Zechariah 13
Modern English Version
The Cleansing of God’s People
13 On that day there will be a spring opened up for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and impurity.
2 And on that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be remembered any more. And I will also remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. 3 And it will be if a man again prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say, “You will not live because you speak deception in the name of the Lord.” Then when he prophesies, his father and mother will pierce him through.
4 On that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a robe of coarse hair in order to deceive. 5 But he will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a man who works the ground, for a man purchased me when I was young.” 6 If someone asks, “What are these wounds on your arms?” he will say, “I was struck in the house of my close friends.”
Striking the Shepherd, Scattering the Sheep
7 “Awake, O sword, against My shepherd
and the man of My association,”
says the Lord of Hosts.
Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.
I will turn My hand against the small ones.
8 And it will happen in all the land, says the Lord,
that two-thirds will be cut off and die,
and one-third will be left in the land.
9 And I will bring this one-third left into the fire,
and will refine them as the refinement of silver,
and will test them as the testing of gold.
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 my God.”
Zechariah 13
Lexham English Bible
13 “‘On that day a well will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and from impurity.[a] 2 And then,[b] on that day,’ declares[c] Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I will banish from the land. 3 And then,[d] if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of Yahweh!” And his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 And then[e] on that day, each of the prophets will be ashamed because of his vision when he was prophesying, and they will not put on a cloak of hair in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, “I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for a man has acquired me since my youth.”[f] 6 And someone[g] shall say to him, “What are these wounds between your arms?”[h] and he will say, “Those I have received[i] in the house of the ones who love me.”’”
The Sword Shall Strike the Shepherd
7 “O sword, awake against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate,”
declares[j] Yahweh of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd,
so that the sheep[k] may be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the small ones.
8 And then[l] in all the land,” declares[m] Yahweh,
“two thirds[n] will be cut off and perish,
and one third will be left alive[o] in it.
9 And I will bring the remaining third into the fire,
and I will refine them like one refines silver,
and I will test them like one tests gold.
They[p] will call my name,
and I will answer them.[q]
I will say, ‘They[r] are my people,’
and they[s] will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 13:1 Literally “for sin and for impurity”
- Zechariah 13:2 Literally “And it will happen”
- Zechariah 13:2 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 13:3 Literally “And it will happen”
- Zechariah 13:4 Literally “And it will happen”
- Zechariah 13:5 Other translations read “for the land has been my possession since my youth”
- Zechariah 13:6 Hebrew “he”
- Zechariah 13:6 Literally “between your hands”; that is, on the chest or on the back
- Zechariah 13:6 Hebrew “have been struck”
- Zechariah 13:7 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 13:7 Or “flock”; the Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
- Zechariah 13:8 Literally “And it will happen”
- Zechariah 13:8 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 13:8 Literally “a mouth of two”
- Zechariah 13:8 Hebrew “left over”
- Zechariah 13:9 Hebrew “He”
- Zechariah 13:9 Hebrew “him”
- Zechariah 13:9 Hebrew “He”
- Zechariah 13:9 Hebrew “he”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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