1 I n the fourth year of King Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.

فِي السَّنَةِ الرّابِعَةِ مِنْ حُكمِ داريُوسَ مَلِكِ فارِسَ، فِي اليَوْمِ الرّابِعِ مِنَ الشَّهْرِ التّاسِعِ – شَهْرِ كِسلُو، تَلَقَّى زَكَرِيّا كَلِمَةَ اللهِ.

2 N ow the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to ask for the Lord’s favor.

أرسَلَتْ مَدينَةُ بَيتَ إيلَ رِسالَةً إلَى شَراصَرَ وَإلَى رَجَمَ مَلِكَ وَرِجالَهِما لِيَسْألُوا اللهَ بِشَأْنِ مَسألَةٍ ما.

3 T hey asked the religious leaders of the house of the Lord of All, and the men who speak for God, “Should I cry and go without food in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

وَقالُوا لِلكَهَنَةِ فِي بَيتِ اللهِ القَدِيرِ وَلِلأنبِياءِ: «هَلْ ينبَغِي أنْ نَنُوحَ وَنَصُومَ خِلالَ الشَّهْرِ الخامِسِ مِنَ السَّنَةِ كَما عَمِلْنا سَنَواتٍ كَثِيرَةً؟»

4 T hen the Word of the Lord of All came to me saying,

حِينَئِذٍ تَلَقَّيتُ هَذِهِ الرِّسالَةَ مِنَ اللهِ القَدِيرِ:

5 “ Say to all the people of the land and to the religious leaders, ‘When you went without food and cried in sorrow in the fifth and seventh months these 70 years, was it to honor Me?

«قُلْ لِشَعبِ الأرْضِ وَلِلكَهَنَةِ: ‹حِينَ صُمْتُمْ وَنُحتُمْ فِي الشَّهْرِ الخامِسِ وَالشَّهْرِ السّابِعِ طَوالَ هَذِهِ السَّبْعِينَ سَنَةً، فَهَلْ كُنْتُمْ تَصُومُونَ لِي حَقّاً وَبِإخلاصٍ؟

6 W hen you eat and drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?

وَحِينَ تَأْكُلُونَ وَحِينَ تَشْرَبُونَ، أفَلَسْتُمْ تَأكُلُونَ وَتَشْرَبُونَ لِأجلِ أنفُسِكُمْ؟

7 A re not these the words the Lord made known through the men who spoke for Him in the past? They spoke these words when Jerusalem was full of people and riches, together with the cities around it, and when the Negev and the lower hills were full of people.’” People Taken Away Because Of Not Obeying

ألَيسَ هَذا ذاتَ الكَلامِ الَّذِي أعلَنَهُ اللهُ مِنْ خِلالِ الأنبِياءِ السّابِقِينَ، حِينَ كانَتِ القُدْسُ مَأْهُولَةً وَآمِنَةً مَعَ المُدُنْ الَّتِي حَولَها، وَحِينَ كانَتْ مِنطَقَةُ النَّقَبِ وَالأغوارُ الغَربِيَّةِ مَأْهُولَةً بِالسُّكّانِ؟›»

8 T hen the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying,

وَتَلَقَّى زَكَرِيّا هَذِهِ الرِّسالَةَ مِنَ اللهِ:

9 “ The Lord of All said, ‘Do what is right and be kind and show loving-pity to one another.

«هَذا هُوَ ما يَقُولُهُ اللهُ القَدِيرُ: ‹أنصِفُوا المَظلُومينَ، أظهِرُوا لُطفاً وَرَأفَةً بَعْضُكُمْ نَحوَ بَعْضٍ.

10 D o not make it hard for the woman whose husband has died, or the child who has no parents, or the stranger, or the poor. Do not make sinful plans in your hearts against one another.’

لا تَظلِمُوا الأرامِلَ وَلا اليَتامَى وَلا الغُرَباءَ وَلا الفُقَراءَ. وَلا تُخَطِّطُوا لِلشَّرِّ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ كُلٌّ واحِدٍ عَلَى أخِيهِ.›

11 B ut they would not listen. They turned away and stopped their ears from hearing.

«لَكِنَّهُمْ رَفَضُوا أنْ يَستَمِعُوا، بَلْ أدارُوا ظُهُورَهُمْ لِي بِتَمَرُّدٍ وَعِصيانٍ، وَسَدُّوا آذانَهُمْ عَنْ الاسْتِماعِ.

12 T hey made their hearts like hard stone, so that they could not hear the Law and the words which the Lord of All had sent by His Spirit through the men who spoke for Him in the past. So the Lord of All became very angry.

قَسُّوا قُلُوبَهُمْ كَي لا يَسْمَعُوا الشَّريعَةَ وَالتَّعلِيمَ الَّذِي أرسَلَهُ اللهُ القَدِيرُ مِنْ خِلالِ أنبِياءٍ سابِقِينَ، فَغَضِبَ اللهُ القَدِيرُ غَضَباً شَديداً.

13 W hen I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord of All.

لِذَلِكَ يَقُولُ اللهُ القَدِيرُ: «كَما أنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَسْتَمِعُوا إلَيَّ حِينَ دَعَوْتُهُمْ، كَذَلِكَ حِينَ يَدعُونَنِي لَنْ أُصغِيَ.

14 “ With the wind of a storm I sent them everywhere among all the nations that they had not known. The land was laid waste behind them, so that no one could come or go. They turned the good land into an empty waste.”

وَسَأنفُخُ عَلَيهِمْ وَأُشَتِّتُهُمْ فِي كُلِّ الأُمَمِ الَّتِي لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَعرِفُونَها. صارَتِ الأرْضُ خَرِبَةً بَعْدَهُمْ لَمْ يَعُدْ أحَدٌ يَأْتِي أوْ يَذْهَبُ. حَوَّلُوا هَذِهِ الأرْضَ الجَمِيلَةَ إلَى خَرابٍ.»