Zechariah 7:5

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 who were at the house of the Lord of Armies as well as the prophets, “Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?” 4Then the word of the Lord of Armies came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me? 6When you eat and drink, don’t you eat and drink simply for yourselves? 7Aren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure, along with its surrounding cities, and when the southern region and the Judean foothills were inhabited?”

Zechariah 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Speakאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and to the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• When ye fastedצוּםtsûm · to fastH6684
• and mournedסָפַדsâphad · to mournH5594
• in the fifthחֲמִישִׁיchămîyshîy chămishshîy · fifthH2549
• and seventhשְׁבִיעִיshebîy‛îy shebi‛îy · seventhH7637
• even those seventyשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141

Cross-references for Zechariah 7:5

• Isaiah 58:5Will the fast I choose be like this: A day for a person 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 8:19The Lord of Armies says this: “The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth will become times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace.”
• 2 Kings 25:23When all the commanders of the armies — they and their men — heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite — they and their men.
• Jeremiah 41:1In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. They ate a meal together there in Mizpah,
• Zechariah 7:3by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Armies as well as the prophets, “Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?”
• Zechariah 1:12Then the angel of the Lord responded, “How long, Lord of Armies, will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that you have been angry with these seventy years?”
• Jeremiah 25:11This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
• Zechariah 7:6When you eat and drink, don’t you eat and drink simply for yourselves?
• Isaiah 1:11“What are all your sacrifices to me?” asks the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.
• Isaiah 58:4You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today, hoping to make your voice heard on high.
• Matthew 5:16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
• Matthew 6:2So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.
• Matthew 23:5They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
• Romans 14:6Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God.
• 1 Corinthians 10:31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
• 2 Corinthians 5:15And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

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

• Fasting
• Hypocrisy
• Impenitence
• Minister, Christian
• Seventy

In the dictionaries

• Seventy Years
• Fast
• Atonement, Day of
• Bible, the
• Feasts and Fasts
• Gedaliah
• Number
• Zechariah, Book of
• Fasts
• Synagogue

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