Zechariah 7
1 And in the fourth yeere of King Darius, the worde of the Lord came vnto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth moneth, euen in Chisleu,
And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, in the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Casleu.
2 For they had sent vnto the House of God Sharezer, and Regem-melech and their men to pray before the Lord,
When Sarasar, and Rogommelech, and the men that were with him, sent to the house of God, to entreat the face of the Lord:
3 And to speake vnto the Priests, which were in the House of the Lord of hostes, and to the Prophets, saying, Should I weepe in the fift moneth, and separate my selfe as I haue done these so many yeeres?
To speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying: Must I weep in the fifth month, or must I sanctify myself as I have now done for many years?
4 Then came the word of the Lord of hostes vnto me, saying,
And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:
5 Speake vnto all the people of the land, and to the Priests, and say, When ye fasted, and mourned in the fift and seuenth moneth, euen the seuentie yeeres, did ye fast vnto me? doe I approoue it?
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: When you fasted, and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years: did you keep a fast unto me?
6 And when ye did eate, and when ye did drinke, did ye not eate for your selues, and drinke for your selues?
And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should ye not heare the wordes, which the Lord hath cryed by the ministerie of the former Prophets when Ierusalem was inhabited, and in prosperitie, and the cities thereof round about her, when the South and the plaine was inhabited?
Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem as yet was inhabited, and was wealthy, both itself and the cities round about it, and there were inhabitants towards the south, and in the plain?
8 And the worde of the Lord came vnto Zechariah, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying:
9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hostes, saying, Execute true iudgement, and shewe mercy and compassion, euery man to his brother,
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge ye true judgment, and shew ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother.
10 And oppresse not the widowe, nor the fatherles, the stranger nor the poore, and let none of you imagine euil against his brother in your heart.
And oppress not the widow, and the fatherless, and the stranger, and the poor: and let not a man devise evil in his heart against his brother.
11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their eares, that they should not heare.
But they would not hearken, and they turned away the shoulder to depart: and they stopped their ears, not to hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, least they should heare the Lawe and the wordes which the Lord of hostes sent in his spirit by the ministerie of ye former Prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hostes.
And they made their heart as the adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts sent in his spirit by the hand of the former prophets: so a great indignation came from the Lord of hosts.
13 Therefore it is come to passe, that as he cried, and they would not heare, so they cried, and I would not heare, sayth the Lord of hostes.
And it came to pass that as he spoke, and they heard not: so shall they cry, and I will not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.
14 But I scattered them among all the nations, whom they knew not: thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they layd the pleasant land waste.
And I dispersed them throughout all kingdoms, which they know not: and the land was left desolate behind them, so that no man passed through or returned: and they changed the delightful land into a wilderness.
