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

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.

“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. 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.

“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. He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ 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

“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.
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.
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

  1. 13:6 Hebrew wounds between your hands?