Zechariah 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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
2 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) 3 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) 4 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) 5 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.” 6 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
7 “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)
8 In the whole land, says the Lord,
two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one-third shall be left alive.(F)
9 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)
Zechariah 13
Evangelical Heritage Version
A Fountain to Wash Away Sin
13 On that day[a] a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
2 In that day, declares the Lord of Armies, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the impure spirit from the land. 3 If anyone still prophesies, his father and his mother who gave birth to him will tell him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord!” Then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will stab him when he prophesies.
4 In that day each of those prophets will be ashamed of his vision. When he prophesies, he will not put on a prophet’s garment made of hair in order to deceive. 5 Instead he will say, “I am not a prophet. I have been a tiller of the soil since my youth, when a man bought me.” 6 Someone will ask him, “What are these wounds on your body?”[b] He will reply, “I received these wounds in the house of my friends.”
Strike the Shepherd, and the Sheep Will Be Scattered
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
and against the man who is my associate, declares the Lord of Armies.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.[c]
8 This will take place in the whole land, declares the Lord:
Two thirds of those who remain in it will be cut off and perish,
but one third will be left in it.
9 I will put that third into the fire,
and I will refine them as silver is refined,
and I will test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name, and I will answer them.
I will say, “This is my people.”
And they will say, “The Lord is my God.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 13:1 This may refer specifically to Good Friday (see 3:9) or it may refer to the New Testament era.
- Zechariah 13:6 Heathen priests gashed themselves as part of their frenzied prayers.
- Zechariah 13:7 Or but I will turn my hand back to the little ones
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.