Bible Strands
Zechariah 7:13
And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts addresses the post-exilic community in Jerusalem concerning their inquiry about fasting. The statement follows a declaration of divine anger for their ancestors' refusal to heed the law and earlier prophets.
The words — קָרָא (qara’) denotes both the initial prophetic summons and the subsequent desperate cries of the people, while שָׁמֵעוּ (shama’) marks the critical failure to heed. The structure כַּאֲשֶׁר־...כֵּן (ka’asher...ken) establishes a direct parallel between their ignored pleas and God's subsequent silence.
The thread — The pattern of rejected divine calls and unanswered human cries recurs in Proverbs 1:24, Isaiah 1:15, and Jeremiah 14:12. Each passage links persistent refusal to listen with the cessation of divine responsiveness.
Why it lands — The text states that God's silence is a direct consequence of the people's prior refusal to listen to His messengers. It demands recognition that spiritual deafness to earlier revelation justifies subsequent divine silence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Proverbs 1:24 Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,
- 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.
- Jeremiah 14:12 Although 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 famine and plague.”
- 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.
- 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.
- Psalms 81:8 Hear, O My people, and I will warn you: O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
- Proverbs 28:9 Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
- Luke 19:42 and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- James 4:3 And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.