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 king Darius that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, in Kislev;
2 when Bethel had sent Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to supplicate Jehovah,
When they had sent unto Beth-el Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to make entreaty before 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?
[And] to say unto the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Shall I weep in the fifth month with abstinence, as I have done already these many years?
4 And the word of Jehovah of hosts came unto me, saying,
Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto 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?
Say unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, as followeth, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], already these seventy years, did ye in anywise fast for me, yea, for me?
6 And when ye ate, and when ye drank, was it not you that were eating and drinking?
And if ye do eat, and if ye do drink, are ye not yourselves those that eat, and yourselves those that drink?
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 hath proclaimed by means of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, with her cities round about her, when [men] inhabited the south, and the lowlands?
8 And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew loving-kindness and mercies one to another,
Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true justice, and show kindness and mercy every man to 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 defraud not the widow, or the fatherless, the stranger, or the poor; and imagine not evil in your heart one against the other.
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 listen, and turned away rebelliously the shoulder, and stopped their ears, so as not to 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 their heart they rendered as an adamant, so as not to hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent through his spirit, by means of the former prophets: wherefore came a great anger from the Lord of hosts.
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 is come to pass, that as he proclaimed, and they would not hear: so had they to call, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts;
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 resolved to scatter them with a storm-wind among all the nations that they had not known; and the land was left desolate after them, without any one to pass through it forward or backward; and the pleasant land have they changed into a desert.
