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?
• 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?”
• New Living Translation (NLT)They were to ask this question of the prophets and the priests at the Temple of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “Should we continue to mourn and fast each summer on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, as we have done for so many years?”

Context of Zechariah 7:3

1In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 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?” 4Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5“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?

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 to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.
• Deuteronomy 33:10He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
• Ezekiel 44:23They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
• Hosea 4:6my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
• Haggai 2:11“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says:
• Malachi 2:7“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.
• Zechariah 7:5“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?
• Nehemiah 8:9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
• Nehemiah 9:1On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.
• Ecclesiastes 3:4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
• Isaiah 22:12The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
• Joel 2:17Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
• Matthew 9:15Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
• James 4:8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
• Zechariah 8:19This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”
• 2 Kings 25:8On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official 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