Zechariah 13

Zechariah 13

1“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

2“And on that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit.

3And if any one again appears as a prophet, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord ’; and his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

4On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; he will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive,

5but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil; for the land has been my possession since my youth.’[#13.5 Cn: Heb]

6And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’ ”

7“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,[#Mt 26.31; Mk 14.27.]

against the man who stands next to me,”

“Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;

I will turn my hand against the little ones.

8In the whole land, says the Lord ,

two thirds shall be cut off and perish,

and one third shall be left alive.

9And I will put this third into the fire,

and refine them as one refines silver,

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, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Published by: National Council of the Churches of Christ