Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah(A) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.(B) The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(C) the Lord(D) by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(E) and fast in the fifth(F) month, as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(G) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(H) months for the past seventy years,(I) was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?(J) Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets(K) when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest(L) and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills(M) were settled?’”(N)

And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice;(O) show mercy and compassion to one another.(P) 10 Do not oppress the widow(Q) or the fatherless, the foreigner(R) or the poor.(S) Do not plot evil against each other.’(T)

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly(U) they turned their backs(V) and covered their ears.(W) 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint(X) and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(Y) So the Lord Almighty was very angry.(Z)

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen;(AA) so when they called, I would not listen,’(AB) says the Lord Almighty.(AC) 14 ‘I scattered(AD) them with a whirlwind(AE) among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it.(AF) This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.(AG)’”

Òdodo àti àánú, kì í ṣe àwẹ̀

Ó sì ṣe ní ọdún kẹrin Dariusi ọba, ọ̀rọ̀ Olúwa tọ́ Sekariah wá ni ọjọ́ kẹrin oṣù Kisleu tí ń ṣe oṣù kẹsànán. Nígbà tí wọ́n ènìyàn Beteli rán Ṣareseri àti Regemmeleki, àti àwọn ènìyàn wọn sí ilé Ọlọ́run láti wá ojúrere Olúwa. Àti láti bá àwọn àlùfáà tí ó wà ní ilé Olúwa àwọn ọmọ-ogun, àti àwọn wòlíì sọ̀rọ̀ wí pé, “Ṣé kí èmi ó sọkún ní oṣù karùn-ún kí èmi ya ara mi sọ́tọ̀, bí mo ti ń ṣe láti ọdún mélòó wọ̀nyí wá bí?”

Nígbà náà ni ọ̀rọ̀ Olúwa àwọn ọmọ-ogun tọ̀ mí wá pé, “Sọ fún gbogbo àwọn ènìyàn ilẹ̀ náà, àti fún àwọn àlùfáà pé, ‘Nígbà tí ẹ̀yin gbààwẹ̀, tí ẹ sì ṣọ̀fọ̀ ní oṣù karùn-ún àti keje, àní fun àádọ́rin ọdún wọ̀nyí, ǹjẹ́ èmi ni ẹ̀yin ha ń gbààwẹ̀ yín fún? Nígbà tí ẹ sì jẹ, àti nígbà tí ẹ mu, fún ara yín kọ́ ni ẹ̀yin jẹ, àti fún ara yín kọ́ ni ẹ̀yin mú bí? Wọ̀nyí kọ́ ni ọ̀rọ̀ ti Olúwa ti kígbe láti ọ̀dọ̀ àwọn wòlíì ìṣáájú wá, nígbà tí a ń gbé Jerusalẹmu, tí ó sì wà ní àlàáfíà, pẹ̀lú àwọn ìlú rẹ̀ tí ó yí i káàkiri, nígbà tí a ń gbé gúúsù àti pẹ̀tẹ́lẹ̀.’ ”

Ọ̀rọ̀ Olúwa sì tọ Sekariah wá, wí pé: “Báyìí ni Olúwa àwọn ọmọ-ogun wí pé: ‘Ṣe ìdájọ́ òtítọ́, kí ẹ sì ṣe àánú àti ìyọ́nú olúkúlùkù sí arákùnrin rẹ̀. 10 Má sì ṣe ni opó lára tàbí aláìní baba, àlejò, tàbí tálákà; kí ẹnikẹ́ni nínú yín má ṣe gbèrò ibi ní ọkàn sí arákùnrin rẹ̀.’

11 “Ṣùgbọ́n wọ́n kọ̀ láti gbọ́, wọ́n sì gún èjìká, wọ́n sì pa ẹ̀yìn dà, wọ́n di etí wọn, kí wọn má ba à gbọ́. 12 Wọ́n sé ọkàn wọn bí òkúta líle, kí wọn má ba à gbọ́ òfin, àti ọ̀rọ̀ tí Olúwa àwọn ọmọ-ogun ti fi ẹ̀mí rẹ̀ rán nípa ọwọ́ àwọn wòlíì ìṣáájú wá. Ìbínú ńlá sì dé láti ọ̀dọ̀ Olúwa àwọn ọmọ-ogun.

13 “ ‘Ó sì ṣe, gẹ́gẹ́ bí ó ti kígbe, tí wọn kò sì fẹ́ gbọ́, bẹ́ẹ̀ ni wọ́n kígbe, tí èmi kò sì fẹ́ gbọ́,’ ni Olúwa àwọn ọmọ-ogun wí. 14 ‘Mo sì fi ìjì tú wọn ká sí gbogbo orílẹ̀-èdè tí wọn kò mọ̀. Ilẹ̀ náà sì dahoro lẹ́yìn wọn, tí ẹnikẹ́ni kò là á kọjá tàbí kí ó padà bọ̀: wọ́n sì sọ ilẹ̀ ààyò náà dahoro.’ ”

Justicia y misericordia en lugar de ayuno

En el cuarto año del reinado del rey Darío, en el día cuatro del mes noveno, que es el mes de quisleu, la palabra del Señor vino a Zacarías. El pueblo de Betel había enviado a Sarézer y a Reguen Mélec, y a sus hombres, a buscar el favor del Señor y a preguntarles a los sacerdotes de la casa del Señor Todopoderoso y a los profetas: «¿Debemos observar en el quinto mes un día de duelo y abstinencia, tal como hemos hecho todos estos años?»

Vino entonces a mí esta palabra de parte del Señor Todopoderoso:

«Dile a todo el pueblo de la tierra,
    y también a los sacerdotes:
“Cuando vosotros ayunabais y os lamentabais
    en los meses quinto y séptimo
de los últimos setenta años,
    ¿realmente ayunabais en mi honor?
Y, cuando coméis y bebéis,
    ¿acaso no lo hacéis para vosotros mismos?”»

¿No son estas las palabras
    que por medio de los antiguos profetas
    el Señor mismo proclamó
cuando Jerusalén y las ciudades cercanas
    estaban habitadas y tenían paz,
cuando el Néguev y las llanuras del oeste
    también estaban habitadas?

La palabra del Señor vino de nuevo a Zacarías. Le advirtió:

«Así dice el Señor Todopoderoso:

»“Juzgad con verdadera justicia;
    mostrad amor y compasión
    los unos por los otros.
10 No oprimáis a las viudas ni a los huérfanos,
    ni a los extranjeros ni a los pobres.
No maquinéis el mal en vuestro corazón
    los unos contra los otros”.

11 »Pero ellos se negaron a hacer caso. Desafiantes, volvieron la espalda, y se taparon los oídos. 12 Para no oír las instrucciones ni las palabras que por medio de los antiguos profetas el Señor Todopoderoso había enviado con su Espíritu, endurecieron su corazón como el diamante. Por lo tanto, el Señor Todopoderoso se llenó de ira. 13 “Como no me escucharon cuando los llamé, tampoco yo los escucharé cuando ellos me llamen —dice el Señor Todopoderoso—. 14 Como con un torbellino, los dispersé entre todas las naciones que no conocían. La tierra que dejaron quedó tan desolada que nadie siquiera pasaba por ella. Fue así como convirtieron en desolación la tierra que antes era una delicia”».

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 sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,

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?

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

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?

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

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?

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

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.