Zechariah 13
King James Version
13 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Zechariah 13
Amplified Bible
False Prophets Ashamed
13 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the people of Jerusalem for [cleansing from] sin and impurity.
2 “In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 And if anyone still [appears as a prophet and falsely] prophesies, then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord’; and his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 And in that day the [false] prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not wear a hairy robe [of true prophets] in order to deceive, 5 but he will [deny his identity and] say, ‘I am no prophet. I work the ground, because a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6 And one will say to him, ‘What are these [a]wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
7
“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
And against the Man, My Associate,”
Declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd so that the sheep [of the flock] may be scattered;
And I will turn My hand and stretch it out against the little ones [of the flock].(A)
8
“It will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“Two parts in it will be cut off and perish,
But the third will be left alive.(B)
9
“And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will listen and answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 13:6 False prophets would sometimes cut themselves during emotional idolatrous rites, then deny that they had inflicted the wounds.
Zechariah 13
Expanded Bible
13 “·At that time [L In that day] a fountain will be open for ·David’s descendants [L the house of David] and for the ·people [inhabitants] of Jerusalem to cleanse them of their sin and ·uncleanness [impurity; defilement].”
2 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “·At that time [L On that day] I will ·get rid of [remove; cut off] the names of the idols from the land; no one will remember them anymore. I will also remove the prophets and ·unclean spirits [or spirit of uncleanness/impurity] from the land [C unlike true prophecy from the Spirit of God]. 3 If a person continues to prophesy, his own father and mother, the ones who gave birth to him, will tell him, ‘You have told lies ·using [in] the Lord’s name, so you must die.’ When he prophesies, his own father and mother who gave birth to him will ·stab [pierce] him.
4 “·At that time [L On that day] the prophets will be ashamed of their visions and prophecies. They won’t wear the prophet’s clothes made of hair [C like Elijah (1 Kin. 19:13) and Elisha (1 Kin. 19:19); cf. John the Baptist (Matt. 3:4)] to ·trick [deceive] people. 5 Each of them will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer ·and have been a farmer since I was young [L for a man sold me in my youth; C as an indentured servant to work the land].’ 6 But someone will ask, ‘What are the ·deep cuts [wounds] ·on your body [or on your chest; L between your hands; C pagan prophets often cut themselves to appeal to their gods]?’ And each will answer, ‘I was ·hurt [wounded] at my friend’s house.’
The Shepherd Is Killed
7 “·Sword, hit the [L Awake, Sword, against my] shepherd.
·Attack [L …against] the man who is my ·friend [associate],”
says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
“·Kill [Strike] the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter [Matt. 26:31; Mark 14:27],
and I will ·punish [L turn my hand against] the little ones.”
8 The Lord says, “Two-thirds of the people
through all the land will die. They will be ·gone [struck down; L cut off],
and one-third will be left.
9 The third that is left I will ·test with [L bring into the] fire,
·purifying [refining] them like silver,
testing them like gold.
Then they will call on ·me [my name],
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
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The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.