And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, [that] the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in Chisleu; Ver. 1. _In the fourth year of king Darius_] Two years and a month after the former sermon. The word of the Lord was precious in those da... [ Continue Reading ]
When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, Ver. 2. _When they had sent_] They? who? Not the princes of Persia, that were now proselyted, as the vain glorious Jews (and after them Haymo and Hugo) would have it, for the honour of their n... [ Continue Reading ]
Zechariah 7:3 [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? Ver. 3. _And to speak unto the priests_] Whose office is to preserve knowledge, and pre... [ Continue Reading ]
Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, Ver. 4. _Then came the word of the Lord of hosts_] This is often prefaced, for authority's sake; and to procure audience and reverence. The Lord God hath spoken, who can but be affected? See that ye despise not him that speaketh from heaven.... [ Continue Reading ]
Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, [even] to me? Ver. 5. _Speak unto all the people of the land_], Not to the ambassadors only: as the cause is common,... [ Continue Reading ]
And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat [for yourselves], and drink [for yourselves]? Ver. 6. _And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink_] _q.d._ In all your actions, natural, civil, recreative, religious, you should have sought, served, and set up me, you should have done all t... [ Continue Reading ]
Zechariah 7:7 [Should ye] not [hear] the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when [men] inhabited the south and the plain? Ver. 7. _Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried_] _q... [ Continue Reading ]
And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, Ver. 8. _And the word_] _See Trapp on "_ Zec 7:4 _"_... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: Ver. 9. _Execute true judgment_] According to Deuteronomy 1:17. See the note there. The prophet having here to do with hypocrites, who boast much of their piety with neglect of c... [ Continue Reading ]
And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. Ver. 10. _And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless_] Widows and orphans are God's clients, taken into his special protection. _ The stranger_] Whose r... [ Continue Reading ]
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Ver. 11. _But they refused to hearken_] Being a nation void of counsel, Deuteronomy 32:28, not willing to know what they should do, lest they should do what they would not. Nay (said they o... [ Continue Reading ]
Yea, they made their hearts [as] an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. Ver. 12. _Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant_] That hardest of stones,... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 13. _Therefore it is come to pass_] By a most just and equal retaliation. Distributive justice requireth that men should be punished according to the nature... [ Continue Reading ]
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate. Ver. 14. _But I scattered them with a whirlwind_] This is the second part of their punishment. Th... [ Continue Reading ]