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Zechariah 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Zechariah 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 13
Oracles Concerning the End of False Prophecy.[a] 1 On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David[b] and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to purify from sin and uncleanness.(A)
2 On that day—oracle of the Lord of hosts—I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, so that they will be mentioned no more; I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land. 3 If any still prophesy, their father and mother who bore them will say, “You will not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.” Their father and mother who bore them will thrust them through when they prophesy.(B)
4 On that day, all prophets will be ashamed of the visions they prophesy; and they will not put on the hairy mantle[c] to mislead,(C) 5 but each will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a tiller of the soil, for I have owned land since my youth.”(D) 6 And if anyone asks, “What are these wounds on your chest?”[d] each will answer, “I received these wounds in the house of my friends.”(E)
The Song of the Sword
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the one who is my associate
—oracle of the Lord of hosts.
Strike the shepherd
that the sheep may be scattered;[e](F)
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In all the land—oracle of the Lord—
two thirds of them will be cut off and perish,
and one third will be left.
9 I will bring the one third through the fire;
I will refine them as one refines silver,(G)
and I will test them as one tests gold.
They will call upon my name, and I will answer them;(H)
I will say, “They are my people,”(I)
and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”
Footnotes
- 13:1–6 False prophecy is a major theme of Second Zechariah (chaps. 9–14) and figures in many other passages (10:1–2; 11; 12:10). Problems of idolatry and false prophecy occurred in postexilic Judah as they had in preexilic times. The understanding of the role of the prophet as an intermediary was challenged because (1) there was no king in Jerusalem, and (2) the texts of earlier prophets were beginning to be accorded the authority of prophetic tradition.
- 13:1 For the house of David: anticipation that a cleansed leadership will enable the re-established monarchy to be rid of the misdeeds of its past.
- 13:4 Hairy mantle: worn by prophets as a sign of their calling, for example, Elijah (1 Kgs 19:13; 2 Kgs 1:8) and John the Baptist (Mt 3:4).
- 13:6 Wounds on your chest: lit., “wounds between your hands.” The false prophets, like the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18:28), apparently inflicted wounds on themselves. Here it seems that persons accused of false prophecy deny having inflicted wounds on themselves and instead claim that they have received them at the houses of their friends.
- 13:7 Strike the shepherd…may be scattered: in Matthew’s Gospel (26:31) Jesus makes use of this text before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and the flight of the disciples.
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
King James Version
Zechariah 13
King James Version
13 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Zechariah 13
New King James Version
Zechariah 13
New King James Version
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.
2 “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. 3 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.
4 “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. 5 (J)But he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’ 6 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
7 “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.
8 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:
9 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
- Zechariah 13:6 Or hands
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
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