Zechariah 7:3

Zechariah 7:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, "Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)and to ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”

Context of Zechariah 7:3

1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?” 4Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, 5“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?

Zechariah 7:3 word by word

לֵאמֹ֗ר אֶל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ לְבֵית־יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת וְאֶל־הַנְּבִיאִ֖ים לֵאמֹ֑ר הַֽאֶבְכֶּה֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַחֲמִשִׁ֔י הִנָּזֵ֕ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשִׂ֔יתִי זֶ֖ה כַּמֶּ֥ה שָׁנִֽים׃ פRead the interlinear

• by askingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• by askingאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• of the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• of the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of Hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• Should I weepבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• and fastנָזַרnâzar · to dedicateH5144
• in the fifthחֲמִישִׁיchămîyshîy chămishshîy · fifthH2549
• monthחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · monthH2320
• asכַּאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · as whichH834
• I have doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• theseזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• manyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141

Cross-references for Zechariah 7:3

• Deuteronomy 17:9You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
• Deuteronomy 33:10He will teach Your ordinances to Jacob and Your law to Israel; he will set incense before You and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
• Ezekiel 44:23They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
• Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
• Haggai 2:11“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Ask the priests for a ruling.
• Malachi 2:7For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
• Zechariah 7:5“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
• Nehemiah 8:9Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.
• Nehemiah 9:1On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
• Ecclesiastes 3:4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
• Isaiah 22:12On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
• Joel 2:17Let the priests who minister before the LORD weep between the portico and the altar, saying, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your heritage a reproach, an object of scorn among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
• Matthew 9:15Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
• James 4:8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
• Zechariah 8:19“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”
• 2 Kings 25:8On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

Commentaries on Zechariah 7:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself? - “In the fifth month,” from the seventh to the tenth day, Jerusalem was in flames, fired by Nebuchadnezzar. “He burnt the house of the Lord, and the king‘s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem and every great man‘s house he burnt with fire”. Jerome: “Now since it is said that the temple is builded and we see that no cause of sorrow remaineth, answer, we pray, are we to do this or to change our sorrow…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The group from Bethel asked a practical question about the process.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Should I weep in the fifth month--"I" represents here the people of God (compare Zec 8:21). This rather favors Maurer's view, taking "the house of God," the congregation, as nominative to "sent." Their hypocrisy appeared because they showed more concern about a ceremony of human institution (not improper in itself) than about moral obedience. If, too, they had trusted God's promise as to the restoration of Church and State, the fast would have now…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 7:3

• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Lord of Hosts
• Fast
• Bible, the
• Ezekiel
• Feasts and Fasts
• Separate
• Zechariah, Book of
• Fasts

Commentaries on Zechariah 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings