Zechariah 7

1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.

2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD

3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

4 Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,

5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?

6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves?

7 Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,

9 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.

10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.

12 They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.

13 And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.

14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”

1 ¶ And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, [that] the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in Chisleu;

2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,

3 [And] to speak unto the priests which [were] in the house of the LORD 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 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

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

6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat [for yourselves], and drink [for yourselves]?

7 [Should ye] not [hear] the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when [men] inhabited the south and the plain?

8 ¶ And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

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

12 Yea, they made their hearts [as] an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

13 Therefore it is come to pass, [that] as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:

14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Chisleu,

2 When Sarezer and Regem-melech and their men sent into the house of God to pray before the LORD,

3 And they told the priests that were about the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets: Must I also weep in the fifth month, and abstain, as I have done these things many years?

4 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying:

5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month these seventy years, have ye fasted unto me thus?

6 Or when ye did eat and drink, did ye not eat and drink for yourselves?

7 Is not this that the LORD preached by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited, and had abundance, and her cities round about, and men dwelt both in the south, and in the valley?

8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying:

9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Judge ye aright, and shew kindness and mercy every man to his brother;

10 And do not wrong the widows, the fatherless, the stranger, or the poor; and let no man think evil in his heart against his brother.

11 But they would not hearken, and turned their backs unto me, and hardened their ears, that they heard not,

12 And set their hearts like unto a diamond, that they should not hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts sent in his spirit by the former prophets; wherefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.

13 And it came to pass thus: As they preached, and heard not; neither would I hear when they called, saith the LORD of hosts.

14 So I have scattered them among all the nations which know them not, and the land is left desolate behind them, that no man walketh therein, nor dwelleth therein: and the noble land is made desolate.