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

1In King Darius’ fourth year, on the fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah. 2Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their companions to seek the Lord’s favor by asking both the priests of the temple of the Lord who rules over all and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month, fasting as we have done over the years?” 4The word of the Lord who rules over all then came to me, 5“Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me – for me, indeed?

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 17:9You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.
• Deuteronomy 33:10They will teach Jacob your ordinances and Israel your law; they will offer incense as a pleasant odor, and a whole offering on your altar.
• Ezekiel 44:23Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean.
• Hosea 4:6You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants.
• Haggai 2:11“The Lord who rules over all says, ‘Ask the priests about the law.
• Malachi 2:7For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.
• Zechariah 7:5“Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me – for me, indeed?
• Nehemiah 8:9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priestly scribe, and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law.
• Nehemiah 9:1On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust.
• Ecclesiastes 3:4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
• Isaiah 22:12At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.
• Joel 2:17Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep from the vestibule all the way back to the altar. Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people; please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked, to become a proverb among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, “Where is their God?”
• Matthew 9:15Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn while the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
• James 4:8Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.
• Zechariah 8:19“The Lord who rules over all says, ‘The fast of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become joyful and happy, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah, so love truth and peace.’
• 2 Kings 25:8On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard who served the king of Babylon, arrived in 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