Zechariah 1:5

Zechariah 1:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
• New International Version (NIV)Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

Context of Zechariah 1:5

3So tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: Return to me — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies — and I will return to you, says the Lord of Armies. 4Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the Lord of Armies says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to me — this is the Lord’s declaration. Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? 6But didn’t my words and my statutes that I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? ’” So the people repented and said, “As the Lord of Armies decided to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so he has dealt with us.” 7On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:

Zechariah 1:5 word by word

אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם אַיֵּה־הֵ֑ם וְהַ֨נְּבִאִ֔ים הַלְעוֹלָ֖ם יִֽחְיֽוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• they? and the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• do they liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769

Cross-references for Zechariah 1:5

• Job 14:10But a person dies and fades away; he breathes his last — where is he?
• Psalms 90:10Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.
• Ecclesiastes 1:4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
• Ecclesiastes 9:1Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: The righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands. People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.
• Ecclesiastes 12:5Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street;
• Acts 13:36For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed,
• Hebrews 7:23Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office.
• Hebrews 9:27And just as it is appointed for people to die once — and after this, judgment —
• 2 Peter 3:2so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.

Commentaries on Zechariah 1:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Your fathers, where are they? - Israel has been destroyed and ruined in the bloody wars with the Assyrians; and Judah, in those with the Chaldeans. The prophets, do they live for ever? - They also, who spoke unto your fathers, are dead; but their predictions remain; and the events, which have taken place according to those predictions, prove that God sent them.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Your fathers, where are they? - The abrupt solemnity of the question seems to imply an unexpected close of life which cut short their hopes, plans, promises to self. “When they said, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them” 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Yet not they only but the prophets too, who ministered God‘s Word to them, these also being human beings, passed away, some of them before their time as people, by the martyr‘s death. Many of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6The prelude identifies the book’s themes as repentance and spiritual renewal, and establishes a tone of hope and encouragement.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Your fathers ... and the prophets, do they live for ever?--In contrast to "My words" (Zec 1:6), which "endure for ever" (1Pe 1:25). "Your fathers have perished, as was foretold; and their fate ought to warn you. But you may say, The prophets too are dead. I grant it, but still My words do not die: though dead, their prophetical words from Me, fulfilled against your fathers, are not dead with them. Beware, then, lest ye share their fate."Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 1:5

• Death

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Bible, the
• Host of Heaven
• House
• Joshua (3)
• Molech; Moloch
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Zechariah 1

• 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