| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1And 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; | 1In King Darius' fourth year, on the fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah. |
| 2When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, | 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their companions to seek the LORD's favor |
| 3And 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? | 3by asking both the priests of the temple of the LORD who rules over all and the prophets, "Should we weep in the fifth month, fasting as we have done over the years?" |
| 4Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, | 4The word of the LORD who rules over all then came to me, |
| 5Speak 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? | 5"Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: 'When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me--for me, indeed? |
| 6And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? | 6And now when you eat and drink, are you not doing so for yourselves?'" |
| 7Should 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? | 7Should you not have obeyed the words that the LORD cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the Shephelah were also populated? |
| 8And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, | 8Again the word of the LORD came to Zechariah: |
| 9Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: | 9"The LORD who rules over all said, 'Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other. |
| 10And 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. | 10You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.' |
| 11But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. | 11"But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear. |
| 12Yea, 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. | 12Indeed, they made their heart as hard as diamond, so that they could not obey the Torah and the other words the LORD who rules over all had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, the LORD who rules over all had poured out great wrath. |
| 13Therefore 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: | 13"'It then came about that just as I cried out, but they would not obey, so they will cry out, but I will not listen,' the LORD LORD who rules over all had said. |
| 14But 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. | 14Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.' Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful land a waste." |
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