Zechariah 1

Zechariah · Chapter 1

Zechariah 1:5

1In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,2The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.3Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.4Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.5Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?6But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.7Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,8I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.9Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.10And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.11And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.12Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?13And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.14So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.15And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.16Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.17Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.18Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.19And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.20And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.21Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
5Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

God calls the returned exiles to turn back to him and not be like their fathers, who ignored the earlier prophets (1:3-4). He then asks two pointed questions: where are those fathers now, and did the prophets live forever? Both are gone, but the next verse says God's words still came true on the fathers (1:6). Zechariah 1:3Zechariah 1:4Zechariah 1:5Zechariah 1:6

SpeakingThe LORD of hosts, speaking through the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 1:3Zechariah overview

ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon. Zechariah overviewZechariah 1:3

Also involvedTheir fathers, who would not listen to God, and the former prophets who had warned them. Both had died. Zechariah 1:2Zechariah 1:4Zechariah 1:5

The questions expect obvious answers. The fathers are dead, and the prophets who preached to them are dead too. Human lives end, but verse 6 shows God's words did not; they 'take hold' of the fathers, who admitted God dealt with them as their ways deserved. Zechariah 1:5Zechariah 1:6Strong's H0346

Spoken in Jerusalem, among the people who had returned to Judah. Zechariah overview

JUDAHMediterranean SeaJerusalemTyreSidonDamascusHamath 1GazaAshdodMegiddo

The eventsThe message came in the eighth month of the second year of Darius king of Persia, about 520 BC. This was when the people had been stirred to rebuild the temple again. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah overview

WrittenTraditional: written by Zechariah between about 520 and 518 BC. Scholarly: most agree chapters 1-8, including this verse, come from Zechariah in 520-518 BC; many assign the undated chapters 9-14 to a later writer, while others hold Zechariah wrote the whole book. Zechariah overview

HereThe questions back up the call to repent. The fathers who ignored the warnings are gone, so the hearers should learn from them and turn to God now. Zechariah 1:3Zechariah 1:4Zechariah 1:5Zechariah overview

In the whole of ScriptureOther Scripture also says human life is short and ends in death, using the same kind of question: 'man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?' (Job 14:10). Psalm 90:10 says our days are 'soon cut off,' and Hebrews 9:27 says men are appointed once to die, then the judgment. Against that, God's word stands and comes to pass (Zechariah 1:6), and 2 Peter 3:2 likewise calls readers to remember the words of the prophets. Job 14:10Psalms 90:10Hebrews 9:27Zechariah 1:62 Peter 3:2

For readersPeople and preachers pass away, but what God has said still holds. The time to answer his call is while we live, without waiting to see how things turn out. Zechariah 1:5Zechariah 1:6Psalms 90:10Hebrews 9:27

  • where?אַיֵּה
    Hebrew · ay.yeh · H0346

    The lexicon lists a rhetorical use of this word. The question is not asking for a location; it makes the point that the fathers are gone. Strong's H0346Zechariah 1:5

  • for everעוֹלָם
    Hebrew · o.lam · H5769G

    The word means long duration, continuous existence, or unending future. The verse denies this of the prophets: they did not go on living, though God's words through them stood (1:6). Strong's H5769GZechariah 1:5Zechariah 1:6

  • fathersאָב
    Hebrew · av · H0001G

    The word can mean ancestors or forefathers, not only a parent. It points to the earlier generations who ignored the former prophets (1:4). Strong's H0001GZechariah 1:4

Takeaway

The fathers died and so did the prophets, but God's word outlived them both and came true. So do not repeat their mistake: turn to the LORD, and he will turn to you. Zechariah 1:3Zechariah 1:5Zechariah 1:6

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.

The world around the text

About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.

Who ruled
  • King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC

    Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription

  • Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC

    A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8

  • High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC

    Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2

  • Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC

    The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13

What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
  1. 539 BC
    WarBabylon falls to Cyrus

    Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder

  2. 538 BC
    God's peopleThe first return

    Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65

  3. c. 536 BC
    God's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops

    The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24

  4. 525 BC
    WarPersia conquers Egypt

    Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16

  5. 522-521 BC
    WarDarius crushes the revolts

    When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11

  6. 520 BC
    God's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build

    In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1

  7. c. 520-519 BC
    RulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree

    Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12

  8. 515 BC
    BuildingThe second temple is finished

    The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9

  9. 490-479 BC
    WarPersia's wars with Greece

    Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13

  10. 445 BC
    BuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls

    Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15

  11. 332 BC
    WarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza

    Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7

The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
ancestors yourאֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם'a-vo-tei-KHEMH0001G
father

אָב (av) 1) father of an individual 2) of God as father of his people 3) head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan 4) ancestor 4a) grandfather, forefathers - of person 4b) of people 5) originator or patron of a class, profession, or art 6) of producer, generator (fig.) 7) of benevolence and protection (fig.) 8) term of respect and honour 9) ruler or chief (spec.) Also means: av (אַב "father" H0002)

where?אַיֵּה־'ai-yeh-H0346
where?

אַיֵּה (ay.yeh) 1) where? 1a) of persons, things 1b) rhetorical

[are] theyהֵ֑םHemH1992
they

אִנּוּן (in.nun) these, those, they Aramaic of hem.mah (הֵ֫מָּה "they(masc.)" H1992)

and the prophetsוְהַ֨נְּבִאִ֔יםve-HA-ne-vi-'IMH5030
prophet

נְבִיא (ne.vi) prophet Aramaic of na.vi (נָבִיא "prophet" H5030)

¿ to foreverהַלְעוֹלָ֖םhal-'o-LAMH5769G
forever: enduring

עוֹלָם (o.lam) : enduring/eternal 1) long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world 1a) ancient time, long time (of past) 1b) (of future) 1b1) for ever, always 1b2) continuous existence, perpetual 1b3) everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity

do they liveיִֽחְיֽוּ׃YICH-YUH2421
to live

חֲיָא (cha.ya) 1) to live 1a) (P'al) to live 1b) (Aphel) to let live, keep alive

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.