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,

In the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, on the fourth day of Chislev, the ninth month, the message of the Lord came to Zechariah.

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

The city of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men, to entreat the favour of 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 ask the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets ‘Should I continue to mourn in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done for many years?’

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

Then this message of the Lord of hosts came to me:

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?

Tell all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?

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

When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves, 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?

Wasn’t it this which the Lord proclaimed by the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, and her towns surrounding her and the Negreb and the Shephelah were inhabited?’

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

The Lord gave this message to Zechariah:

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

The Lord of hosts says, execute true judgments. Show kindness and mercy to each other.

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.

Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the resident foreigner or the poor. Let none of you devise evil against another in your hearts.

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 a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears so they wouldn’t 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.

They made their hearts as hard as stone so they wouldn’t accept the teaching and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the earlier prophets. Great was the anger of 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;

I called and they would not hear, so they call and I do not hear, says 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.

I scattered them by a whirlwind out among nations unknown to them. The land was left desolate behind them, with no one crossing or returning, for they made the pleasant land a desolation.