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.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
God promises to open a fountain for the cleansing of sin, to remove idolatry and false prophets from the land, and to purify His people through a refining process like fire, leaving only a third who will survive.
Explanation
The 'fountain opened' for washing away sin and impurity continues the theme of purification that runs through the entire book of Zechariah, pointing to a decisive act of spiritual cleansing made available to 'the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.' The radical elimination of false prophets, to the point that their own parents would denounce them for lying in the name of the Lord, shows how seriously God treats false religious prophecy. The chapter also introduces the enigmatic figure of the 'shepherd' struck at God's command, whose death causes the sheep to be scattered — an image that points prophetically to the suffering of the Messiah. The final refining process, in which only a third of the people survive, purified 'as silver is refined,' describes a severe judgment carried out with a redemptive purpose. The application for today: true spiritual purification often involves a painful refining process, but its ultimate purpose is to restore a genuine relationship between God and His people.
Fun facts
- Zechariah 13:7 ('Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered') is quoted directly by Jesus in Matthew 26:31, on the night of His arrest, referring to the scattering of the disciples after His capture, directly linking this prophecy to the events of the Passion.
- The practice of parents themselves putting their own child to death for false prophecy (v.3) literally reflects the law of Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:20, showing how the Mosaic law treated false prophecy as a capital crime because of the seriousness of deceiving the people in God's name.