Zechariah 7:10

10 and do not oppress the widow nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

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 the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

9 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion each one to his brother;

10 and do not oppress the widow nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

11 But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears that they should not hear.

12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone lest they should hear the law and the words which the LORD of the hosts has sent by his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets; therefore came great wrath from the LORD of the hosts.