But 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.

ZECHARIAH 1:6KJV
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Zechariah 1:6 (KJV)

What does Zechariah 1:6 mean?

Zechariah 1:6 says that God’s words and commands, given through His prophets, eventually caught up with the ancestors of the people, just as God had warned. The people then admitted that God had dealt with them exactly as He said He would, responding to their actions and behavior.

Zechariah is speaking to the returned exiles in Jerusalem, reminding them that the warnings given to their forefathers were not empty threats—God’s messages through the prophets came true. The verse highlights that the people’s own choices led to the consequences they faced, and even their ancestors recognized God’s justice after experiencing it.

The Hebrew behind Zechariah 1:6

  • "Words" (דָּבָר, davar): This word often means not just spoken words, but messages or declarations, emphasizing that God’s communications through the prophets were serious and binding.
  • "Statutes" (חֹק, choq): This term refers to decrees or established rules, showing that God’s instructions were not suggestions but set requirements.
  • "Take hold" (נָשַׂג, nasag): This word means to catch up with or overtake, painting a picture of God’s warnings eventually catching up with those who ignored them.
  • "Returned" (שׁוּב, shuv): This word can mean to turn back or repent, but here it carries the sense of the people coming to their senses and acknowledging the truth after experiencing the consequences.

Why Zechariah 1:6 matters

  • Zechariah 1:6 makes clear that God’s promises and warnings are reliable—what He says will happen, does happen, even if it takes time.
  • The verse emphasizes personal responsibility, showing that the people’s own “ways” and “doings” led to God’s response, not arbitrary punishment.
  • This verse connects the past to the present, urging the new generation not to repeat their ancestors’ mistakes and to take God’s words seriously.

Where else these words appear

“thought” Hebrew H2161 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
  • Psalms 37:12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
  • Jeremiah 51:12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

“doings” Hebrew H4611 · used in 41 verses

  • Deuteronomy 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
  • Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
  • Jeremiah 26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

“hold” Hebrew H5381 · used in 47 verses

  • Genesis 31:25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
  • Leviticus 26:5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
  • Job 41:26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.

“statutes” Hebrew H2706 · used in 124 verses

  • Genesis 47:22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
  • Deuteronomy 26:16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
  • Psalms 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.