God’s People Cleansed

13 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.(A) On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will remove the prophets[a] and the unclean spirit from the land. If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him: You cannot remain alive because you have spoken falsely in the name of Yahweh. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.(B) On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak(C) in order to deceive. He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased[b] me as a servant since my youth.(D) If someone asks him: What are these wounds(E) on your chest?[c]—then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.

Sword, awake against My shepherd,
against the man who is My associate—
this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;(F)
I will also turn My hand against the little ones.
In the whole land—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
two-thirds[d] will be cut off and die,
but a third will be left in it.
I will put this third through the fire;
I will refine them as silver is refined
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: Yahweh is our God.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 13:2 = false prophets
  2. Zechariah 13:5 Or sold
  3. Zechariah 13:6 Lit wounds between your hands
  4. Zechariah 13:8 Lit two-thirds in it

Idolatry Cut Off

13 “In that (A)day (B)a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for (C)uncleanness.

“It shall be in that day,” says the Lord of hosts, “that I will (D)cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause (E)the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, ‘You shall (F)not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who begot him (G)shall thrust him through when he prophesies.

“And it shall be in that day that (H)every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear (I)a robe of coarse hair to deceive. (J)But he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’ And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your [a]arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Savior

“Awake, O sword, against (K)My Shepherd,
Against the Man (L)who is My Companion,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
(M)“Strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered;
Then I will turn My hand against (N)the little ones.
And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the Lord,
That (O)two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
(P)But one-third shall be left in it:
I will bring the one-third (Q)through the fire,
Will (R)refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
(S)They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
(T)I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 13:6 Or hands

13 A day is coming when a special spring will continually flow to purify the royal house of David and the citizens of Jerusalem from sin and sexual and religious impurities.

The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, promises to remove all idolatry from the land.

Eternal One: On that day, I will certainly blot out the names of the detestable idols and false gods from the land. They will never again be remembered or worshiped in this place. What’s more, I will cut off from the land the disreputable prophets and the impure spirits they work for. If prophets speak again, even their fathers and mothers who brought them into the world will condemn them, saying, “You don’t deserve to live, for you speak lies and do so in the name of the Eternal.” And if they still try to prophesy, their parents will pierce their bodies to silence their lying voices. On that day, the prophets will be clothed with the shame their visions will bring them. They will not be clothed with the hairy mantle, the attire of some of My prophets, to deceive the people into believing they speak for Me. And each of them will have to admit, “I am no prophet, no servant of God. I am a farmer, bound to the land. I work the soil because a man sold me into slavery when I was young.” And if anyone happens to say, “How did you get these ritual wounds on your chest and back?” then the answer will come back—another deception—“Oh, I received these at my friend’s house.”

This is a message of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

Eternal One: Sword, begin to stir; be ready to strike My shepherd,
        to strike the man at My side.
    Strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will scatter.[a]
        I’ll turn My hand against the little ones.
    It will spread across the land:
        two of three will be cut down and perish,
    And one of three will be left to survive.
    And I will put this one-third through the fire—
        refine them all as silver is refined, test them all as gold is tested.
    They will invoke My name,
        trust in My promises, and I will answer them.
    I will announce, “These are My people”;
        and they will confess, “The Eternal is our God.”