Zechariah 13

Cleansing From Sin

“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 some still prophesy, their fathers and mothers, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies^f in the Lord’s name.’ When they prophesy, their own parents will stab them.^g

“On that day the prophets will all be ashamed^h of their prophetic visions. They will not put on a prophet’s garmentⁱ of hair^j in order to deceive.^k Every one of them will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’^l If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

“Awake, sword,^a against my shepherd,^b

against the man who is close to me!”

declares the Lord Almighty.

“Strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered,^c

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.^d

This third I will bring into the fire;^e

I will refine them like silver^f

and test them like gold.^g

They will call^h on my nameⁱ

and I will answer^j them;

I will say, ‘They are my people,’^k

and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.^l’ ”