Zechariah 7

1 When King Darius had been ruler for four years, on the fourth day of Kislev (which was the ninth month), the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah.

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

2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek and their men to beg before the face of Yahweh.

Now those of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Jehovah,

3 They spoke to the priests who were at the house of Yahweh of hosts and to the prophets; they said, “Should I mourn in the fifth month by means of a fast, as I have done these many years?”

and to speak to the priests of the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

4 So the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying,

Then the word of Jehovah of hosts came to me, saying,

5 “Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests and say, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, were you truly fasting for me?

Speak to 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 to me, even to me?

6 When you ate and drank, did you not eat and drink for yourselves?

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

7 Were these not the same words that Yahweh proclaimed by the mouth of the former prophets, when you still inhabited Jerusalem and the surrounding cities in prosperity and were settled in the Negev, and the foothills to the west?'”

Should ye not hear the words which Jehovah 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?

8 The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying,

And the word of Jehovah came to Zechariah, saying,

9 “Yahweh of hosts says this, 'Judge with true justice, covenant faithfulness, and mercy. Let each man do this for his brother.

Thus Jehovah of hosts has spoken, saying, Execute true justice, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.

10 About the widow and orphan, the foreigner, and the poor person—do not oppress them, and let none of you plot any harm against another in your heart.'

And do not oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor man. And let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.

11 But they refused to pay attention and set their shoulders stubbornly. They stopped up their ears so they would not hear.

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

12 They made their hearts as hard as rock so they would not hear the law or the words of Yahweh of hosts. He had sent these messages to the people by his Spirit in earlier times, by the mouth of the prophets. But the people refused to listen, so Yahweh of hosts was very angry with them.

Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which Jehovah of hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Jehovah of hosts.

13 It happened that when he called, they did not listen. In the same way,” said Yahweh of hosts, “they will call out to me, but I will not listen.

And it has come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts.

14 For I will scatter them with a whirlwind to all the nations that they have not seen, and the land will be desolate after them. For no one will pass through the land or return to it since the people have made their delightful land into a wasteland.”

But I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned. For they laid the pleasant land desolate.