Zechariah 7:3-13

3 ¹saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and ²the prophets, "Should I weep and ³abstain in ⁴the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"

4 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me:

5 "Say to all the people of the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in ⁵the fifth month and in ⁶the seventh, for these ⁷seventy years, ⁸was it ⁹for me that you fasted?

6 ¹⁰And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?

7 ¹¹Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed ¹²by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, ¹³with her cities around her, and the ¹⁴South and the ¹⁵lowland were inhabited?"

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

9 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, ¹⁶Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,

10 ¹⁷do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, ¹⁸or the poor, and ¹⁹let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."

11 But ²⁰they refused to pay attention ²¹and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.^[a]

12 ²²They made their hearts diamond-hard ²³lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent ²⁴by his Spirit through ²⁵the former prophets. ²⁶Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.

13 ²⁷"As I^[b] called, and they would not hear, ²⁸so they called, and I would not hear," says the LORD of hosts,

Zechariah 7:3-13 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. Malachi 2:7
• 2. Zechariah 8:9; [Ezra 5:1; Ezra 6:14]
• 3. [Zechariah 12:12]
• 4. Zechariah 8:19; [2 Kings 25:8]
• 5. [See ver. 3 above]
• 6. [2 Kings 25:25]
• 7. See Zechariah 1:12
• 8. [Isaiah 58:4, 5]
• 9. [Isaiah 58:4, 5]
• 10. [1 Corinthians 11:20, 21]
• 11. [Zechariah 1:5, 6]
• 12. ver. 12
• 13. Jeremiah 17:26
• 14. Jeremiah 17:26
• 15. Jeremiah 17:26
• 16. Isaiah 1:17; Jeremiah 21:12; Micah 6:8; [Matthew 23:23]
• 17. Isaiah 1:23; Jeremiah 5:28; See Exodus 22:21, 22
• 18. Proverbs 22:22
• 19. Zechariah 8:17
• 20. Zechariah 1:4
• 21. Nehemiah 9:29
• 22. [Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 36:26]
• 23. [Nehemiah 9:30]
• 24. [Nehemiah 9:30]
• 25. ver. 7
• 26. [2 Chronicles 36:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:16]
• 27. [Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 11:11]; See Proverbs 1:24-28
• 28. [Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 11:11]; See Proverbs 1:24-28

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew and made their ears too heavy to hear
• [b]. Hebrew he