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 Chislev.

And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, in the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu.

2 Now [they of] Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favour of the LORD,

And Beth-El sendeth Sherezer and Regem-Melech, and its men, to appease the face of Jehovah,

3 [and] to speak unto the priests of 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?

speaking unto the priests who [are] at the house of Jehovah of Hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, 'Do I weep in the fifth month — being separated — as I have done these so many years?'

4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah 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 in the seventh [month], even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

'Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying:

6 And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh [months] — even these seventy years — did ye keep the fast [to] Me — Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking?

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, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?

'Are not [these] the words that Jehovah proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets, in Jerusalem's being inhabited, and [in] safety, and its cities round about it, and the south and the plain — abiding?'

8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto Zechariah, saying:

9 Thus hath the LORD of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassion every man to his brother:

'Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: True judgment judge ye, And kindness and mercy do one with another.

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 widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart.

11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

And they refuse to attend, And they give a refractory shoulder, And their ears have made heavy against hearing.

12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by his spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore came there great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

And their heart they have made adamant, Against hearing the law, and the words, That Jehovah of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And their is great wrath from Jehovah of Hosts.

13 And it came to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear; so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said the LORD of hosts;

And it cometh to pass, as He called, And they have not hearkened, So do they call, and I do not hearken, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

14 but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

And I toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land hath been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!