Zechariah 13

Translated from the Hebrew of the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Tap a verse to see why it reads as it does. Tap a small letter to read its footnote.

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A fountain to wash away sin

¹On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to wash away their sin and impurity. ²On that day, declares the LORD of Armies, I will wipe out the names of the idols from the land, and no one will remember them any more. The prophets too, and the spirit of impurity, I will remove from the land. ³If anyone still prophesies, his own father and mother will say to him, “You must not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD.” And when he prophesies, his own father and mother will run him through. ⁴On that day every prophet will be ashamed of the vision he prophesies, and they will not put on a prophet’s hairy cloak to deceive people. ⁵Each will say, “I am no prophet. I work the soil; I was sold to a man as a servant when I was young.” ⁶And if someone asks him, “Then what are these wounds on your chest?” he will answer, “I got them in the house of my friends.”

Strike the shepherd

⁷Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, declares the LORD of Armies. \q Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter; \q I will turn my hand against even the little ones. ⁸In the whole land, declares the LORD, \q two-thirds will be cut off and die, \q but one-third will be left in it. ⁹I will bring this third through the fire; \q I will refine them as silver is refined \q and test them as one tests gold. \q They will call on my name, and I will answer. \q I will say, “This is my people,” \q and they will say, “The LORD is my God.”