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Zechariah 13
Contemporary English Version
Zechariah 13
Contemporary English Version
Getting Rid of Idols and False Prophets
13 In the future there will be a fountain, where David's descendants and the people of Jerusalem can wash away their sin and guilt.
2 The Lord All-Powerful says:
When that time comes, I will get rid of every idol in the country, and they will be forgotten forever. I will also do away with their prophets and those evil spirits that control them. 3 If any such prophets ever appear again, their own parents must warn them that they will die for telling lies in my name—the name of the Lord. If those prophets don't stop speaking, their parents must then kill them with a sword.
4 Those prophets will be ashamed of their so-called visions, and they won't deceive anyone by dressing like a true prophet. 5 Instead, they will say, “I'm no prophet. I've been a farmer all my life.”[a]
6 And if any of them are asked why they are wounded,[b] they will answer, “It happened at the house of some friends.”
A Wounded Shepherd and Scattered Sheep
7 (A) The Lord All-Powerful said:
My sword, wake up! Attack
my shepherd and friend.
Strike down the shepherd!
Scatter the little sheep,
and I will destroy them.
8 Nowhere in the land
will more than a third of them
be left alive.
9 Then I will purify them
and put them to the test,
just as gold and silver
are purified and tested.
They will pray in my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, “You are my people,”
and they will reply,
“You, Lord, are our God!”
Zechariah 13
New American Standard Bible
Zechariah 13
New American Standard Bible
False Prophets Ashamed
13 “On that day a (A)fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for (B)sin and for (C)defilement.
2 “And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord of armies, “that I will (D)eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the (E)prophets and the (F)unclean spirit from the land. 3 And if anyone still (G)prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall (H)not live, because you have spoken (I)falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his (J)father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be (K)ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a (L)hairy robe in order to deceive; 5 but he will say, ‘I am (M)not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man [a]sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6 And someone will say to him, ‘What are these wounds (N)between your [b]arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded at the house of [c]my friends.’
7 “Awake, (O)sword, against My (P)Shepherd,
And against the Man, My (Q)Associate,”
Declares the Lord of armies.
“(R)Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered;
And I will (S)turn My hand [d]against the little ones.
8 And it will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“That (T)two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
9 And I will bring the third part through the (U)fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will (V)call on My name,
And I will (W)answer them;
I will say, ‘They are (X)My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 13:5 Lit caused another to buy me
- Zechariah 13:6 Lit hands
- Zechariah 13:6 Lit those who love me
- Zechariah 13:7 Or upon
Zechariah 13
New International Version
Zechariah 13
New International Version
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.
2 “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. 3 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)
4 “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) 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a]’(L) 6 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
7 “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.
8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.(P)
9 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
- Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
- Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands
Zechariah 13
Revised Standard Version
Zechariah 13
Revised Standard Version
13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
Idolatry Cut Off
2 “And 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. 3 And if any one again appears as a prophet, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘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. 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; he will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive, 5 but he 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 one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘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 stands next to me,”
says the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, says the Lord,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
and 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 my God.’”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 13:5 Cn: Heb for man has caused me to possess
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.