13 “到那天,必为大卫家和耶路撒冷的居民开一个泉源,洗净他们的罪恶和污秽。

“到那天,我必铲除地上偶像的名号,使它们被人遗忘;我必除去地上的假先知和污秽的灵。这是万军之耶和华说的。 若有人再说预言,他的亲生父母必对他说,‘你不得活命,因为你奉耶和华的名说谎。’他说预言的时候,他的亲生父母必把他刺死。 到那天,先知必因自己所讲的异象而羞愧,不再穿着毛皮衣欺骗人。 他必说,‘我不是先知,我是农夫,我从小便以种田为生。’ 若有人问他,‘你胸口上的伤是怎么回事?[a]’他必回答说,‘是在我朋友家弄伤的。’”

牧人被杀

万军之耶和华说:

“刀剑啊,醒来吧,
要攻击我的牧人和同伴,
要击打牧人,羊群将四散,
我必出手攻击小羊。
地上三分之二的人必遭铲除、毁灭,
只剩下三分之一的人存活。
这是耶和华说的。
我必使这三分之一的人受到火一般的考验;
我必像熬炼银子一样熬炼他们,
像试炼金子一样试炼他们。
他们必呼求我的名,
我必回应他们。
我必说,‘这是我的子民。’
他们必说,‘耶和华是我们的上帝。’”

Footnotes

  1. 13:6 异教的先知有用利器自割或自刺的习惯。

13 “At that time a Fountain will be opened to the people of Israel and Jerusalem, a Fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and defilement.”

And the Lord Almighty declares, “In that day I will get rid of every vestige of idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. All false prophets and fortune-tellers will be wiped out, and if anyone begins false prophecy again, his own father and mother will slay him! ‘You must die,’ they will tell him, ‘for you are prophesying lies in the name of the Lord.’

“No one will be boasting then of his prophetic gift! No one will wear prophet’s clothes to try to fool the people then.

“‘No,’ he will say. ‘I am not a prophet; I am a farmer. The soil has been my livelihood from my earliest youth.’

“And if someone asks, ‘Then what are these scars on your chest and your back?’[a] he will say, ‘I got into a brawl at the home of a friend!’

“Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, the man who is my associate and equal,” says the Lord Almighty. “Strike down the Shepherd and the sheep will scatter, but I will come back and comfort and care for the lambs. Two-thirds of all the nation of Israel will be cut off and die,[b] but a third will be left in the land. I will bring the third that remain through the fire and make them pure, as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call upon my name and I will hear them; I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 13:6 these scars on your chest and your back. Evidently self-inflicted cuts, as practiced by false prophets; see 1 Kings 18:28. I got into a brawl at the home of a friend, literally, “[These are] wounds I received in the house of my friends.” Some think this refers to Christ; others believe this refers to a false prophet who is lying about the reasons for his scars.
  2. Zechariah 13:8 Two-thirds of all the nation of Israel will be cut off and die. Something of this sort has already happened twice: 2 million Jews perished in the Roman wars, and 6 million under Hitler. Is a yet future disaster predicted here?

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.

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.

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.

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:

But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cleansing From Sin

13 “On that day a fountain(A) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse(B) them from sin and impurity.

“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols(C) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”(D) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets(E) and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies(F) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.(G)

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed(H) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment(I) of hair(J) in order to deceive.(K) Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a](L) If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[b]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

“Awake, sword,(M) against my shepherd,(N)
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,(O)
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.(P)
This third I will put into the fire;(Q)
    I will refine them like silver(R)
    and test them like gold.(S)
They will call(T) on my name(U)
    and I will answer(V) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’(W)
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.(X)’”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
  2. Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands