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

Idolatry Cut Off

“And (C)on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, (D)I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that (E)they shall be remembered no more. And also (F)I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, (G)‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

“On that day (H)every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, but he will say, (I)‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’[a] And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’[b] he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck

“Awake, O sword, against (J)my shepherd,
    against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.

(K)“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
    I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land, declares the Lord,
    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
    (L)and one third shall be left alive.
And (M)I will put this third into the fire,
    and refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
(N)They will call upon my name,
    and (O)I will answer them.
(P)I will say, ‘They are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth
  2. Zechariah 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands

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