John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 7:13

"And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts;" — Zechariah 7:13 (ASV)

The Prophet sets forth more fully the dreadfulness of this punishment — that they groaned and complained in vain, for God was deaf to their complaints and cries. When God fulminates to some extent and is soon reconciled, he does not seem to be greatly incensed; but when the miserable people whom he afflicts with his hand gain nothing by their entreaties and prayers, it then becomes evident that God is offended to no ordinary degree. This, then, is what the Prophet meant by saying that they were not heard by God when they cried.

But we must notice what is said of their perverseness, for he says that God had called, and he was not heard by them. Now, it cannot be considered an unjust reward for God to punish contempt for his word. For how great is the honor with which he favors miserable wretches when he invites them to himself, and most expressly invites them? Therefore, when God's call is rejected and despised in this way, do not those who are so rebellious deserve what the Prophet declares here — that they would have to cry in vain, as God would be deaf to their groans?

As for the words, the change of person may confuse those unfamiliar with this style, but it is a way of speaking common to the Prophets. For they speak in the person of God to give more authority to their doctrine. They spoke sometimes in the third person and sometimes in the first person: when in the first, God himself speaks; and when in the third, it is in the role of ministers, who declare and deliver, as if from hand to hand, what had been entrusted to them by God.

Thus, the Prophet in the first clause speaks as God’s minister; he afterwards speaks in God's person, as though he were God himself. But this, as has been said, was done concerning the word delivered. It was, that as he called and they heard not, etc. Who called? It is not correct to apply this, as some do, to the Prophet. Therefore, he undoubtedly charges the Jews here with the sin of turning a deaf ear to God’s word. So, he says, they shall call, and I will not hear. It might have been said, “So they shall call, and the Lord will not hear.” As we see, there is nothing obscure or ambiguous in the meaning.

The meaning of the whole, then, is that God had not threatened in vain through his ancient Prophets. Just as he had denounced vengeance through the mouth of Isaiah, so it had been carried out against the Jews, for they had cried without effect and found God to be a severe judge, whose voice they had previously despised.

Indeed, we know it is an often-repeated truth that the ungodly are not heard by God; in fact, their prayers are abominable, for they profane God’s name with an impure heart and mouth whenever they flee to him, since they approach him without faith and repentance. We learn then from these words that those who perversely despise God’s word deservedly rot in their own calamities, for it is by no means right or reasonable that the Lord should be ready to hear the cries of those who turn a deaf ear to his voice.