Zechariah 8:17

do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks through the prophet Zechariah to the returned exilic community, immediately following instructions to speak truth and render sound judgments. He issues this command during a period of national restoration when internal covenant fidelity must match external rebuilding efforts.

The words — The Hebrew verb תַּחְשְׁבוּ (tachshevu) literally means "you plan" or "you devise," paired with אֶת־רָעַת (et-ra'at), "the harm of," to describe internal plotting. The phrase וּ/שְׁבֻ֥עַת (u/shevu'at), "and an oath of," introduces the prohibition against valuing false swearing.

The thread — This warning against internal malice and deceitful oaths aligns with the divine hatred of iniquity cataloged in Proverbs 6:16 and Psalm 5:5. The motif of God rejecting secret plotting and false speech recurs in the wisdom and prophetic corpora as a baseline for covenant community conduct.

Why it lands — The text demands immediate internal alignment, forbidding both secret plotting against others and the active desire to swear falsely. It requires readers to align private thoughts and verbal commitments with public covenant obligations before any external action.

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

וְאִ֣ישׁ׀ve./'Ishand/ each אֶת־'et-<obj.>רָעַ֣תra.'At[the] harm of רֵעֵ֗הוּre.'E./huneighbor/ his אַֽל־'al-may not תַּחְשְׁבוּ֙tach.she.Vuyou plan בִּלְבַבְכֶ֔םbi/l.vav./Khemin/ heart/ your וּשְׁבֻ֥עַתu./she.Vu.'atand/ an oath of שֶׁ֖קֶרShe.kerfalsehood אַֽל־'al-may not תֶּאֱהָ֑בוּte.'e.Ha.vuyou love כִּ֧יkifor אֶת־'et-<obj.>כָּל־kol-all אֵ֛לֶּה'E.lehthese אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sher[are things] which שָׂנֵ֖אתִיsa.Ne.tiI hate נְאֻם־ne.'um-[the] utterance of יְהוָֽה׃ סYah.wehYahweh

King James Version

And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.

Cross-references

Proverbs 6:16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
Psalms 5:5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.
Psalms 10:3 For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
Proverbs 3:29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he trustfully dwells beside you.
Jeremiah 4:14 Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
Jeremiah 44:4 Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying: ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’
Micah 2:1 Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
Habakkuk 1:13 Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Proverbs 6:14 With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord.