Zechariah 7:12 - Easy To Read Version They were very stubborn.\par They would not obey the law.\par The Lord All-Powerful used his Spirit\par and sent messages to his people\par through the prophets.\par But the people would not listen.\par So the Lord All-Powerful\par became very angry.\par Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition Yes, they made their hearts as an adamant stone or diamond point, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore there came great wrath from the Lord of hosts. American Standard Version (1901) Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which Jehovah of hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets: therefore there came great wrath from Jehovah of hosts. Common English Bible 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. Catholic Public Domain Version And they set their heart like the hardest stone, so that they would not hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts has sent with his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets. And so a great indignation came from Lord of hosts. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version And they made their heart as the adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts sent in his spirit by the hand of the former prophets: so a great indignation came from the Lord of hosts. |
Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. In the past Nebuchadnezzar forced Zedekiah to make a promise to be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah used God’s name and promised to be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. But Zedekiah was very stubborn and refused to change his life and come back and obey the Lord God of Israel.
But God’s people made fun of God’s prophets. They refused to listen to God’s prophets. They hated God’s messages. Finally God could not hold his anger any longer. God became angry at his people and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.
God is very wise\par and his power is very great.\par No person can fight God and not be hurt.\par
So why do you hate it when I correct you?\par Why do you ignore the things I say?\par
Pharaoh still refused to let the people go. This happened just like the Lord said it would. The king refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.
“Some of you think that you have great power—but you don’t do good things. Listen to me!
I did that because I knew\par you were stubborn.\par \{You refused to believe anything I said\}.\par You were very stubborn—\par like iron \{that does not bend\}\par and as hard as bronze.\par
Confuse the people. Make the people not able to understand the things they hear and see. If you don’t do this, then people might really understand the things they hear with their ears. The people might really understand in their minds. If they did this, then the people might come back to me and be healed (forgiven)!”
\{But I decide your future.\} And I decided that you will be killed with a sword. You will all be killed. Why? Because I called to you, and you refused to answer me! I spoke to you, and you would not listen. You did the things that I say are evil. You decided to do the things that I don’t like.”
“The sins of the people of Judah\par are written down in a place where they can’t be erased.\par Those sins were cut into stone\par with an iron pen.\par Their sins were cut into stone\par with a diamond tipped pen. {\cf2\super [134]} \par And that stone is their heart.\par Those sins were cut\par into the horns of their altars. {\cf2\super [135]} \par
But your ancestors did not obey me. They did not pay attention to me. Your ancestors were very stubborn. I punished them, but it did not do any good. They did not listen to me.
“Hezekiah was the king of Judah. And Hezekiah didn’t kill Micah. None of the people of Judah killed Micah. You know that Hezekiah respected the Lord. He wanted to please the Lord. The Lord had said he would do bad things to Judah. But Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord changed his mind. The Lord didn’t do those bad things. If we hurt Jeremiah, then we will bring many troubles on ourselves. And those troubles will be our own fault.”
Lord, I know that you want people\par to be loyal to you.\par You hit the people of Judah,\par but they did not feel any pain.\par You destroyed them,\par but they refused to learn their lesson.\par They became very stubborn.\par They refused to be sorry\par for the bad things they did.\par
So the Lord says this: “I will show my anger against this place. I will punish people and animals. I will punish the trees in the field and the crops that grow in the ground. My anger will be like a hot fire—and no person will be able to stop it.”
I will bring them together and make them like one person. I will put a new spirit {\cf2\super [98]} in them. I will take away that heart of stone, and I will put a real heart in its place.
Why? Because I want to touch their heart. I want to show them I love them, even though they left me for their filthy idols.’
I am sending you to speak to those people. But they are very stubborn. They are very hard headed. But you must speak to those people. You must say, ‘The Lord our Master says these things.’
\{God said,\} “I will also put a new spirit in you \{and change your way of thinking\}. I will take out the heart of stone from your body and give you a tender, human heart.
God used the earlier prophets to say these same things long ago. He said these things while Jerusalem was still a prosperous city filled with people. God said these things while there were still people living in the towns around Jerusalem, and in the Negev, and in the western foothills.”
Yes, the minds of these people\par (the Jews) are now closed.\par They have ears,\par but they don’t listen.\par And they refuse to see \{the truth\}.\par If their minds were not closed,\par they might see with their eyes;\par they might hear with their ears;\par they might understand with their minds.\par Then they might turn back to me and be healed.\par \i (Isaiah 6:9-10)\i0 \par
What is the seed that fell beside the path? That is like the people that hear God’s teaching, but then the devil comes and makes them stop thinking about that teaching. So those people cannot believe the teaching and be saved.
Yes, the minds of these people (the Jews) are now closed.\par They have ears, but they don’t listen.\par And they refuse to see \{the truth\}.\par If their minds were not closed,\par they might see with their eyes;\par they might hear with their ears;\par they might understand with their minds.\par Then they might turn back to me and be healed.”\par \i (Isaiah 6:9-10)\i0 \par
No! No prophecy ever came from what a man wanted to say. But people were led by the Holy Spirit {\cf2\super [5]} and spoke things from God.