A A A A A
Bible Book List

Upgrade to the best Bible Gateway experience! Try Bible Gateway Plus free for 30 days.

Study This

Zechariah 13

Zechariah 12Zechariah 14

Zechariah 13 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

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.

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.

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, 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.” 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.”

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]
    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,
    and I will test them as one tests gold.
They will call upon my name, and I will answer them;
    I will say, “They are my people,”
    and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”

Footnotes:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  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.
  5. 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.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Zechariah 13 New International Version (NIV)

Cleansing From Sin

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

2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets 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 in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.

4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a]’ 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, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,
    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.
9 This third I will put into the fire;
    I will refine them like silver
    and test them like gold.
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.’”

Footnotes:

  1. Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
  2. Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands
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.
Top
Zechariah 12Zechariah 14
Viewing of
Cross references
Footnotes