Zechariah 7

1 And it is maad in the fourthe yeer of Darius, kyng, the word of the Lord was maad to Sacarie, in the fourthe dai of the nynthe monethe, that is Caslew.

And it came about in the fourth year of King Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month Chislev.

2 And Sarasar, and Rogumelech, and men that weren with hem, senten to the hous of the Lord, for to preye the face of the Lord;

Now they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech to make a request for grace from the Lord,

3 that thei schulden seie to prestis of the hous of the Lord of oostis, and to profetis, and speke, Whether it is to wepe to me in the fyuethe monethe, ether Y schal halowe me, as Y dide now many yeeris?

And to say to the priests of the house of the Lord of armies and to the prophets, Am I to go on weeping in the fifth month, separating myself as I have done in past years?

4 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,

Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying

5 and seide, Speke thou to al the puple of the lond, and to prestis, and seie thou, Whanne ye fastiden, and weiliden in the fyueth and seuenthe monethe, bi these seuenti yeeris, whether ye fastiden a fast to me?

Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, When you went without food and gave yourselves to grief in the fifth and the seventh months for these seventy years, did you ever do it because of me?

6 And whanne ye eeten, and drunken, whether ye eten not to you, and drunken not to you silf?

And when you are feasting and drinking, are you not doing it only for yourselves?

7 Whether wordis of profetis ben not, whiche the Lord spak in the hond of the formere profetis, whanne yit Jerusalem was enhabited, and was ful of richessis, and it, and citees therof in cumpas therof, and at the south and in feeldi place was enhabited?

Are not these the words which the Lord said to you by the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was full of people and wealth, and the towns round about her and the South and the Lowland were peopled?

8 And the word of the Lord was maad to Sacarie, and seide, The Lord of oostis saith these thingis, and spekith,

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,

9 Deme ye trewe dom, and do ye merci, and doyngis of merci, ech man with his brother.

This is what the Lord of armies has said: Let your judging be upright and done in good faith, let every man have mercy and pity for his brother:

10 And nyle ye falsli calenge a widewe, and fadirles, ether modirles, and comelyng, and pore man; and a man thenke not in his herte yuel to his brother.

Do not be hard on the widow, or the child without a father, on the man from a strange country, or on the poor; let there be no evil thought in your heart against your brother.

11 And thei wolden not `take heede, and thei turneden awei the schuldre, and yeden awei, and `maden heuy her eeris, lest thei herden.

But they would not give attention, turning their backs and stopping their ears from hearing;

12 And thei puttiden her herte as adamaunt, lest thei herden the lawe, and wordis whiche the Lord of oostis sente in his Spirit, bi the hond of the formere profetis; and greet indignacioun was maad of the Lord of oostis.

And they made their hearts like the hardest stone, so that they might not give ear to the law and the words which the Lord of armies had said by the earlier prophets: and there came great wrath from the Lord of armies.

13 And it is doon, as he spak; and as thei herden not, so thei schulen crie, and Y schal not here, seith the Lord of oostis.

And it came about that as they would not give ear to his voice, so I would not give ear to their voice, says the Lord of armies:

14 And Y scateride hem bi alle rewmes, whiche thei knewen not, and the lond is desolat fro hem; for that there was not a man goynge and turnynge ayen, and thei han put desirable lond in to desert.

But with a storm-wind I sent them in flight among all the nations of whom they had no knowledge. So the land was waste after them, so that no man went through or came back: for they had made waste the desired land.