Zechariah 13

1 "In that day there will be a spring opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

On that day a spring will be opened and continually flow for the house of David and for the people of Jerusalem to wash away their sin and impurity.

2 It will come to pass in that day, says Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they will be remembered no more. I will also cause the prophets and the spirit of impurity to pass out of the land.

On that day, declares the Lord Almighty, I will wipe out idol worship from the land—the idols will not be remembered any longer. I will remove the false prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.

3 It will happen that, when anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will tell him, 'You must die, because you speak lies in the name of Jehovah;' and his father and his mother who bore him will stab him when he prophesies.

If anyone continues to prophesy, his father and mother to whom he was born will tell him, “You shall not live, because you have told lies in the Lord's name.” Then his parents shall kill him because he has prophesied.

4 It will happen in that day, that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision, when he prophesies; neither will they wear a hairy mantle to deceive:

On that day such prophets will be too humiliated to prophesy their supposed visions. In order to deceive they will not put on their prophet's clothes made of coarse hair.

5 but he will say, 'I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondservant from my youth.'

They will say, “I'm not a prophet, I'm a farmer. I've worked on the land since I was a child.”

6 One will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your hands?' Then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'

If somebody asks him, “What are those wounds on your back?” he will answer, “I was wounded in my friend's house.”

7 "Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is close to me," says Jehovah of hosts. "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

Wake up, my sword! Attack my shepherd, the man who stands beside me! declares the Lord. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered, and I will raise my hand against the lambs.

8 It shall happen that in all the land," says Jehovah, "two parts in it will be cut off and die; but the third will be left in it.

Two thirds of the people of the land will be cut down, only one third will remain, says the Lord.

9 I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, 'It is my people;' and they will say, 'Jehovah is my God.'"

I will place this one third in the fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on me for help, and I will answer them. I will say, “These are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”