Zechariah — Chapter 13
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1In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
2And 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.
3And 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.
4And 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:
5But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
6And 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.
7Awake, 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.
8And 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.
9And 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.
1In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
2And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah 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.
3And 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 Jehovah; and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
4And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he prophesieth; neither shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive:
5but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth.
6And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds between thine arms? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.
8And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9And I will bring the third part into 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, Jehovah is my God.
1“In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty of David and the people of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
2And also on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will remove the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
3Then, if anyone prophesies in spite of this, his father and mother to whom he was born will say to him, ‘You cannot live, for you lie in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and mother to whom he was born will run him through with a sword when he prophesies.
4“Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment of a prophet to deceive the people.
5Instead he will say, ‘I am no prophet; indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.’
6Then someone will ask him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ and he will answer, ‘Some that I received in the house of my friends.’
7“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.
8It will happen in all the land,” says the Lord, “that two-thirds of the people in it will be cut off and die, but one-third will be left in it.
9Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire; I will refine them like silver is refined and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer; I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
1“In that day there will be a spring opened to David’s house and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
2It will come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Armies, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they will be remembered no more. I will also cause the prophets and the spirit of impurity to pass out of the land.
3It will happen that, when anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will tell him, ‘You must die, because you speak lies in Yahweh’s name;’ and his father and his mother who bore him will stab him when he prophesies.
4It will happen in that day, that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision, when he prophesies; neither will they wear a hairy mantle to deceive:
5but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondservant from my youth.’
6One will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’
7“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is close to me,” says Yahweh of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8It shall happen that in all the land,” says Yahweh, “two parts in it will be cut off and die; but the third will be left in it.
9I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is my people;’ and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’”
Summary
A fountain will be opened for sin and uncleanness, idols and false prophets will be cut off, and God will strike the Shepherd — scattering the sheep — then refine a remnant through fire who will call on His name.
Authorship & Background
- The Fountain Opened for Sin and Uncleanness (v.1)
- The Purging of Idols and False Prophets (vv.2-6)
- The Sword Against the Shepherd (v.7)
- The Sheep Scattered and the Little Ones (v.7b)
- The Two-Thirds Cut Off (v.8)
- The One-Third Refined: Covenant Restored (v.9)
Map & Geography
- Jerusalem (v.1): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.
Videos
The Bible Project — Zechariah Overview (Video)
Animated overview of the book of Zechariah showing the literary structure, key themes, and how this book fits into the larger biblical narrative. Excellent visual introduction.
Reflection
- 1. "A fountain opened for sin" (v.1). Not a fountain you must earn access to — it is OPENED. Freely available. Abundantly flowing. If you have sin and uncleanness (and you do), there is a fountain. Come to it. The blood of Christ cleanses ALL sin — not some, but all.
- 2. "The man that is my fellow" (v.7). The shepherd whom God strikes is God's own EQUAL. Jesus is not merely a good man martyred — He is God's equal, struck by God's own sword. The cross is not a tragedy that God allowed; it is a sacrifice that God COMMANDED. The Father's love for you is measured by what it cost Him: His equal, His Son.
- 3. "Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered" (v.7). Jesus quoted this to prepare His disciples for His arrest. When Christ was struck, the disciples scattered. When your Shepherd seems absent, you will be tempted to scatter. But hold on — the scattering is temporary. The Shepherd lives.
- 4. God refines through fire, not despite love but BECAUSE of it (v.9). The fire is not punishment — it is purification. Silver is refined to remove dross. Gold is tested to prove its purity. If you are in the fire, God is making you pure. The fire has a purpose and a limit.
- 5. "They shall say, The LORD is my God" (v.9). The goal of all refining is RELATIONSHIP. Not just theological knowledge but personal declaration: "MY God." Has your faith moved from "THE God" (abstract) to "MY God" (personal)? The fire makes faith personal.