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 the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Adonai came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, in Kislev. 2Now Bethel sent Sarezer and Regem-melech together with his men to seek the favor of Adonai, and to speak to the kohanim of the House of Adonai-Tzva’ot and to the prophets saying, “Should I mourn and consecrate myself in the fifth month as I have done for so many years?” 4Then the word of Adonai-Tzva’ot came to me saying: 5“Speak to all the people of the land and to the kohanim saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh months for the past seventy years, did you really fast 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 17:9and come to the Levitical kohanim and the judge in charge at that time. And you will inquire, and they will tell you the sentence of judgment.
• Deuteronomy 33:10They will teach Jacob Your judgments and Israel Your Torah. They will put incense in your nose and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
• Ezekiel 44:23“They will teach My people the difference between the holy and the common and explain to them the difference between the unclean and the clean.
• Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My kohen. Since you forgot the Torah of your God, just so I will forget your children.
• Haggai 2:11“Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: ‘Ask now the kohanim for a ruling.
• Malachi 2:7For a kohen’s lips should guard knowledge, and instruction must be sought from his mouth. For he is a messenger of Adonai-Tzva’ot.
• Zechariah 7:5“Speak to all the people of the land and to the kohanim saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh months for the past seventy years, did you really fast for Me?
• Nehemiah 8:9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the kohen-scribe, and the Levites who were teaching the people said to all the people, “Today is kadosh to Adonai your God. Do not mourn or weep!” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the Torah.
• Nehemiah 9:1Now on the twenty-fourth day of this same month, Bnei-Yisrael 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 22:12Now in that day, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot will call for weeping and wailing, for baldness and putting on sackcloth.
• Joel 2:17Between the porch and the altar let the kohanim, ministers of Adonai, weep, and let them say: “Have pity, Adonai, on Your people. Don’t make Your heritage a scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”
• Matthew 9:15And Yeshua said to them, “The guests of the bridegroom cannot mourn while the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away 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 purify your hearts, you double-minded!
• Zechariah 8:19“Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth month will become joy, gladness and cheerful moadim. Therefore, love truth and shalom!’
• 2 Kings 25:8Now on the seventh day of the fifth month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the imperial guard, officer of the Babylonian king, 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