Zechariah 7
1 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;
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.
2 When they had sent unto Beth-el Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to make entreaty before the Lord.
And Sarasar and Arbeseer the king and his men sent to Bethel, and [that] to propitiate the Lord,
3 [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?
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.
4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,
And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,
5 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?
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?
6 And if ye do eat, and if ye do drink, are ye not yourselves those that eat, and yourselves those that drink?
And if you eat or drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?
7 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?
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?
8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying,
9 Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true justice, and show kindness and mercy every man to his brother;
Thus says the Lord Almighty; Judge righteous judgement, and deal mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother:
10 And defraud not the widow, or the fatherless, the stranger, or the poor; and imagine not evil in your heart one against the other.
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.
11 But they refused to listen, and turned away rebelliously the shoulder, and stopped their ears, so as not to hear;
But they refused to attend, and madly turned their back, and made their ears heavy, so that they should not hear.
12 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.
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.
13 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;
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.
14 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.
And I will cast them out amongst 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.
