Cleansing From Sin

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

“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols(C) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”(D) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets(E) and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies(F) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.(G)

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed(H) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment(I) of hair(J) in order to deceive.(K) Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a](L) If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[b]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

“Awake, sword,(M) against my shepherd,(N)
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,(O)
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.(P)
This third I will put into the fire;(Q)
    I will refine them like silver(R)
    and test them like gold.(S)
They will call(T) on my name(U)
    and I will answer(V) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’(W)
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.(X)’”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
  2. Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands

13 On that day, a fountain will open
        to cleanse[a] the sin and impurity of David’s house and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

On that day, says the Lord of heavenly forces,
        I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land;
            they will no longer be remembered.
Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the sinful spirit from the land.
If anyone again prophesies,
        then that person’s birth father and mother will say,
    “You won’t live, for you have told a lie in the name of the Lord.”
    That person’s own birth father and mother will stab him when he prophesies.

On that day each of the prophets will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies
        and won’t put on a shaggy coat in order to deceive.
Each will say, “I’m not a prophet.
        I’m a man who works the ground, for the soil has been my occupation since I was young.”
Someone will say to him,
    “What are these wounds between your hands?”
        And he will say, “These happened when I was hit in my friends’ home.”

Sword, arise against my shepherd,
        against the man responsible for[b] my community, says the Lord of heavenly forces!
Strike the shepherd in order to scatter the flock!
        I will turn my hand against the little ones.
Throughout all the land, says the Lord,
        two-thirds will be cut off and die;
            but one-third will be left in it.
I will put the third part into the fire.
        I will refine them like one refines silver;
            I will test them like one tests gold.
They will call on my name, and I will respond to them.
        I will say, “They are my people.”
            And they will say, “The Lord is our God.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 13:1 Heb lacks to cleanse.
  2. Zechariah 13:7 Heb lacks responsible for.