Zechariah 7

1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in Chislev,

And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, [that] the word of the Lord came to Zacharias on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, which is Chaseleu.

2 when Bethel had sent Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to supplicate Jehovah,

And Sarasar and Arbeseer the king and his men sent to Bethel, and [that] to propitiate the Lord,

3 [and] to speak unto the priests that were in the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done now so many years?

speaking to the priests that were in the house of the Lord Almighty, and to the prophets, saying, The holy offering has come in hither in the fifth month, as it has done already many years.

4 And the word of Jehovah of hosts came unto me, saying,

And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye really fast unto me, [even] unto me?

Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying, Though you fasted or lamented in the fifth or seventh [months] (yes, behold, these seventy years) have you at all fasted to me?

6 And when ye ate, and when ye drank, was it not you that were eating and drinking?

And if you eat or drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?

7 Are not these the words that Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at peace, and her cities round about her, when the south and the lowland were inhabited?

Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round about her, and the hill country and the low country was inhabited?

8 And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying,

9 Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew loving-kindness and mercies one to another,

Thus says the Lord Almighty; Judge righteous judgment, and deal mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother:

10 and oppress not the widow and the fatherless, the stranger and the afflicted; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

and oppress not the widow, or the fatherless, or the stranger, or the poor; and let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother.

11 But they refused to hearken, and turned a rebellious shoulder, and made their ears heavy, that they should not hear.

But they refused to attend, and madly turned their back, and made their ears heavy, so that they should not hear.

12 And they made their heart [as] an adamant, that they should not hear the law, and the words that Jehovah of hosts sent by his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore was there great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.

And they made their heart disobedient, so as not to listen to my law, and the words which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the former prophets: so there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty.

13 And it came to pass, like as he called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts;

And it shall come to pass, [that] as he spoke, and they listened not, so they shall cry, and I will not listen, says the Lord Almighty.

14 and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not, and the land was desolate after them, so that no one passed through nor returned; and they laid the pleasant land desolate.

And I will cast them out among all the nations, whom they know not; and the land behind them shall be made utterly destitute of any going through or returning: yes they have made the choice land a desolation.