Zechariah 1:4
in Zechariah 1Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith Jehovah.
KJV
Be 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.
⋯
This verse in Zechariah 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 4) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn away from your evil ways, and from your wicked thoughts; but they did not listen, nor pay attention to me, says the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Almighty Lord: Turn away from your wicked ways, and from your evil inventions; but they did not pay attention to listen to me, says the Lord. The conclusion depends on the preceding statements, and what follows must be connected with what came before.
This site's exposition
In the eighth month
on Zechariah 1:1-6
The date fixes the moment precisely: the eighth month of Darius's second year, roughly October 520 BC, two months after Haggai's first oracle and while the temple foundation still lay stalled. Zechariah's opening word is not a vision but a plain summons to repentance, framed as a two-way turning, Turn ye unto me... and I will turn unto you, the covenant relationship restored from the human side first. The fathers who ignored the former prophets are held up as a warning, and the returned exiles themselves are made to confess the point: Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, so hath he dealt with us, the exile itself standing as proof that the prophetic word does not fail.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Be ye not as your fathers,....
Be persuaded to leave your sins; resolve to have no more to do with them. A speedy reformation is the only way to prevent an approaching ruin: Turn you now from sin to God without delay." (2.) "How little this message was regarded by your fathers: But they did not hear, they did not heed.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Be ye not like your fathers - Strangely infectious is the precedent of ill. Tradition of good, of truth, of faith, is decried; only tradition of ill and error are adhered to. The sin of Jeroboam was held sacred by every king of Israel: “The statutes of Omri were diligently kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab” Mic 6:16. “They turned back and were treacherous like their forefathers; they turned themselves like a deceitful bow” Psa 78:57, is God’s summary of the history of Israel.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Be ye not as your fathers--The Jews boasted of their fathers; but he shows that their fathers were refractory, and that ancient example and long usage will not justify disobedience (2Ch 36:15, 16). the former prophets--those who lived before the captivity.
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּהְי֣וּ | tihyu | you be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַאֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֡ם | khaavoteikhem | like ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קָרְאֽוּ־ | kareu- | they proclaimed | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶם֩ | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַנְּבִיאִ֨ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הָרִֽאשֹׁנִ֜ים | harishonim | <the> former | H7223 → | 182 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| שׁ֤וּבוּ | shuvu | turn back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| נָא֙ | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| מִדַּרְכֵיכֶ֣ם | midarkheikhem | from ways your | H1870 → | 707 times |
| הָרָעִ֔ים | haraim | <the> evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וּמַֽעֲלְלֵיכֶ֖ם | umaalileikhem | and deeds your | H4611 → | |
| הָֽרָעִ֑ים | haraim | <the> evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמְע֛וּ | shameu | they listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִקְשִׁ֥יבוּ | hikshivu | they paid attention | H7181 → | |
| אֵלַ֖י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּהְי֣וּyou be
tihyuH1961 →3559 times
כַאֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֡םlike ancestors your
khaavoteikhemH1 →1212 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
קָרְאֽוּ־they proclaimed
kareu-H7121 →733 times
אֲלֵיהֶם֩to them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
הַנְּבִיאִ֨יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
הָרִֽאשֹׁנִ֜ים<the> former
harishonimH7223 →182 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
שׁ֤וּבוּturn back
shuvuH7725 →1056 times
נָא֙please
na'H4994 →404 times
מִדַּרְכֵיכֶ֣םfrom ways your
midarkheikhemH1870 →707 times
הָרָעִ֔ים<the> evil
haraimH7451 →662 times
וּמַֽעֲלְלֵיכֶ֖םand deeds your
umaalileikhemH4611 →
הָֽרָעִ֑ים<the> evil
haraimH7451 →662 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמְע֛וּthey listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הִקְשִׁ֥יבוּthey paid attention
hikshivuH7181 →
אֵלַ֖יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 33:11Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live.…
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 2:4
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- Ezekiel 18:23
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?
- 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
- 1 Timothy 2:4
Through
Zechariah 1:3So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 3:22
“Return, O faithless children, and I will heal your faithlessness.” “Here we are. We come to You, for You are the LORD our God.
- Malachi 3:7
Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But…
- Joel 2:12
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
- Jeremiah 3:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Zechariah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.