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

1On the fourth day of the ninth month (the month of Chislev) in Darius’ fourth year as king, the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah. 2Now, ⌞the people from⌟ Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech with their men to ask the Lord for a blessing. They asked the priests from 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 for so many years?” 4Then the Lord of Armies spoke his word to me. He said, 5“Tell all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these past 70 years, did you really do it for me?

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• to speakאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• in the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• and to the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• Should I weepבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• in the fifthחֲמִישִׁיchămîyshîy chămishshîy · fifthH2549
• monthחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · monthH2320
• separatingנָזַרnâzar · to dedicateH5144
• myself, as I have doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• these so many yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141

Cross-references for Zechariah 7:3

• Deuteronomy 17:9Go to the Levitical priests and the judge who is serving at that time. Ask for their opinion, and they will give you their verdict
• Deuteronomy 33:10They teach Jacob your rules and give Israel your teachings. They burn incense for you to smell and sacrifice burnt offerings on your altar.
• Ezekiel 44:23They must teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy. They must show the people how to tell the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.
• Hosea 4:6I will destroy my people because they are ignorant. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children.
• Haggai 2:11“This is what the Lord of Armies says: Ask the priests for a decision.
• Malachi 2:7“A priest’s lips should preserve knowledge. Then, because he is the messenger for the Lord of Armies, people will seek instruction from his mouth.
• Zechariah 7:5“Tell all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these past 70 years, did you really do it for me?
• Nehemiah 8:9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people told them, “This is a holy day for the Lord your God. Don’t mourn or cry.” All the people were crying as they listened to the reading of God’s Teachings.
• Nehemiah 9:1When the Israelites assembled on the twenty-fourth day of this month, they fasted, wore sackcloth, and threw dirt on their heads.
• Ecclesiastes 3:4a time to cry and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
• Isaiah 22:12On that day the Almighty Lord of Armies will call for crying and for mourning, for shaving your heads and for wearing sackcloth.
• Joel 2:17The priests who serve the Lord cry between the altar and the entrance to the temple. They say, “Spare your people, O Lord. Don’t let the people who belong to you become a disgrace. Don’t let the nations ridicule them. Why should people ask, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
• Matthew 9:15Jesus replied, “Can wedding guests be sad while the groom is still with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.
• James 4:8Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters.
• Zechariah 8:19This is what the Lord of Armies says: The fast in the fourth month, the fast in the fifth month, the fast in the seventh month, and the fast in the tenth month will become joyful and glad occasions as well as happy festivals for the nation of Judah. So love truth and peace.
• 2 Kings 25:8On the seventh day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to 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