Zechariah 7:9
in Zechariah 7“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
KJV
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
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This verse in Zechariah 7
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(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.
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to Zechariah
on Zechariah 7:8-10
A second word turns to what the LORD requires: true justice, loving devotion and compassion, and no oppression of “the widow or the fatherless”. Gill and Clarke note that the same demands stand elsewhere in the prophets. The last clause reaches past outward conduct to the intention behind it.
This site's exposition
Administer true justice
Barnes traced true justice and compassion through the earlier prophets, citing Isaiah 1:17, Jeremiah 7:5 and Hosea 12:6. Barnes quoted the comment that the verse names duties to one another and assumes those owed to the LORD, as Paul does in Romans 13:9. Irenaeus quoted it as the LORD's will.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
For this reason, beloved, I am inserting certain headings and notes as to how you ought to understand and receive these matters, so through the goodness of God you can accept and observe them better. In order that the things that I have said may …
A commentator
John ChrysostomDISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 1:6 · Written before 407.
proposed
[You] should have fasted then, when drunkenness was doing those terrible things to you, when your gluttony was giving birth to your ungodliness—not now. Now your fasting is untimely and an abomination. Who said so? Isaiah himself when he called out in a loud voice: " 'I did not choose this fast,' says the Lord." Why? "You quarrel and squabble when you fast and strike those subject to you with your fists." But if your fasting was an abomination when you were striking your fellow slaves, does it become acceptable now that you have slain your master? How could that be right?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 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
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying,....
Neighbours must have a tender concern for one another, and must not only do one another no wrong, but must be ready to do one another all the good offices that lie in their power. They must show mercy and compassion every man to his brother, as the case called for it. The infirmities of others, as well as their calamities, are to be looked upon with compassion.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thus spake the Lord - that is, through the former prophets, for he goes on to speak of their rejection in the past. “Execute true judgment.” He retains the words of Ezekiel. The injunction itself runs throughout the prophets. “Shew mercy” (as Isa 1:17, Isa 1:23; Isa 58:6-7; Jer 7:5; Eze 18:8; Hos 12:6, etc.), that is, tender love, to all; compassion, to the unhappy. Omit no act of love, God so loves the loving. Lap.: “Like Paul to the Romans Rom 13:9, he names only the duties to the neighbor, but understands what relates to God.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
speaketh--implying that these precepts addressed to their ancestors were the requirements of Jehovah not merely then, but now. We must not only not hurt, but we must help our fellow men. God is pleased with such loving obedience, rather than with empty ceremonies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Execute true judgment - See Isa 58:6, Isa 58:7; JeremiahJer 7:23; Mic 6:8, chap. 8.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֥ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֛ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֖וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִשְׁפַּ֤ט | mishpat | justice of | H4941 → | |
| אֱמֶת֙ | ʾemet | faithfulness | H571 → | 127 times |
| שְׁפֹ֔טוּ | shefotu | judge | H8199 → | |
| וְחֶ֣סֶד | vechesed | and loyalty | H2617 → | |
| וְרַֽחֲמִ֔ים | verachamim | and compassion<s> | H7356 → | |
| עֲשׂ֖וּ | ʾasu | do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אָחִֽיו׃ | ʾachiv | brother his | H251 → |
כֹּ֥הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֛רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֖וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מִשְׁפַּ֤טjustice of
mishpatH4941 →
אֱמֶת֙faithfulness
ʾemetH571 →127 times
שְׁפֹ֔טוּjudge
shefotuH8199 →
וְחֶ֣סֶדand loyalty
vechesedH2617 →
וְרַֽחֲמִ֔יםand compassion<s>
verachamimH7356 →
עֲשׂ֖וּdo
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
אִ֥ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אָחִֽיו׃brother his
ʾachivH251 →
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
Micah 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:12–13
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your…
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
- Jeremiah 22:3
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.…
- Deuteronomy 10:12–13
Through
Proverbs 21:3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of…
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Micah 6:6–8
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
- 1 Samuel 15:22
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Justice34 verses
Mercy35 verses
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Zechariah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 148:3; Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book IV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Chrysostom, DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 1:6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.