Zacharias 7

1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, [that] the word of the Lord came to Zacharias on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, which is Chaseleu.

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 And Sarasar and Arbeseer the king and his men sent to Bethel, and [that] to propitiate the Lord,

The city of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men, to entreat the favour of the Lord,

3 speaking to the priests that were in the house of the Lord Almighty, and to the prophets, saying, The holy offering has come in hither in the fifth month, as it has done already 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 the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

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

5 Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying, Though you fasted or lamented in the fifth or seventh [months] (yes, behold, these seventy years) have you at all fasted to 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 if you eat or drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?

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

7 Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round about her, and the hill country and the low country was 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 the Lord came to Zacharias, saying,

The Lord gave this message to Zechariah:

9 Thus says the Lord Almighty; Judge righteous judgment, and deal mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother:

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

10 and oppress not the widow, or the fatherless, or the stranger, or the poor; and let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother.

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 attend, and madly turned their back, and made their ears heavy, so 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 disobedient, so as not to listen to my law, and the words which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the former prophets: so there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty.

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 shall come to pass, [that] as he spoke, and they listened not, so they shall cry, and I will not listen, says the Lord Almighty.

I called and they would not hear, so they call and I do not hear, says the Lord of hosts.

14 And I will cast them out among all the nations, whom they know not; and the land behind them shall be made utterly destitute of any going through or returning: yes they have made the choice land a desolation.

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.