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:
Parallel translations
- WEB It has come to pass that, as he called, and they refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen,” said Yahweh of Armies;
- BSB And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
- NKJV Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts.
- NASB And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of armies;
- NLT “Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because they would not listen when God called, He would not listen when they called. Refusing God's word leads to a withdrawal of His favorable response.
Overview
The Lord describes a sobering correspondence: the people's deafness to Him was answered by His silence to their cries in the day of trouble (cf. Proverbs 1:24-28). It illustrates the principle of reaping what one sows in one's response to God. Yet this stands as a warning, not the final word, for God still calls the remnant to repentance and blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Prov 1:24–28Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
- Isa 1:15And 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 blood.
- Jer 14:12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
- Jer 11:11Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
- Mic 3:4Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
- Ps 81:8–12Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
- Jas 4:3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
- Luke 19:42–44Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
- Prov 28:9He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
- Jer 6:16–17Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
- Isa 50:2Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
- Prov 21:13Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
- Ezek 20:3Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
- Luke 13:34–35O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
- Luke 13:25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
- Matt 25:11–12Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
- Ezek 14:3Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
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Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 7:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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