Zechariah 7:10

10 You must not oppress [the] widow, [the] orphan, [the] foreigner, and [the] needy. You must not devise evil in your heart {against one another}.'

Zechariah 7:10 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 7:10

And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the
stranger, nor the poor
Such as have no husband to provide for them, nor father and mother to care for them, and are in a strange land, where they have no friends or acquaintance, and are poor, and can not help themselves. Laws of this kind were frequently inculcated among the Jews; see ( Deuteronomy 24:14 Deuteronomy 24:17 ) : and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart;
thoughts of evil are sinful, and forbidden by the law of God, as well as actions, which agrees with our Lord's sense of the law, ( Matthew 5:22 Matthew 5:28 ) , see ( Leviticus 19:17 ) .

Zechariah 7:10 In-Context

8 And the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying,

9 "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Judge [with] trustworthy justice, and show steadfast love and compassion {to one another}.

10 You must not oppress [the] widow, [the] orphan, [the] foreigner, and [the] needy. You must not devise evil in your heart {against one another}.'

11 But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder and {stopped their ears from listening}.

12 {They made their hearts adamant} in order not to hear the law and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets; [therefore] great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "a man his brother"