New: Plus articles on faith, family and the Bible. Read them →

About this chapterOn that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity. God will remove idols from the land and the false prophets and the spirit of impurity, so that if anyone still prophesies, his own parents will pierce him. The prophets will be ashamed and drop their disguises. The chapter then turns to the shepherd: strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered, a saying Jesus applies to his disciples' desertion. Two-thirds of the land will be cut off and perish, but one-third will be refined like silver and tested like gold; they will call on his name, and God will say, they are my people, and they will say, the Lord is our God.

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. God will remove idols from the land and the false prophets and the spirit of impurity, so that if anyone still prophesies, his own parents will pierce him. The prophets will be ashamed and drop their disguises. The chapter then turns to the shepherd: strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered, a saying Jesus applies to his disciples' desertion. Two-thirds of the land will be cut off and perish, but one-third will be refined like silver and tested like gold; they will call on his name, and God will say, they are my people, and they will say, the Lord is our God.

Themes

  • A fountain for cleansing
  • Idols removed
  • The struck shepherd
  • Refined like silver

Key verses

Audio Bible · Zechariah 13

Listen while you go about your day.

Zechariah 13

Berean Standard Bible9 verses · 1 min read

1“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. 2And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through. 4And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. 5He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth. ’ 6If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest ?’ he will answer, ‘These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.’ 7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones. 8And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it. 9This third I will bring through 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.’”
Verses in Zechariah 13

Chapters of Zechariah

All books