King James Version
Zechariah 1:3
3Therefore 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.
Zechariah 1:3 in other versions
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’
Context of Zechariah 1:3
1In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 2The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. 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. 4Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord. 5Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
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
Cross-references for Zechariah 1:3
- Deuteronomy 4:30When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
- Deuteronomy 30:2And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
- 1 Kings 8:47Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
- 2 Chronicles 15:4But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
- 2 Chronicles 30:6So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.
- Nehemiah 9:28But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
- Isaiah 31:6Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
- Isaiah 55:6Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
- Jeremiah 3:12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever.
- Jeremiah 4:1If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
- Jeremiah 25:5They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:
- Jeremiah 35:15I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
- Lamentations 3:39Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
- Ezekiel 33:11Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
- Hosea 6:1Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
- Hosea 14:1O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
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