Zechariah 7

1 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;

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.

2 When they had sent unto Beth-el Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to make entreaty before the Lord.

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

3 [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?

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?”

4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,

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

5 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?

“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?

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

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

7 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?

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?'”

8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,

The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying,

9 Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true justice, and show kindness and mercy every man to his brother;

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

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

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.'

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

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

12 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.

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.

13 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;

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.

14 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.

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.”