Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 7:13
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:
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 1:27-28. So by Isaiah, When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of bloods Isa 1:15. So by Hosea, Hos 5:6, by Micah Mic 3:4, by Jeremiah Jer 11:14; Jer 14:12. It was one message which was verilied in every day of chastisement, there will be a too late; not a final too late, until the end of ends comes, but a too late for them, a too late to avert that particular judgment of God, whereby the sinners earthly trial and future were changed permanently .
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Zec 7:13
I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts
God refusing to hear prayer
I.
The negligence of men.
1. They do not hear the dispensations of God in His providence.
2. They do not hear the invitations of God by His servants.
3. They do not hear the commands of God in His Word.
II. The judgment of God.
1. He will not hear the cry of the lost, as expressive of regret.
2. He will not hear the cry of the lost, as expressive of disappointment.
3. He will not hear the cry of the lost, as expressive of fear.
4. He will not hear the cry of the lost, as expressive of despair. (G. Brooks.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Therefore it is come to pass; this is the very cause, and it is just too.
As he cried; my Spirit by the prophets called, warned, entreated, and urged them to repent, obey, and live, but they would not; so they cried, by fasting and howling in their deep but chosen distress, in the miseries they fell under after Gedaliahs death, yet
I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts. Is it not most just I should disregard their tears for Gedaliah, when after his death they pretended to inquire that they might obey my word, Jer 42:2,3,5,6, yet then they gave my prophet the lie, and contemptuously resolved to do contrary to my word by him, Jer 43:4? Thus you know my resentments of your fasts held on with your sins, saith the Lord.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. he criedby His prophets.
they criedin theircalamities.
I . . . not hearretributionin kind (Pro 1:24-26;Isa 1:15; Mic 3:4).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore 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 Pr 1:24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This wrath is described in Zec 7:13, Zec 7:14. Zec 7:13. “It came to pass: as he cried and they did not hear, so will they cry and I shall not hear, said Jehovah of hosts. Zec 7:14. And I will scatter them with a whirlwind over all nations, who did not know them, and the land is laid waste behind them, so that no one passes to and fro. And thus they made the choice land a desert.” The form of the address changes in Zec 7:13. Whereas in the protasis the prophet is still speaking of Jehovah in the third person, in the apodosis he introduces Jehovah as speaking (so will they cry, and I, etc.) and announcing the punishment, which He will inflict upon the rebellious and has already inflicted in their captivity. This address of God is continued in Zec 7:14 as far as . The opinion, that the address terminates with , and that commences the account of the accomplishment of the purpose to punish, is not so much at variance with the circumstance, that in that case the last two clauses of Zec 7:14 would say essentially the same thing, as with the fact that cannot, from its very form, be taken as an account of the accomplishment of the divine purpose. The perfect nashammah in this clause does not preclude our connecting it with the preceding one, but is used to set forth the devastation as a completed fact: the land will be (not become) waste. The infliction of the punishment is expressed in Zec 7:13 in the form of a divine talio. As they have not hearkened to the word of God, so will God, when they call upon Him, namely in distress (cf. Hos 5:15), also not hear (cf. Jer 11:11), but whirl them like a tempest over the nations. The form is the first pers. imperf. piel for or , and Aramaic (cf. Ges. 52, 2, Anm. 2). On the nations whom they do not know, and who will therefore have no pity and compassion upon them, compare Jer 22:28; Jer 16:13. (cf. Zec 9:8), that not one goes to and fro in the desolate land; lit., goes away from a place and returns again (cf. Exo 32:27). In the clause the result of the stiff-necked obstinacy of the fathers is briefly stated: They have made the choice land a desert ( ‘erets chemdah , as in Jer 3:19 and Psa 106:24), so that they have brought upon the land all the calamity which is now bewailed upon the fast-days.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The Prophet sets forth more fully the dreadfulness of this punishment — that they in vain groaned and complained, for God was deaf to their complaints and cryings. When God in some measure fulminates and becomes soon reconciled, he does not seem to be greatly incensed, but when the miserable whom he afflicts by his hand, avail nothing by their entreaties and prayers, it then appears evident that God is in no common degree offended. This then is what the Prophet meant by saying, that they were not heard by God when they cried.
But we must notice what is said of their perverseness; for he says, that God had called, and that he was not heard by them. Now it cannot be deemed an unjust reward, that God should punish the contempt of his word; for how great is the honor by which he favors miserable wretches, when he invites them to himself, and most expressly invites them? When, therefore, the calling of God is thus rejected and despised, do not they who are so refractory deserve what the Prophet declares here — that they would have to cry in vain, as God would be deaf to their groanings?
As to the words, the change of person may embarrass the unlettered, but it is a mode of speaking common to the Prophets, for they assume the person of God in order to gain more authority to their doctrine; and they spoke sometimes in the third and sometimes in the first person: when in the first God himself speaks, and when in the third it is in the character of ministers, who declare and deliver, as it were from hand to hand, what had been committed to them by God. Hence the Prophet in the first clause speaks as God’s minister; he afterwards assumes his person, as though he were God himself. But this, as it has been said, was done with regard to the word delivered. It was, that as he called and they heard not, etc. Who called? It is not right to apply this, as some do, to the Prophet; he, therefore, charges here the Jews, no doubt, with the sin of turning a deaf ear to God’s word. So, he says, they shall call, and I will not hear. It might have been said, “so they shall call, and the Lord will not hear.” There is in the meaning, as we see, nothing obscure or ambiguous. (77)
The import of the whole then is, that God had not threatened in vain by his ancient Prophets; but that as he had denounced vengeance by the mouth of Isaiah, so it had been executed on the Jews, for they had without effect cried, and found God a severe judge, whose voice they had previously despised. We indeed know, that it is a truth often repeated, that the ungodly are not heard by God; nay, that their prayers are abominable; for they profane God’s name by an impure heart and mouth whenever they flee to him, as they approach him without faith and repentance. We then learn from these words, that those who perversely despise God’s word deservedly rot in their own calamities; for it is by no means right or reasonable that the Lord should be ready to hear the crying of those who turn a deaf ear to his voice. It follows —
(77) The verse may be thus literally rendered —
13. And it was, as he had called, and they heard not, So “call shall they do, and I will not hear,” Said Jehovah of hosts.
The Prophet relates what Jehovah had said when the Jews refused to hear him. The verb [ אמר ] here, as in a former instance, is to be rendered in the past tense. It is improperly rendered “saith” in our version, and also by Newcome and Henderson. The past tense is observed by Marckius. Then the beginning of the following verse is a continuation of what Jehovah had said—
14. “And I will drive them as by a whirlwind Among all the nations whom they know not;” And the land became desolate after them, Without a passenger and without an inhabitant; Yea, they made the land of delight a desolation.
The first two lines are literally thus—
“
And I will whirlwind them Over all the nations whom they know not.”
In the three last lines the Prophet states what the effect had been.
Newcome says, that [ ם ], “them,” after “know,” is redundant. It is an instance of two pronouns, relative and personal, “whom they knew them not.” It is the same in Welsh, “ (lang. cy) Y rhai nad adwaenant hwynt.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Therefore it is come to pass.LXX., wrongly, , the consequence of which mistake is that the following verbs are also put incorrectly in the future. (For the phraseology comp. Mic. 3:4; Jer. 11:11; Jer. 14:12.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Zec 7:13 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 and kind of their offences. “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways,” Pro 14:14 . As he makes a match with mischief, so he shall have his belly full of it; he hath sold himself to do wickedness, and he shall be sure to have his payment. With the froward God will show himself froward, Psa 18:26 , he will be as cross as they are, for the hearts of them. If they turn the deaf ear to him, he will do as much for them another time. They shall call and cry for help till their hearts and sides ache, but all in vain; he will not come at them. If they pull away the shoulder, he will pull away their supporters, and they shall be “overthrown in stony places,” Psa 141:6 . If they harden their hearts he will harden his hand, and hasten their destruction. This shall they have of God’s hand, they “shall lie down in sorrow,” Isa 50:11 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
as: Psa 81:8-12, Pro 1:24-28, Isa 50:2, Jer 6:16, Jer 6:17, Luk 13:34, Luk 13:35, Luk 19:42-44
so: Pro 21:13, Pro 28:9, Isa 1:15, Jer 11:11, Jer 14:12, Eze 14:3, Eze 20:3, Mic 3:4, Mat 25:11, Mat 25:12, Luk 13:25, Jam 4:3
Reciprocal: Neh 9:30 – therefore Job 27:9 – Will God Psa 18:41 – General Pro 1:28 – shall they Son 5:6 – I sought Isa 57:13 – let Jer 7:13 – and I called Jer 7:27 – also Jer 14:2 – the cry Jer 44:3 – of their Lam 3:44 – that Eze 8:18 – and though Eze 20:31 – and shall Eze 33:28 – I will lay Joh 9:31 – we know
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zec 7:13. The refusal of the people to hear the call of the Lord resulted in His refusal to hear when they cried out for mercy,
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Zec 7:13-14. Therefore On this very account; as he cried As I, by my Spirit in my prophets, called, warned, entreated, and urged them to repent, obey, and live, but they would not; so they cried In their deep distress, and amidst their overwhelming calamities; and I would not hear Would not answer, or regard their prayer. But I scattered them Cast them out of their habitations, and dispersed them through distant countries; with a whirlwind Suddenly and irresistibly; among all the nations All the heathen, that hated them and their ways. Thus the land Once flowing with milk and honey; once full of cities, men, and cattle; was desolate after them Became waste as a wilderness after they were cast out; that no man passed through An entire riddance was not only made of its inhabitants, but the very highways were desolate, so that none passed and repassed: and that which was before a pleasant land, became a mere desert.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Since the forefathers refused to listen to the Lord’s Spirit when He called to them (cf. Neh 9:20; Neh 9:30; 2Pe 1:21), the Lord refused to listen to them when they called to Him in prayer (cf. Jer 11:11-14). Instead He scattered them among many nations, as though a windstorm had blown them off the Promised Land (cf. Deu 28:36-37; Deu 28:64-68; Hos 13:3). As a result, the land had become desolate with none of the Israelites returning to it during the Captivity (cf. Deu 28:41-42; Deu 28:45-52). This desolation of the formerly "pleasant land" of Israel was due to the sin of the people (cf. Psa 106:24; Jer 3:19; Dan 11:16; Dan 11:41).
". . . while Zechariah may well not have answered the original enquiry directly, he had nevertheless taken up the very essence of ritual in the heart of the worshiper, which was that the outward form of religious activity was useless and lifeless without an accompanying spirit of obedience, confession and repentance." [Note: Ellis, pp. 1037-38.]