Zechariah 13
God's People Cleansed
1 "On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, [to wash away] sin and impurity. 2 On that day"-[this is] the declaration of the Lord of Hosts-"I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him: You cannot remain alive because you have spoken falsely in the name of Yahweh. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through. 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. 5 He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased me as a servant since my youth.
6 If someone asks him: What are these wounds on your chest?-then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.
7 Sword, awake against My shepherd,
against the man who is My associate-
[this is] the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will also turn My hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land-
[this is] the Lord's declaration-
two-thirds will be cut off and die,
but a third will be left in it.
9 I will put this third through the fire;
I will refine them as silver is refined
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say: They are My people,
and they will say: Yahweh is our God."
Zechariah 13
Getting rid of idols and false prophets
1 In the future there will be a fountain, where David's descendants and the people of Jerusalem can wash away their sin and guilt.
2 The Lord All-Powerful says:
When that time comes, I will get rid of every idol in the country, and they will be forgotten for ever. I will also do away with their prophets and those evil spirits that control them.
3 If any such prophets ever appear again, their own parents must warn them that they will die for telling lies in my name—the name of the Lord. If those prophets don't stop speaking, their parents must then kill them with a sword.
4 Those prophets will be ashamed of their so called visions, and they won't deceive anyone by dressing like a true prophet.
5 Instead, they will say, “I'm no prophet. I've been a farmer all my life.”t
6 And if any of them are asked why they are wounded,t they will answer, “It happened at the house of some friends.”A wounded shepherd and scattered sheep
7 The Lord All-Powerful said:t
My sword, wake up! Attack
my shepherd and friend.
Strike down the shepherd!
Scatter the little sheep,
and I will destroy them.
8 Nowhere in the land
will more than a third of them
be left alive.
9 Then I will purify them
and put them to the test,
just as gold and silver
are purified and tested.
They will pray in my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, “You are my people,”
and they will reply,
“You, Lord, are our God!”