Zechariah 7:9 Explained

"Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:" — Zechariah 7:9 (KJV)

The answer to a question about fasting turns out to have nothing to do with fasting.

Read it in context: The Book of Zechariah. Also gathered under verses about kindness.

Zechariah 7:9 in context

What does Zechariah 7:9 mean?

Three demands, and the order runs outward: true judgment is a courtroom word, mercy is the covenant word for loyal kindness, compassions is the word for a mother's feeling. Law, loyalty, feeling. 'Every man to his brother' brings all three down from policy to the person in front of you, which is where the delegation had not been looking.

What is the context of Zechariah 7:9?

A delegation has come to ask whether they should keep fasting for the fall of Jerusalem now that the exile is over. It is a sincere liturgical question. God's reply, through Zechariah, asks whether the fasts were ever for him, and then gives this instruction instead.

How do I pray Zechariah 7:9?

Pray it when a religious question has become a substitute for an ethical one — the passage is unusually blunt about that substitution. Ask which of the three you are weakest at. Most people can manage one, and the verse gives all three as a single instruction.

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