EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Zechariah 1:3
3Now I, the Lord Almighty, say this to you: “If you return to me, I will return to you.”
Zechariah 1:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
- New International Version (NIV)Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.
Context of Zechariah 1:3
1When Darius had been king of Persia for two years, Zechariah the prophet heard a message from the Lord. It was the eighth month of the year. Zechariah was the son of Berekiah, and Berekiah was the son of Iddo. 2This was the Lord's message: ‘I, the Lord, was very angry with your ancestors. Now I, the Lord Almighty, say this to you: “If you return to me, I will return to you.” 4Do not be like your ancestors. Many years ago the prophets gave them a message from me. The message was, “Stop doing those evil and wicked things.” But they did not listen to me. They did not think that my message was important. 5That was a long time ago. Your ancestors have been dead for a long time. So have the prophets.
Read all of Zechariah 1Zechariah 1:3 word by word
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֗ם כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת שׁ֣וּבוּ אֵלַ֔י נְאֻ֖ם יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת וְאָשׁ֣וּב אֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Zechariah 1:3
- Deuteronomy 4:30When trouble happens to you in the future, you will turn back to him. When all these bad things happen to you, you will obey God again.
- Deuteronomy 30:2Then you and your children may decide to turn back to the Lord. You may choose to obey him completely in everything that you think and in everything that you do. That is what I am commanding you to do today.
- 1 Kings 8:47Then your people may think about the bad things that they have done. While they are prisoners in their enemy's country, they may be sorry about their sins. They may pray to you and ask you to forgive them. They may say, “We have turned away from God and we have done wicked things.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:4But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, Israel's God. They asked him to help them and he answered them.
- 2 Chronicles 30:6So men took the letters from the king and his officers to all the people in Israel and Judah. The king's command said this: ‘A message to the people of Israel who have escaped from the power of the kings of Assyria. Turn back now to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Then he will turn back to you.
- Nehemiah 9:28But when your people were living safely again, they did evil things again. So you left them to the power of their enemies. Your people called to you again for help. You heard them again from your home in heaven. Because you are so kind, you rescued them like that many times.
- Isaiah 31:6Israelite people, you have turned completely against the Lord. Now turn back to him!
- Isaiah 55:6Come to serve the Lord now, while he lets you find him. Call out to him for help, while he is near you.
- Jeremiah 3:12Go now. Shout this message to my people in the north: “You people of Israel have not been faithful to me. But now return to me,” says the Lord. “I will not always turn away from you. I am kind and I forgive people. I will not be angry with you for ever,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 4:1The Lord says this: ‘People of Israel, you should return to me. If you want to do that, you must throw away your idols. Remove those disgusting things and do not turn away from me again.
- Jeremiah 25:5The Lord's message to you was, “Turn away from your wicked way of life. Stop doing the evil things that you are doing. If you do that, you may continue to live in this land. It is the land that the Lord gave to you and to your ancestors to be their home for ever.
- Jeremiah 35:15I have sent my servants the prophets to warn you many times. They told you, ‘You must all stop doing wicked things. Instead, start doing the things that are right. Do not serve other gods and worship them. Then you will continue to live in this land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you did not listen to my message. You did not obey me.
- Lamentations 3:39He only punishes us when we do wrong things. We are still alive, so we should not be angry with God.
- Ezekiel 33:11Tell them, “It does not make me happy to punish wicked people with death. I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. I want wicked people to stop doing wrong things so that they may continue to live. So stop doing evil things! Israel's people, you do not have to die. Turn back to me!”
- Hosea 6:1‘Listen! We should return to serve the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but now he will make us well again. He has hurt us, but now he will make our wounds better.
- Hosea 14:1Israel's people, return to the Lord your God! Your sins have caused you to fall down.
Commentaries on Zechariah 1:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Turn ye unto me - This shows that they had power to return, if they would but use it. And I will turn unto you - I will show you mercy and grant you salvation, if you will use the grace I have already given you. Men are lost, because they turn not unto God; but no man is lost because he had not power to return. God gives this, and he will require it.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Therefore say thou - Literally, “And thou sayest,” that is, this having been so, it follows that thou sayest or must say, “Turn ye unto Me.” In some degree they had turned to God, for whose sake they had returned to their land; and again when, after some negligence Haggai 1:2-11, they renewed the building of the temple, and God had said, “I am with you” Haggai 1:13. But there needed yet a more inward, more complete turning, whereon God promises a yet…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3the LORD of Hosts: God has an infinite number of angelic troops ready to do his will (see 2 Kings 6:17; Matthew 26:53). The phrase was probably meant to be an encouragement to the Judeans. Return to me: Repentance means a complete change. It is a move away from sin and self towards loyalty to God and his covenant (see Isaiah 44:22; Malachi 3:7; see also Psalms 80:3–14; 85:4–8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. saith the Lord of hosts--a phrase frequent in Haggai and Zechariah, implying God's boundless resources and universal power, so as to inspire the Jews with confidence to work. Turn ye unto me ... and I will turn--that is, and then, as the sure consequence, "I will turn unto you" (Mal 3:7; Jas 4:8; compare also Jr 3:12; Eze 18:30; Mi 7:19). Though God hath brought you back from captivity, yet this state will not last long unless ye are really converted…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 1:3
In the dictionaries
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
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