Zechariah 7

1 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.

And it came to pass, in the fourth year of King Darius, that the word of Jehovah came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

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

when they had sent to the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before Jehovah,

3 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?'

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

4 And there is a word of Jehovah of Hosts unto me, saying:

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

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

Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast for me, even for me?

6 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?

And when ye eat and drink, is it not ye that eat, and ye that drink?

7 '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?'

Are not these the words which Jehovah proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round about her, and when the South and the Plain were inhabited?

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

And the word of Jehovah came to Zechariah, saying,

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

Thus spake Jehovah of hosts, saying, Judge true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother.

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

And the widow, and the orphan, and the stranger, and the poor, oppress not, and meditate not evil against one another in your heart.

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

But they refused to hearken, and showed a refractory shoulder, and made their ears dull, that they might not hear;

12 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.

yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, that they might not hear the law, and the words which Jehovah of hosts sent through his spirit by the former prophets. Therefore came great anger from Jehovah of hosts.

13 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.

And as he called and they would not hear, so they called and I would not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts.

14 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!

And I scattered them as with a whirlwind among all the nations, which they knew not. And the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through, nor returned; and thus the beautiful land was made a desolation.