7:1 And it came to pass in the fourth year
of Darius the king, [that] the word of the Lord came to Zacharias on the
fourth [da] of the ninth month, which is Chaseleu.
7:2 And Sarasar and Arbeseer the king and his men sent to Bethel, and [that]
to propitiate the Lord,
7:3 speaking to the priests that were in the house of the Lord Almighty, and
to the prophets, saying, The holy offering has come in hither in the fifth
month, as it has done already many years.
7:4 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,
7:5 Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying,
Though ye fasted or lamented in the fifth or seventh [months] (yea, behold,
these seventy years) have ye at all fasted to me?
7:6 And if ye eat or drink, do ye not eat and drink for yourselves?
7:7 Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the former prophets,
when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round about
her, and the hill country and the low country was inhabited?
7:8 And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying,
7:9 Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Judge righteous judgment, and deal
mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother:
7:10 and oppress not the widow, or the fatherless, or the stranger, or the
poor; and let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his
brother.
7:11 But they refused to attend, and madly turned their back, and made their
ears heavy, so that they should not hear.
7:12 And they made their heart disobedient, so as not to hearken to my law,
and the words which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the former
prophets: so there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty.
7:13 And it shall come to pass, [that] as he spoke, and they hearkened not,
so they shall cry, and I will not hearken, saith the Lord Almighty.
7:14 And I will cast them out among all the nations, whom they know not; and
the land behind them shall be made utterly destitute of any going through or
returning: yea they have made the choice land a desolation. |
7:1 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;
7:2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and
their men, to pray before the LORD,
7:3 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?
7:4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,
7:5 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?
7:6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for
yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7:7 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?
7:8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,
7:9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew
mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
7:10 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.
7:11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped
their ears, that they should not hear.
7:12 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.
7:13 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:
7:14 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. |