Zechariah 7:10 Explained

"And oppress not 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 (KJV)

Four categories of people and one instruction about the inside of your head.

Read it in context: The Book of Zechariah. Also gathered under verses about justice.

Zechariah 7:10 in context

What does Zechariah 7:10 mean?

The four named — widow, fatherless, stranger, poor — are the standard Old Testament list of people with no legal protector, and the point is that each lacked someone to argue their case. Then the verse moves indoors: 'imagine evil in your heart' names the intention before it becomes an act. Placing an interior command beside four social ones says these are the same subject, not two.

What is the context of Zechariah 7:10?

It follows directly from the previous verse, in the same reply to a question about fasting. Zechariah then adds that this is what the earlier prophets had said, and that refusing to listen to it was what brought the exile in the first place.

How do I pray Zechariah 7:10?

Take the last clause, since the first four are easier to agree with than to be caught by. Ask what you are currently imagining about someone. Then consider which of the four categories exists in your actual vicinity — the verse assumes they are nearby rather than abstract.

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