Zechariah 7:13
in Zechariah 7And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts;
KJV
Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:
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This verse in Zechariah 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTherefore it is come to pass, that as he cried,.... The Lord by the former prophets called them to repentance and obedience: and they would not hear; his words, nor obey his voice: so they cried: when they were besieged in Jerusalem, and were carried captive into Babylon: and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts; so as to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies; see Pro 1:24.
This site's exposition
it is come to pass, that as he cried
on Zechariah 7:13-14
The Lord's response mirrors their own refusal back at them: as he cried and they would not hear, so they cried and he would not hear. Pusey reads this as the exile's own logic laid bare, a nation that stopped its ears to correction was in turn met with silence when it later cried for help, the measure it gave becoming the measure it received. The chapter closes on the scattering itself, a whirlwind driving them among nations they did not know and a pleasant land left desolate behind them, the fast's original occasion explained rather than merely dated.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 8 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This occasional sermon, which the prophet preached, and which is recorded in this and the next chapter, was above two years after the former, in which he gave them an account of his visions, as appears by comparing the date of this (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
As he cried to them in their prosperity to leave their sins, and they would not hear, but persisted in their iniquities, so they cried to him in the day of their trouble to remove his judgments, and he would not hear, but lengthened out their calamities.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And it came to pass - that is, this which God had said, “As He cried and they heard not, so shall they cry and I will not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.” God had often said this. “It shall be too late to cry for mercy, when it is the time of justice.” So Wisdom had said by Solomon; “then, that is, when distress and anguish cometh upon them, they shall call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, and they shall not find Me” Pro 1:27-
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And it came about; as He called and they did not hearken the Lord said concerning them in those days: So shall they call and I will not hearken.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
shamir A worm stronger than flint. They would show it to the stone, which would split.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַאֲשֶׁר־ | khaasher- | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קָרָ֖א | kara' | he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמֵ֑עוּ | shameu | they listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| כֵּ֤ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יִקְרְאוּ֙ | yikreu | they called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶשְׁמָ֔ע | ʾeshma' | I listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אָמַ֖ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָאֽוֹת׃ | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
וַיְהִ֥יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כַאֲשֶׁר־just as
khaasher-H834 →5497 times
קָרָ֖אhe called
kara'H7121 →733 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמֵ֑עוּthey listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
כֵּ֤ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
יִקְרְאוּ֙they called
yikreuH7121 →733 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶשְׁמָ֔עI listened
ʾeshma'H8085 →1159 times
אָמַ֖רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָאֽוֹת׃of hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 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
Isaiah 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
it leads to
- Micah 3:4
Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 1:28
Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 59:2–3
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
- Jeremiah 7:8–10
But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.
- Micah 3:4
Through
Jeremiah 11:11Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 8:18
Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 1:15
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 8:18
Through
Jeremiah 14:12Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 11:11
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.
- Jeremiah 11:11
Through
Micah 3:4Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:41
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.
- Psalms 18:41
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.