God’s People Cleansed

Zechariah 13   

1 “On that day a fountain x will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity. y 2 On that day”—this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies—“I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. z I will banish the prophets W 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 a lie in the name of the LORD. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through. a 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak b in order to deceive. 5 He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased X me as a servant since my youth. c 6 If someone asks him: What are these wounds d on your chest? Y—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 Armies.

Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; e

I will turn my hand against the little ones.

8   In the whole land—

this is the LORD’S declaration—

two-thirds Z 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. f

They will call on my name,

and I will answer them. g

I will say: They are my people,

and they will say: The LORD is our God.” h