Zechariah 7:8-14

8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying,

9 "Thus has the LORD of hosts said, '¹Dispense true justice and practice ²kindness and compassion each to his brother;

10 and ³do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do ⁴not devise evil in your hearts against one another.'

11 "But they ⁵refused to pay attention and ⁶turned a stubborn shoulder and ⁷stopped their ears from hearing.

12 "They made their ⁸hearts like ⁹flint so that they could not hear the law and the ¹⁰words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the ¹¹former prophets; therefore great ¹²wrath came from the LORD of hosts.

13 "And just as ¹³He called and they would not listen, so ¹⁴they called and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts;

14 "but I ¹⁵scattered them with a ¹⁶storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is ¹⁷desolated behind them so that ¹⁸no one went back and forth, for they ¹⁹made the pleasant land desolate."

Zechariah 7:8-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 7

This chapter treats concerning the nature and use of certain fasts kept by the Jews, on account of the destruction of the temple, and other things; and concerning the message of the former prophets to them, and the effects of it. The occasion of the former was an embassy sent by the Jews to the priests and prophets, to know whether they should continue the fast of the fifth month; upon which the prophet was sent by the Lord unto them. The time of the prophecy is noted, Zec 7:1. An account of the embassy is given, of the persons that were sent, and to whom, and upon what account, Zec 7:2,3. The answer of the Lord to it by the prophet, showing the usefulness of fasts to him, and putting them upon hearkening to his voice by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was in great prosperity, Zec 7:4-7 and then they are exhorted by him, in the ministry of the present prophet, to acts of righteousness, several species of which are mentioned; and which were the same they had been exhorted to by the former prophets, but had neglected, and hardened their hearts against all exhortations and instructions, Zec 7:8-12 and were the reason of their captivity and desolation, Zec 7:13,14.

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 18:8; Ezekiel 45:9; Zechariah 8:16
• 2. 2 Samuel 9:7; Job 6:14; Micah 6:8
• 3. Exodus 22:22; Psalms 72:4; Jeremiah 7:6
• 4. Psalms 21:11; Micah 2:1; Zechariah 8:17
• 5. Jeremiah 5:3; Jeremiah 8:5; Jeremiah 11:10
• 6. Jeremiah 7:26; Jeremiah 17:23
• 7. Psalms 58:4; Jeremiah 5:21
• 8. 2 Chronicles 36:13; Ezekiel 2:4; Ezekiel 3:7-9
• 9. Jeremiah 17:1; Ezekiel 3:9
• 10. Zechariah 7:7
• 11. Nehemiah 9:30
• 12. 2 Chronicles 36:16; Daniel 9:11, 12
• 13. Jeremiah 11:10, 14; Jeremiah 14:12
• 14. Proverbs 1:24-28; Isaiah 1:15
• 15. Deuteronomy 4:27; Deuteronomy 28:64
• 16. Jeremiah 23:19
• 17. Jeremiah 44:6
• 18. Isaiah 60:15
• 19. Jeremiah 12:10

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "fatherless"
• [b]. Or "resident alien"
• [c]. Lit "gave"
• [d]. Lit "made heavy"
• [e]. Lit "corundum"
• [f]. Lit "from hearing"
• [g]. Lit "stormed them away upon all"
• [h]. Lit "from passing and from returning"