1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in Chislev, 2 when Bethel had sent Sherezer and Regem-melech, and his men, to supplicate Jehovah, 3 [and] to speak unto the priests that were in the house of Jehovah of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done now so many years? 4 And the word of Jehovah of hosts came unto me, saying, 5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye really fast unto me, [even] unto me? 6 And when ye ate, and when ye drank, was it not you that were eating and drinking? 7 Are not these the words that Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and at peace, and her cities round about her, when the south and the lowland were inhabited? 8 And the word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah, saying, 9 Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew loving-kindness and mercies one to another, 10 and oppress not the widow and the fatherless, the stranger and the afflicted; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 11 But they refused to hearken, and turned a rebellious shoulder, and made their ears heavy, that they should not hear. 12 And they made their heart [as] an adamant, that they should not hear the law, and the words that Jehovah of hosts sent by his Spirit by the hand of the former prophets: therefore was there great wrath from Jehovah of hosts. 13 And it came to pass, like as he called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts; 14 and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not, and the land was desolate after them, so that no one passed through nor returned; and they laid the pleasant land desolate.
Zechariah 7 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Regem-melech
A man sent with Sharezer by the people of Bethel to plead before the LORD.
Cited in the guide: Zechariah 7:2
Cross references (13)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Nehemiah 1:1; Zechariah 1:1; Ezra 6:14–15; Haggai 2:10
- 2 Zechariah 8:21; 1 Samuel 13:12; Jeremiah 26:19; 1 Kings 13:6; Isaiah 60:7
- 3 Zechariah 8:19; James 4:8–10; Hosea 4:6; 1 Corinthians 7:5; Matthew 9:15
- 4 Isaiah 10:16
- 5 Zechariah 1:12; Isaiah 58:4–6; Matthew 5:16–18; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Zechariah 7:6
- 6 1 Corinthians 11:20–21; 1 Corinthians 11:26–29; Hosea 8:13; Colossians 3:17; Deuteronomy 12:7
- 7 Isaiah 1:16–20; Jeremiah 17:26; Jeremiah 7:23; Isaiah 55:6–7; Jeremiah 7:5
- 9 Micah 6:8; Psalm 82:2–4; Proverbs 21:3; Jeremiah 7:5; Luke 11:42
- 10 Jeremiah 5:28; Deuteronomy 27:19; Psalm 21:11; Psalm 72:4; James 5:4
- 11 Nehemiah 9:29; Jeremiah 8:5; Hosea 4:16; Ezekiel 3:7; Acts 7:57
- 12 2 Chronicles 36:16; Nehemiah 9:29–30; Ezekiel 11:19; Acts 28:27; Ezekiel 36:26
- 13 Proverbs 1:24–28; Jeremiah 14:12; Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 11:11; Micah 3:4
- 14 Deuteronomy 28:33; Deuteronomy 28:64; Jeremiah 23:19; Deuteronomy 4:27; Jeremiah 5:15
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Wash you, make you clean, put away evil from your hearts, learn to do well, seek judgment, protect the oppressed, judge the fatherless (pupillo), plead for the widow; and come, let us reason together, saith the Lord." And again: "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile; depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, …