And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. {came...: Heb. clothed}

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. {yet...: or, is yet spoken of}

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing {that which was} evil in the sight of the LORD. {from...: Heb. from mouth to mouth}

And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.

And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. {common...: Heb. sons of the people}

From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. {blood: Heb. bloods}

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than {that of} Abel. {covenant: or, testament}

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen {it}.

Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. {secret...: Heb. digging}

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. {message: or, commandment}

For the sins of her prophets, {and} the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,

In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye {are}: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. {the land cannot...: Heb. there can be no expiation for the land}

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than {that of} Abel. {covenant: or, testament}

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. {yet...: or, is yet spoken of}

From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God {am} a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth {generation} of them that hate me,

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

And it shall come to pass, {that} in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off {and} die; but the third shall be left therein.

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

If we let him thus alone, all {men} will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where {is} their God? {rule over: or, use a byword against}

Not as Cain, {who} was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. {came...: Heb. clothed}

Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

{If} ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

Therefore now go, lead the people unto {the place} of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. {humble: or, afflicted}

And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.

Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. {unto thy people of: Heb. in the midst, etc}

And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.

And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, {along} by the altar and the temple. {corner: Heb. shoulder}

And he brought also the brasen altar, which {was} before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD {already}, ye intend to add {more} to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and {there is} fierce wrath against Israel.

Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and {there was} none to bury {them}.

Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls. {the LORD, and the: Heb. the face of the LORD, etc}

Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah {is} exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. {full of blood: Heb. filled with, etc} {perverseness: or, wresting of judgment}

Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations. {judge: or, plead for} {bloody...: Heb. city of bloods?} {shew her: Heb. make her know}

Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum {is} therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.

By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. {blood: Heb. bloods}

For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver {them}. {deliver: Heb. make to be found}

They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out {his} vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

And when the barbarians saw the {venomous} beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.