4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,
5 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?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 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?
8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 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.
4 Then came the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 unto me, saying, H559
5 Speak H559 unto all the people H5971 of the land, H776 and to the priests, H3548 saying, H559 When ye fasted H6684 and mourned H5594 in the fifth H2549 and seventh H7637 month, even those seventy H7657 years, H8141 did ye at all H6684 fast H6684 unto me, even to me?
6 And when ye did eat, H398 and when ye did drink, H8354 did not ye eat H398 for yourselves, and drink H8354 for yourselves?
7 Should ye not hear the words H1697 which the LORD H3068 hath cried H7121 by H3027 the former H7223 prophets, H5030 when Jerusalem H3389 was inhabited H3427 and in prosperity, H7961 and the cities H5892 thereof round about her, H5439 when men inhabited H3427 the south H5045 and the plain? H8219
8 And the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 came unto Zechariah, H2148 saying, H559
9 Thus speaketh H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 saying, H559 Execute H8199 true H571 judgment, H4941 and shew H6213 mercy H2617 and compassions H7356 every man H376 to his brother: H251
10 And oppress H6231 not the widow, H490 nor the fatherless, H3490 the stranger, H1616 nor the poor; H6041 and let none of you imagine H2803 evil H7451 against H376 his brother H251 in your heart. H3824
11 But they refused H3985 to hearken, H7181 and pulled away H5414 H5637 the shoulder, H3802 and stopped H3513 their ears, H241 that they should not hear. H8085
12 Yea, they made H7760 their hearts H3820 as an adamant stone, H8068 lest they should hear H8085 the law, H8451 and the words H1697 which the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 hath sent H7971 in his spirit H7307 by H3027 the former H7223 prophets: H5030 therefore came a great H1419 wrath H7110 from the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, H7121 and they would not hear; H8085 so they cried, H7121 and I would not hear, H8085 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts: H6635
14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind H5590 among all the nations H1471 whom they knew H3045 not. Thus the land H776 was desolate H8074 after H310 them, that no man passed through H5674 nor returned: H7725 for they laid H7760 the pleasant H2532 land H776 desolate. H8047
4 Then came the word of Jehovah of hosts unto me, saying,
5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh `month', even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
6 And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 `Should ye' not `hear' the words which Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?
8 And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
10 and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.
11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which Jehovah of hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets: therefore there came great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.
13 And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts;
14 but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
4 And there is a word of Jehovah of Hosts unto me, saying:
5 `Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying:
6 When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh `months' -- even these seventy years -- did ye keep the fast `to' Me -- Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking?
7 `Are not `these' the words that Jehovah proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets, in Jerusalem's being inhabited, and `in' safety, and its cities round about it, and the south and the plain -- abiding?'
8 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Zechariah, saying:
9 `Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: True judgment judge ye, And kindness and mercy do one with another.
10 And widow, and fatherless, Sojourner, and poor, ye do not oppress, And the calamity of one another ye do not devise in your heart.
11 And they refuse to attend, And they give a refractory shoulder, And their ears have made heavy against hearing.
12 And their heart they have made adamant, Against hearing the law, and the words, That Jehovah of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And their is great wrath from Jehovah of Hosts.
13 And it cometh to pass, as He called, And they have not hearkened, So do they call, and I do not hearken, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
14 And I toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land hath been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!
4 And the word of Jehovah of hosts came unto me, saying,
5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye really fast unto me, [even] unto me?
6 And when ye ate, and when ye drank, was it not you that were eating and drinking?
7 Are not these the words that Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at peace, and her cities round about her, when the south and the lowland were inhabited?
8 And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying,
9 Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew loving-kindness and mercies one to another,
10 and oppress not the widow and the fatherless, the stranger and the afflicted; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
11 But they refused to hearken, and turned a rebellious shoulder, and made their ears heavy, that they should not hear.
12 And they made their heart [as] an adamant, that they should not hear the law, and the words that Jehovah of hosts sent by his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore was there great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.
13 And it came to pass, like as he called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts;
14 and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not, and the land was desolate after them, so that no one passed through nor returned; and they laid the pleasant land desolate.
4 Then the word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me, saying,
5 "Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
6 When you eat, and when you drink, don't you eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Aren't these the words which Yahweh proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?'"
8 The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying,
9 "Thus has Yahweh of Hosts spoken, saying, 'Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.
10 Don't oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.'
11 But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
12 Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of Hosts.
13 It has come to pass that, as he called, and they refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen," said Yahweh of Hosts;
14 "but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant land desolate."
4 Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying
5 Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, When you went without food and gave yourselves to grief in the fifth and the seventh months for these seventy years, did you ever do it because of me?
6 And when you are feasting and drinking, are you not doing it only for yourselves?
7 Are not these the words which the Lord said to you by the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was full of people and wealth, and the towns round about her and the South and the Lowland were peopled?
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,
9 This is what the Lord of armies has said: Let your judging be upright and done in good faith, let every man have mercy and pity for his brother:
10 Do not be hard on the widow, or the child without a father, on the man from a strange country, or on the poor; let there be no evil thought in your heart against your brother.
11 But they would not give attention, turning their backs and stopping their ears from hearing;
12 And they made their hearts like the hardest stone, so that they might not give ear to the law and the words which the Lord of armies had said by the earlier prophets: and there came great wrath from the Lord of armies.
13 And it came about that as they would not give ear to his voice, so I would not give ear to their voice, says the Lord of armies:
14 But with a storm-wind I sent them in flight among all the nations of whom they had no knowledge. So the land was waste after them, so that no man went through or came back: for they had made waste the desired land.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Zechariah 7
Commentary on Zechariah 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
We have done with the visions, but not with the revelations of this book; the prophet sees no more such signs as he had seen, but still "the word of the Lord came to him.' In this chapter we have,
And then in the next chapter, having searched the wound, he binds it up, and heals it, with gracious assurances of great mercy God had yet in store for them, by which he would turn their fasts into feasts.
Zec 7:1-7
This occasional sermon, which the prophet preached, and which is recorded in this and the next chapter, was above two years after the former, in which he gave them an account of his visions, as appears by comparing the date of this (v. 1), in the ninth month of the fourth year of Darius, with the date of that (ch. 1:1), in the eighth month of the second year of Darius; not that Zechariah was idle all that while (it is expressly said that he and Haggai continued prophesying till the temple was finished in the sixth year of Darius; Ezra 6:14, 15), but during that time he did not preach any sermon that was afterwards published, and left upon record, as this is. God may be honoured, his work done, and his interest served, by word of mouth as well as by writing; and by inculcating and pressing what has been taught, as well as by advancing something new. Now here we have,
Zec 7:8-14
What was said v. 7, that they should have heard the words of the former prophets, is here enlarged upon, for warning to these hypocritical enquirers, who continued their sins when they asked with great preciseness whether they should continue their fasts. This prophet had before put them in mind of their fathers' disobedience to the calls of the prophets, and what was the consequence of it (ch. 1:4-6), and now here again; for others' harms should be our warnings. God's judgments upon Israel of old for their sins were written for admonition to us Christians (1 Co. 10:11), and the same use we should make of similar providences in our own day.