Chapter 7

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;

When they had sent⁴ unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray¹⁵ before the LORD,

[And] to speak² unto the priests which [were] in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying,² Should I weep⁴ in the fifth month, separating⁹ myself, as I have done¹ these so many years?

Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,²

Speak³ unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying,² When ye fasted¹ and mourned² in the fifth and seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye at all² fast¹ unto me, [even] to me?

And when ye did eat,⁴ and when ye did drink,⁴ did not ye eat⁶ [for yourselves], and drink⁶ [for yourselves]?

[Should ye] not [hear] the words which the LORD hath cried¹ by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited⁶ and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when [men] inhabited⁶ the south and the plain?

And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,²

Thus speaketh¹ the LORD of hosts, saying,² Execute³ true judgment, and shew³ mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

And oppress⁴ not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine⁴ evil against his brother in your heart.

But they refused¹⁷ to hearken,⁵³ and pulled⁴ away⁶ the shoulder, and stopped⁵² their ears, that they should not hear.²

Yea, they made¹ their hearts [as] an adamant stone, lest they should hear² the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent¹ in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

Therefore it is come to pass, [that] as he cried,¹ and they would not hear;¹ so they cried,⁴ and I would not hear,⁴ saith¹ the LORD of hosts:

But I scattered them with a whirlwind¹⁷ among all the nations whom they knew¹ not. Thus the land was desolate⁸ after them, that no man passed through⁶ nor returned:⁶ for they laid⁴ the pleasant land desolate.