Zechariah 7:3 Cross References - ISV

³ and to speak to the priests assigned to the Temple of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies along with the prophets, asking, “Am I to go about mourning, denying myself throughout the fifth month, as I have these many years?”

⁹ Present the case to the Levitical priest or the judge at that time. When you have inquired and they have announced the verdict, ¹⁰ carry out the verdict that was declared to you at the place that the LORD will choose. Carefully observe all of their instructions to you ¹¹ in accordance with what the Law says, and in accordance with the verdict that will be handed to you. You must not deviate from the verdict that they declare to you either to the right or to the left.

¹⁰ They will teach your ordinances to Jacob, and your Law to Israel. They will offer incense as a pleasant aroma to you and a whole burnt offering upon your altar.

⁸ Jerusalem is Burned and the Temple DemolishedOn the seventh day of the fifth month, which was during the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king of Babylon, captain of the guard Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem ⁹ and set fire to the LORD’s Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He even incinerated the lavish homes.

⁹ A Declaration to RejoiceBecause all the people were weeping as they listened to the words of the Law, Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the descendants of Levi who taught the people told everyone, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” ¹⁰ He also told them, “Go eat the best food, drink the best wine, and give something to those who have nothing, since this day is holy to our Lord. Don’t be sorrowful, because the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
¹¹ The descendants of Levi also calmed all the people by saying, “Be still, for the day is holy. Don’t be sorrowful!”

¹ The People Confess Their SinsOn the twenty-fourth day of this same month, the Israelis gathered together while fasting, wearing sackcloth, and covering themselves with dust. ² The remnant of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners. Then they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. ³ While they stood there, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one fourth of the day, and they confessed and worshipped the LORD their God for another fourth of the day.

⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

¹² On that day the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies called for weeping and mourning, for shaving heads and wearing sackcloth. ¹³ But look! There is joy and festivity, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating meat and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, you say, because we die tomorrow.”

¹² The Destruction of the TempleIn the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—it was the nineteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned the LORD’s Temple, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building with fire. ¹⁴ All the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem.

²³ Duties of Ministry“They are to teach my people how to discern what is holy in contrast to what is common, showing them how to discern between what is unclean and clean. ²⁴ When disputes arise, they are to serve as a judge, adjudicating matters according to my ordinances. They are to enforce my laws, my statutes, all of my appointed festivals, and they are to sanctify my Sabbaths.

⁶ My people are destroyed because they lack knowledge of me. Because you rejected that knowledge, I will reject you as a priest for me. Since you forget the Law of your God, I will also forget your children.

¹⁷ As they serve between the porch and the altar, let the priests and ministers of the LORD weep and pray: ‘Spare your people, LORD, and do not make your heritage a disgrace so that nations ridicule them. Why should they say among the people, “Where is their God?”’”

¹¹ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Ask the priests about what the Law says:

⁵ “Talk to everyone in the land, as well as to the priests. Ask them, ‘When you were fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, were you really fasting for me?

¹⁹ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘The fasts that occur in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be joyful and glad times for the house of Judah, replete with cheerful festivals. Therefore, love truth and peace.’”

¹² And so the land will mourn, families by families, alone by themselves—the family of the house of David by itself with their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself with their wives by themselves, ¹³ the family of the house of Levi by itself with their wives by themselves, the family of Shimei by itself with their wives by themselves— ¹⁴ all of the surviving families by themselves, along with their wives by themselves.

⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he’s the messenger of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

¹⁵ Jesus asked them, “The wedding guests can’t mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

⁵ Do not withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so just for a set time, in order to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should come together again so that Satan does not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

⁸ Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence, and he will exalt you.