scattered them throughout the nations whom they didn't know. The land was devastated behind them, with no one leaving or returning. They turned a delightful land into a wasteland.