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Chiweruzo Cholungama ndi Chifundo, Osati Kusala Zakudya

Pa chaka chachinayi cha Mfumu Dariyo, pa tsiku lachinayi la Kisilevi, mwezi wachisanu ndi chinayi, Yehova anayankhula ndi Zekariya. Anthu a ku Beteli anali atatuma Sarezeri ndi Regemu-Meleki pamodzi ndi anthu awo, kuti akapemphe chifundo kwa Yehova pokafunsa kwa ansembe a ku Nyumba ya Yehova Wamphamvuzonse ndi aneneri kuti, “Kodi ine ndizilira ndi kusala zakudya pa mwezi wachisanu, monga mmene ndakhala ndikuchitira pa zaka zambiri?”

Pamenepo Yehova Wamphamvuzonse anayankhula nane kuti, “Funsa anthu onse a mʼdziko ndi ansembe kuti, ‘Pamene munkasala zakudya pa mwezi wachisanu ndi wachisanu ndi chiwiri pa zaka 70 zapitazi, kodi munkasala chifukwa cha Ine? Ndipo pamene munkadya ndi kumwa, kodi simunkachita zimenezi podzisangalatsa nokha? Kodi awa si mawu amene Yehova ankanena kudzera mwa aneneri oyamba aja pamene Yerusalemu ndi mizinda yake yozungulira anali pa mtendere ndi pa ulemerero, ndi pamene Negevi ndi ku madera akumadzulo a mʼmbali mwa phiri munali anthu?’ ”

Ndipo Yehova anayankhulanso ndi Zekariya kuti, “Yehova Wamphamvuzonse akuti, ‘Muziweruza molungama; muzichitirana chifundo ndi kumverana chisoni. 10 Musamazunze akazi amasiye kapena ana amasiye, alendo kapena osauka. Musamaganizirane zoyipa mʼmitima mwanu.’

11 “Koma makolo anu anakana kumvera uthenga umenewu; anawumitsa mtima nandifulatira, natseka makutu awo kuti asamve. 12 Anawumitsa mitima yawo ngati mwala wa sangalabwi ndipo sanamvere lamulo kapena mawu amene Yehova Wamphamvuzonse anawatumiza mwa Mzimu wake kudzera mwa aneneri oyamba aja. Kotero Yehova Wamphamvuzonse anakwiya kwambiri.

13 “ ‘Pamene ndinawayitana, iwo sanamvere; choncho pamene iwo anandiyitana, Ine sindinamverenso,’ akutero Yehova Wamphamvuzonse. 14 ‘Ndinawamwaza ndi kamvuluvulu pakati pa mitundu yonse ya anthu, kumene anali alendo. Dziko lawo linatsala litasakazidwa kwambiri kotero kuti palibe amene amabwera kapena kupitamo. Umu ndi mmene anasandutsira dziko labwino kukhala chipululu.’ ”

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah(A) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.(B) The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(C) the Lord(D) by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(E) and fast in the fifth(F) month, as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(G) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(H) months for the past seventy years,(I) was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?(J) Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets(K) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest(L) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills(M) were settled?’”(N)

And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;(O) show mercy and compassion to one another.(P) 10 Do not oppress the widow(Q) or the fatherless, the foreigner(R) or the poor.(S) Do not plot evil against each other.’(T)

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly(U) they turned their backs(V) and covered their ears.(W) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint(X) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(Y) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.(Z)

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen;(AA) so when they called, I would not listen,’(AB) says the Lord Almighty.(AC) 14 ‘I scattered(AD) them with a whirlwind(AE) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.(AF) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.(AG)’”