Zechariah 7
1 And it comes to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king, a word of YHWH has been to Zechariah, in the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu.
And it happened, in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev.
2 And Beth-El sends Sherezer and Regem-Melech, and its men, to appease the face of YHWH,
And Sharezer and Regemmelech, and the men who were with them, sent to the house of God, to entreat the face of the Lord,
3 speaking to the priests who [are] at the house of YHWH of Hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Do I weep in the fifth month—being separated—as I have done these so many years?”
to speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and to the prophets, saying: “Must there be weeping with me in the fifth month, and must I sanctify myself, as I have now done for many years?”
4 And there is a word of YHWH of Hosts to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:
5 “Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying,
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: Although you may have fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years, did you indeed keep a fast unto me?
6 When you fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh [months]—even these seventy years—did you keep the fast [to] Me? And when you eat, and when you drink, is it not you who are eating, and you who are drinking?
And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves, and drink only for yourselves?
7 Are [these] not the words that YHWH proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets, in Jerusalem’s being inhabited, and [in] safety, and its cities around it, and the south and the plain—abiding?”
Are not these the words that the Lord has spoken by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was still inhabited, so that it would prosper, itself and the cities around it, and those inhabitants towards the South and in the plains?
8 And there is a word of YHWH to Zechariah, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying:
9 “Thus spoke YHWH of Hosts, saying, Judge [with] true judgment, And do kindness and mercy with one another.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge with true judgment, and act with mercy and compassion, each and every one with his brother.
10 And do not oppress widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, And you do not devise the calamity of one another in your heart.
And do not find fault with the widow, and the orphan, and the newcomer, and the poor. And let not a man consider evil in his heart towards his brother.
11 And they refuse to attend, And they give a stubborn shoulder, And their ears are made heavy against hearing.
But they were not willing to pay attention, and they turned aside their shoulder to depart, and they pressed upon their ears, so that they would not hear.
12 And their heart they have made adamant, Against hearing the Law, and the words, That YHWH of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And there is great wrath from YHWH of Hosts.
And they set their heart like the hardest stone, so that they would not hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts has sent with his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets. And so a great indignation came from Lord of hosts.
13 And it comes to pass, as He called, And they have not listened, So they call, and I do not listen,” said YHWH of Hosts.
And it happened, just as he had spoken, and they did not pay attention. So then, they shall cry out, and I will not heed, says the Lord of hosts.
14 “And I toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land has been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!”
And I dispersed them throughout all the kingdoms that they did not know. And the land was left desolate behind them, so that no one was passing through or returning. And they made the desirable land into a deserted place.
