< Zechariah 7 >
1 The Lord sent a message to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. This was during the fourth year of king Darius' reign.
Nan katriyèm ane wa Darius la, pawòl SENYÈ a te vini a Zacharie, nan katriyèm jou nevyèm mwa a, ki se Kisleu.
2 Bethel-sharezer sent Regem-melech and his men to ask for the Lord's blessing.
Alò, vil Béthel te voye Scharetser, Réguem-Mélec avèk moun pa yo pou chache favè SENYÈ a,
3 They were to ask the priests of the Temple of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I go on mourning and fasting in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
pou li te pale ak prèt ki apatyen a lakay SENYÈ Dèzame Yo, a pwofèt yo pou di: “Èske mwen ta dwe kriye nan senkyèm mwa a, pou mete m apa, menm jan mwen te fè l pandan tout lane sa yo?”
4 The Lord Almighty sent a message to me saying,
Konsa, pawòl SENYÈ a te vin kote mwen. Li te di:
5 Tell everyone in the land and the priests, when you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and the seventh month during these seventy years, was it really me you were fasting for?
“Di a tout pèp peyi a, e a prèt yo: ‘Lè nou te fè jèn ak lamantasyon nan senkyèm jou nan setyèm mwa yo, pandan swasann-dis ane sila yo, èske se te vrèman pou Mwen ke nou te fè jèn nan?
6 And when you eat and drink, don't you eat and drink for yourselves?
Lè nou manje ak bwè, èske nou pa manje pou pwòp tèt nou, e èske nou pa bwè pou pwòp tèt nou?
7 Isn't this what the Lord told you to do through the former prophets, when Jerusalem was prosperous and inhabited, and when people were living in the Negev and the Shephelah?
Èske se pa pawòl sila yo ke SENYÈ a te pwoklame pa ansyen pwofèt yo, lè Jérusalem te gen anpil moun, e t ap pwospere ansanm ak vil ki te antoure li yo, e lè Negev ak ti kolin yo te gen moun ki t ap viv ladan yo?’”
8 The Lord Almighty sent another message to me.
Epi pawòl SENYÈ a te vin kote Zacharie. Li te di:
9 This is what the Lord says. Judge fairly and truthfully. Show mercy and kindness to one another.
“Konsa pale SENYÈ dèzame yo: ‘Ekzekite vrè jijman, e pratike ladousè ak konpasyon, chak moun anvè frè li.
10 Don't exploit those who are widowed or fatherless, foreigners or the poor. Don't think up ways of mistreating one other.
Pa oprime ni vèv, ni òfelen, ni etranje, ni malere. Ni pa kite pèsòn nan nou panse mal nan kè li, youn kont lòt.’
11 But they refused to listen. They were obstinate, turning their backs and closing their ears.
Men yo te refize koute sa. Yo te leve zepòl yo, e te bouche zòrèy yo pou yo pa tande.
12 They made their minds unreceptive, as hard as stone. They refused to listen to the law or to what the Lord Almighty told them by his Spirit through the former prophets. That's why the Lord Almighty became very angry with them.
Yo te fè kè yo di tankou silèks pou yo pa tande lalwa ak zèv ke SENYÈ dèzame yo te voye pa Lespri Li pa ansyen pwofèt yo. Akoz sa, chalè a gwo kòlè a te sòti nan SENYÈ dèzame yo.
13 So since they didn't listen when I called out to them, I wouldn't listen when they called out to me, says the Lord Almighty.
Epi menm jan Li te rele pou yo pa koute, konsa yo va rele, e Mwen p ap koute, pale SENYÈ dèzame yo.
14 With the winds of a storm I scattered them among the nations where they lived as foreigners. The land they left became so desolate that no one even traveled through it. They turned the Promised Land into a desert.
Men Mwen va gaye yo ak yon van tanpèt pami tout nasyon ke yo pa t konnen yo. Se konsa peyi a te vin dezole dèyè yo pou pèsòn moun pa t fè ale vini ladann. Paske yo te fè bèl peyi a vin dezole nèt.”