Berean Standard Bible
Zechariah 7:5
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 7:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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?
- New International Version (NIV)“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Say to all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?
Context of Zechariah 7:5
3by 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, “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? 6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? 7Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
Read all of Zechariah 7Zechariah 7:5 word by word
אֱמֹר֙ אֶל־כָּל־עַ֣ם הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים לֵאמֹ֑ר כִּֽי־צַמְתֶּ֨ם וְסָפ֜וֹד בַּחֲמִישִׁ֣י וּבַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י וְזֶה֙ שִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה הֲצ֥וֹם צַמְתֻּ֖נִי אָֽנִי׃Read the interlinear
- Askאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Askאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
- the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- Whenכִּיkîy · forH3588
- you fastedצוּםtsûm · to fastH6684
- and mournedסָפַדsâphad · to mournH5594
- in the fifthחֲמִישִׁיchămîyshîy chămishshîy · fifthH2549
- and seventh monthsשְׁבִיעִיshebîy‛îy shebi‛îy · seventhH7637
- for theseזֶהzeh · thisH2088
- seventyשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- was it really for Meאֲנִי'ănîy · IH589
Cross-references for Zechariah 7:5
- Isaiah 58:5Is this the fast I have chosen: a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the LORD?
- 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 25:23When all the commanders of the armies and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, as well as their men.
- Jeremiah 41:1In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and they ate a meal together there.
- Zechariah 7:3by 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?”
- Zechariah 1:12Then the angel of the LORD said, “How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?”
- Jeremiah 25:11And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
- Zechariah 7:6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves?
- Isaiah 1:11“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
- Isaiah 58:4You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.
- Matthew 5:16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
- Matthew 6:2So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
- Matthew 23:5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
- Romans 14:6He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:15And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.
Commentaries on Zechariah 7:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth - month - This they did in the remembrance of the burning of the temple, on the tenth day of that month; and on the seventh month, on the third of which month they observed a fast for the murder of Gedaliah, and the dispersion of the remnant of the people which were with him. See Jeremiah 41:1, and 2 Kings 25:25.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Speak unto all the people of the land - They of Bethel had spoken as one man, as Edom said to Israel, “Thou shalt not pass by me” Numbers 20:18; and “the men of Israel said to the Hivite; Perhaps thou dwellest in the midst of me, and how shall I make a league with thee?” Joshua 9:7. God gives the answer not to them only, but to all like-minded with them, “all the people of the land,” the whole population (in our language); as Jeremiah says, “ye and your…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Jeremiah said that 70 years of exile in Babylon (see Jeremiah 25:11–12; 29:10) would compensate for the Sabbath years of rest that the land missed for nearly 500 years (2 Chronicles 36:21; see Exodus 23:10–11; Leviticus 26:34–35). The summer fast mourned the destruction of Solomon’s temple (Zechariah 7:3), while the early autumn fast either marked the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judah (see 2 Kings 25:22–25; Jeremiah 41:1–3), or it was the day…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Speak unto all--The question had been asked in the name of the people in general by Sherezer and Regemmelech. The self-imposed fast they were tired of, not having observed it in the spirit of true religion. seventh month--This fast was in memory of the murder of Gedaliah and those with him at Mizpah, issuing in the dispersion of the Jews (2Ki 25:25, 26; Jr 41:1-3). did ye ... fast unto me?--No; it was to gratify yourselves in hypocritical will-worship…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 7:5
In the dictionaries
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
Berean Standard Bible — © Berean Bible — CC0 / Public Domain
Commentaries