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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.

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. 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.

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. 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.” 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

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]

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.
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

  1. Zechariah 13:1 This may refer specifically to Good Friday (see 3:9) or it may refer to the New Testament era.
  2. Zechariah 13:6 Heathen priests gashed themselves as part of their frenzied prayers.
  3. Zechariah 13:7 Or but I will turn my hand back to the little ones

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.

“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. 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)

“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) Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a](L) 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

“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.
In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.(P)
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

  1. Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
  2. Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands