Zechariah 13
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 518 BC – 480 BC · Return & rebuilding · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
9 verses · 293 words · ~1 min read · ~2 min listen
An End to Idolatry
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.’
The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered
Footnotes (4)
- a v2 Or the unclean spirit
- b v5 Or I am a farmer, for the land has been my livelihood since my youth.
- c v6 Literally between your hands
- d v7 Cited in Matthew 26:31and Mark 14:27
Study notes on this chapter · 1
Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter
On the night of his arrest Jesus quotes Zechariah's line about the shepherd being struck and the sheep scattered, applying it to the disciples who would flee. Zechariah 13 is part of a difficult section, and its original setting is debated.
When: Zechariah, c. 520–480 BC or later; quoted by Jesus on the night before his crucifixion, c. AD 30–33.
Ways people read this (2)
- Jesus reads the shepherd as himself and the scattered sheep as his disciples.
- Some see the original text as about a wicked or worthless shepherd (compare Zechariah 11:15-17), but the New Testament reads it as the suffering shepherd-king.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.