Zechariah 1:5
New International Version
Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever?

New Living Translation
“Where are your ancestors now? They and the prophets are long dead.

English Standard Version
Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

Berean Standard Bible
Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?

King James Bible
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

New King James Version
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

New American Standard Bible
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

NASB 1995
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

NASB 1977
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

Legacy Standard Bible
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

Amplified Bible
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

Christian Standard Bible
Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever?

American Standard Version
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

Contemporary English Version
Where are your ancestors now? Not even prophets live forever.

English Revised Version
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Your ancestors-where are they now? And the prophets-are they still alive?

Good News Translation
Your ancestors and those prophets are no longer alive.

International Standard Version
"Your ancestors—where are they? And the prophets—do they live forever?

Majority Standard Bible
Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?

NET Bible
"As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever?

New Heart English Bible
Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

Webster's Bible Translation
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

World English Bible
Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Your fathers—where [are] they? And the prophets—do they live for all time?

Young's Literal Translation
Your fathers -- where are they? And the prophets -- to the age do they live?

Smith's Literal Translation
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, shall they live forever?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, shall they live always?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Your fathers, where are they? And will the prophets live unceasingly?

New American Bible
Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, can they live forever?

New Revised Standard Version
Your ancestors, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Your fathers, where are they? And my prophets, do they live for ever?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Where are your fathers and my Prophets? Do they live forever?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Where are your fathers, and the prophets? Will they live for ever?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Call to Repentance
4Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD. 5Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’ ”…

Cross References
Psalm 90:10
The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Hebrews 9:27
Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

Job 14:1-2
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. / Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Ecclesiastes 1:4
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. / For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. / So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Psalm 39:4-5
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. / You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

1 John 2:17
The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Psalm 103:15-16
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

2 Peter 3:8-9
Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. / The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

Isaiah 51:12
“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?


Treasury of Scripture

Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

Job 14:10-12
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? …

Psalm 90:10
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Ecclesiastes 1:4
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

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Age Fathers Forefathers Forever Live Prophets
Zechariah 1
1. Zechariah exhorts to repentance.
7. The vision of the horses.
12. At the prayer of the angel comfortable promises are made to Jerusalem.
18. The vision of the four horns and the four carpenters.














Where are your forefathers now?
This phrase invites reflection on the transient nature of human life and the enduring nature of God's word. The Hebrew word for "forefathers" is "אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם" (avoteichem), which refers to the ancestors of the Israelites. Historically, this question is posed to the post-exilic community of Israel, urging them to consider the fate of their ancestors who did not heed God's warnings. The rhetorical question serves as a reminder of the consequences of disobedience and the importance of learning from past mistakes. It emphasizes the need for repentance and returning to God, as the forefathers' failure to do so led to their downfall.

And the prophets
The mention of "prophets" here, from the Hebrew "הַנְּבִיאִים" (hanvi'im), highlights the role of God's messengers throughout Israel's history. Prophets were divinely appointed to deliver God's messages, often calling the people to repentance and warning them of impending judgment. This phrase underscores the continuity of God's communication with His people, despite the mortality of His messengers. The prophets' words, inspired by God, remain relevant and authoritative, even after their earthly lives have ended. This serves as a reminder of the enduring power and truth of God's word, which outlasts human life.

do they live forever?
This rhetorical question points to the temporal nature of human existence, including that of the prophets. The Hebrew word "יְחִיוּ" (yechiyu) means "live," and it emphasizes the finite lifespan of even the most revered individuals. While the prophets themselves do not live forever, their messages, rooted in divine truth, continue to speak to successive generations. This phrase encourages the audience to focus not on the mortality of the messengers but on the eternal nature of God's word. It serves as a call to heed the prophetic messages and align one's life with God's will, recognizing that while human life is fleeting, God's promises and warnings endure.

Verse 5. - To compel them to listen to the warning, he asks them, Your fathers, where are they! What became of those who paid no heed to the admonitions of the prophets? Have they not suffered dire calamities and perished miserably? And the prophets, do they live forever? They can teach and threaten no longer. It is true that the seers who warned your fathers are no more, but did not their words come true (see ver. 6)? Jerome referred these words to the false prophets, resting, doubtless, on Jeremiah 37:19. But it is more natural to refer them to the "former prophets" mentioned above and in the following verse.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Where
אַיֵּה־ (’ay·yêh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 346: Where?

are your forefathers now?
אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם (’ă·ḇō·w·ṯê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 1: Father

And the prophets,
וְהַ֨נְּבִאִ֔ים (wə·han·nə·ḇi·’îm)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5030: A spokesman, speaker, prophet

do they live
יִֽחְיֽוּ׃ (yiḥ·yū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive

forever?
הַלְעוֹלָ֖ם (hal·‘ō·w·lām)
Article, Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5769: Concealed, eternity, frequentatively, always


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OT Prophets: Zechariah 1:5 Your fathers where are they? And (Zech. Zec Zc)
Zechariah 1:4
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