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 to pass in the fourth year of king Darius that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, in Kislev;

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;

When they had sent unto Beth-el Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to make entreaty before 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 unto the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Shall I weep in the fifth month with abstinence, as I have done already these many years?

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

Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto 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 unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, as followeth, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], already these seventy years, did ye in anywise fast for me, yea, for me?

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

And if ye do eat, and if ye do drink, are ye not yourselves those that eat, and yourselves those that drink?

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 hath proclaimed by means of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, with her cities round about her, when [men] inhabited the south, and the lowlands?

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 unto Zechariah, saying,

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

Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true justice, and show kindness and mercy every man to 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.

And defraud not the widow, or the fatherless, the stranger, or the poor; and imagine not evil in your heart one against the other.

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 refused to listen, and turned away rebelliously the shoulder, and stopped their ears, so as not to hear;

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 their heart they rendered as an adamant, so as not to hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent through his spirit, by means of the former prophets: wherefore came a great anger from the Lord of hosts.

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 is come to pass, that as he proclaimed, and they would not hear: so had they to call, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts;

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.

And I resolved to scatter them with a storm-wind among all the nations that they had not known; and the land was left desolate after them, without any one to pass through it forward or backward; and the pleasant land have they changed into a desert.