Zechariah 13
Christian Standard Bible
God’s People Cleansed
13 “On that day a fountain(A) will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.(B) 2 On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered.(C) I will banish the prophets[a] and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You cannot remain alive because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.’ When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.(D) 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak(E) in order to deceive. 5 He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased[b] me as a servant since my youth.’(F) 6 If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds(G) on your chest?’[c]—then he will answer, ‘I received the wounds in the house of my friends.’
7 Sword, awake against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate—
this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;(H)
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
two-thirds[d] will be cut off and die,
but a third will be left in it.
9 I will put this third through the fire;
I will refine them as silver is refined
and test them as gold is tested.(I)
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.(J)
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”(K)
Zechariah 13
New Living Translation
A Fountain of Cleansing
13 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.
2 “And on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them. 3 If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.
4 “On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes. 5 He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ 6 And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?[a]’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’
The Scattering of the Sheep
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
the man who is my partner,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Strike down the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn against the lambs.
8 Two-thirds of the people in the land
will be cut off and die,” says the Lord.
“But one-third will be left in the land.
9 I will bring that group through the fire
and make them pure.
I will refine them like silver
and purify them like gold.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
Footnotes
- 13:6 Hebrew wounds between your hands?
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
