Zec 7:9-10, 8:16-17 | JFB | STEP | 9. speaketh —implying that these precepts addressed to their ancestors were the requirements of Jehovah not merely then, but now. We must not only not hurt, but we must help our fellow men. God is pleased with such loving obedience, rather than with empty ceremonies.

Zechariah 7:9-10

9. speaketh—implying that these precepts addressed to their ancestors were the requirements of Jehovah not merely then, but now. We must not only not hurt, but we must help our fellow men. God is pleased with such loving obedience, rather than with empty ceremonies.

10. imagine evil—that is, devise evil. The Septuagint takes it, Harbor not the desire of revenge (Le 19:18). "Devise evil against one another" is simpler (Ps 36:4; Mic 2:1).

Zechariah 8:16-17

16, 17. The promised blessings are connected with obedience. God's covenanted grace will lead those truly blessed by it to holiness, not licentiousness.

truth to . . . neighbour—not that the truth should not be spoken to foreigners too; but He makes it an aggravation of their sin, that they spared not even their brethren. Besides, and above all outward ordinances (Zec 7:3), God requires truth and justice.

judgment of . . . peace—Equitable decisions tend to allay feuds and produce peace.

gates—the place where courts of judicature in the East were held.

17. all these . . . I hate—therefore ye too ought to hate them. Religion consists in conformity to God's nature, that we should love what God loves and hate what God hates.