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 cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, in the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu.

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

And Beth-El sendeth Sherezer and Regem-Melech, and its men, to appease the face of Jehovah,

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 unto the priests who [are] at the house of Jehovah of Hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, 'Do I weep in the fifth month — being separated — as I have done these so many years?'

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

And there is a word of Jehovah 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?

'Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying:

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

When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh [months] — even these seventy years — did ye keep the fast [to] Me — Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking?

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 that Jehovah proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets, in Jerusalem's being inhabited, and [in] safety, and its cities round about it, and the south and the plain — abiding?'

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto Zechariah, saying:

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

'Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: True judgment judge ye, And kindness and mercy do one with another.

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 widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart.

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

And they refuse to attend, And they give a refractory shoulder, And their ears have made heavy against hearing.

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 have made adamant, Against hearing the law, and the words, That Jehovah of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And their is great wrath from Jehovah 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 cometh to pass, as He called, And they have not hearkened, So do they call, and I do not hearken, Said Jehovah 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 toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land hath been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!