Zechariah 7
1 AND it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;
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 they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,
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 which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these 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 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts 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 seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to 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 did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
And if ye do eat, and if ye do drink, are ye not yourselves those that eat, and yourselves those that drink?
7 Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
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 the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
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, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; 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 pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, 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 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord 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 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord 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 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for 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.
