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) 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. 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) 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. 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) 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.’

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.
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.
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)

Footnotes

  1. 13:2 = false prophets
  2. 13:5 Or sold
  3. 13:6 Lit wounds between your hands
  4. 13:8 Lit two-thirds in it

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

Idolatry Cut Off

On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more, and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit.(B) And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord,” and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy.(C) On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive,(D) but each of them will say, “I am no prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for the land has been my possession[a] since my youth.” And if anyone asks them, “What are these wounds on your chest?”[b] the answer will be “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”

The Shepherd Struck, the Flock Scattered

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is my associate,”
            says the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;
    I will turn my hand against the little ones.(E)
In the whole land, says the Lord,
    two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,
    and one-third shall be left alive.(F)
And I will put this third into the fire,
    refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ”(G)

Footnotes

  1. 13.5 Cn: Heb for humankind has caused me to possess
  2. 13.6 Heb wounds between your hands