Zechariah 7

1 And it came to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king, that the word of Yahweh came unto Zechariah, on the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu;

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in Chislev,

2 yea when Bethel sent Sherezer and Regemmelech, and his men, —to pacify the face of Yahweh:

when Bethel had sent Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to supplicate Jehovah,

3 to speak unto the priests that pertained to the house of Yahweh of hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, —Shall I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

[and] to speak unto the priests that were in the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done now so many years?

4 Then came the word of Yahweh of hosts unto me, saying:

And the word of Jehovah of hosts came unto me, saying,

5 Speak thou unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying, —When ye fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh, even these seventy years, did ye, really fast, unto, me?

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 those seventy years, did ye really fast unto me, [even] unto me?

6 And, when ye used to eat and when ye used to drink, was it not, of your own accord, ye did eat, and, of your own accord, ye did drink?

And when ye ate, and when ye drank, was it not you that were eating and drinking?

7 Should ye not [have been doing] the things which Yahweh, had proclaimed, by the hand of the former prophets, while yet Jerusalem was inhabited and in peace, with her cities round about her, —and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?

Are not these the words that Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at peace, and her cities round about her, when the south and the lowland were inhabited?

8 And the word of Yahweh came unto Zechariah, saying:

And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying,

9 Thus, spake Yahweh of hosts, saying, —With true justice, give ye judgment, and, lovingkindness and compassions, observe ye, one with another;

Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew loving-kindness and mercies one to another,

10 And, the widow and the fatherless, the sojourner and the humbled, do not ye oppress, —and, wickedness between one man and another, do not ye devise in your hearts.

and oppress not the widow and the fatherless, the stranger and the afflicted; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

11 Howbeit they refused to give heed, but put forth a rebellious shoulder, —and, their ears, made they hard of hearing, that they might not hear;

But they refused to hearken, and turned a rebellious shoulder, and made their ears heavy, that they should not hear.

12 and, their heart, turned they into adamant, that they might not hear the law, nor the words which Yahweh of hosts sent by his spirit, through the former prophets, —and so there came great wrath from Yahweh of hosts.

And they made their heart [as] an adamant, that they should not hear the law, and the words that Jehovah of hosts sent by his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore was there great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.

13 Therefore came it to pass that—just as he cried out and they hearkened not, so, used they to cry out, and I used not to hearken, saith Yahweh of hosts;

And it came to pass, like as he called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts;

14 But I whirled them over all the nations whom they had not known, and, the land, was made desolate after them, that none passed through and returned, —Yea they made of a delightful land—a desolation.

and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not, and the land was desolate after them, so that no one passed through nor returned; and they laid the pleasant land desolate.