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Zechariah Chapter 13 (JPS)

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Zechariah Chapter 13
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1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for purification and for sprinkling.

2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith HaShem 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.

3 And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begot him shall say unto him: 'Thou shalt not live, for thou speakest lies in the name of HaShem'; and his father and his mother that begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be brought to shame every one through his vision, when he prophesieth; neither shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive;

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

6 And one shall say unto him: 'What are these wounds between thy hands?' Then he shall answer: 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'

7 Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is near unto Me, saith HaShem of hosts; smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn My hand upon the little ones.

8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith HaShem, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9 And 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 answer them; I will say: 'It is My people', and they shall say: 'The HaShem is my G-d.'

Frequently Asked Questions

What is opened "for sin and for uncleanness" in Zechariah 13?
"A fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (v1), alongside a promise to cut off idols and false prophets from the land (v2).
What does the exchange in verses 6-7 describe?
A man is asked about wounds "in thine hands," answering he was wounded "in the house of my friends" (v6), just before the LORD calls for a sword to "smite the shepherd" and scatter the sheep (v7).
What proportion of the people survives the refining in this chapter?
"Two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left," and that remaining third is refined "as silver is refined" until they call on God's name (v8-9).

Today's Verse

And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.

Mark 1:20 | ASV

Verse Of The Day

The command to strike the shepherd so the sheep scatter, and the promise to refine a remnant like silver through fire, both point to suffering that produces a purified people who call on the LORD's name. See how this call to seek God is echoed in Psalms 50:15, and the story concludes in Zechariah 14.