Zechariah · chapter 13 of 14
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Zechariah 13 announces that on that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse sin and uncleanness. The Lord will remove idols and false prophets, calls the sword to awake against the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Only a third of the land will remain, refined like silver and gold, and will say: the Lord is my God. Jesus quoted verse 7 before his arrest (Matthew 26:31).
Chapter 13 follows directly from the mourning of Zechariah 12. When the people look on the pierced one in repentance, God responds with cleansing. The chapter combines three themes: the forgiveness of sins, the removal of idolatry and false prophecy, and the suffering of the shepherd, followed by the purifying of the remnant.
On that day there will be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. The Lord of hosts says that on that day he will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they will be remembered no more; he will also remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit.
If anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will tell him that he shall not live, for he speaks lies in the name of the Lord, and they will pierce him through when he prophesies. On that day the prophets will be ashamed of their visions when they prophesy, and they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. Each will say that he is no prophet, he is a tiller of the soil, for the land has been his possession since his youth. And if someone asks him what these wounds are on his body, he will say that he was wounded in the house of his friends.
The Lord calls the sword: awake, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, declares the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds will be cut off and perish, and one third will be left alive. And I will put that third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as one tests gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them; I will say, they are my people; and they will say, the Lord is my God.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
A fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse sin and uncleanness. It is an image of forgiveness and purifying that comes from God, and Christians connect it with the work of Christ.
The Lord will remove the names of the idols, the unclean spirit and the false prophets. The cleansing is not only of personal sin but also of whatever leads the people away from the truth.
The sword awakes against the shepherd, whom the Lord calls his companion, and the sheep are scattered. Jesus quotes this verse before his arrest (Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27) to explain that his disciples would flee.
The Lord will refine the remnant as silver is refined, and they will say: the Lord is my God. The trial does not destroy but purifies, and leaves a people who call on his name and whom the Lord calls his own.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: To cleanse from sin and uncleanness. — Zechariah 13:1
Answer: The names of the idols and the unclean spirit. — Zechariah 13:2
Answer: His own father and mother, who will pierce him through. — Zechariah 13:3
Answer: Against the shepherd, the man who stands next to the Lord. — Zechariah 13:7
Answer: They are scattered. — Zechariah 13:7
Answer: The Lord is my God. — Zechariah 13:9
Zechariah 13 shows that God does not merely forgive sin but cleanses and purifies. In a class or small group you can talk about how to receive that cleansing without living under guilt, and about which idols or false voices we should leave behind.
The refining of the remnant reminds us that trials can be the way God purifies his own. They are not pleasant, but they produce a people who truly say that the Lord is their God. And the struck shepherd invites us to look to Christ, who was struck for the sheep.
Zechariah 13 describes the cleansing of the people and the purifying of the remnant that calls on the Lord. Chapter 14 closes the book with a final vision: the nations attack Jerusalem, the Lord intervenes, and his kingdom extends over all the earth.
Jesus applied the verse to himself and to the scattering of his disciples (Matthew 26:31). Many Christians see the shepherd as the Messiah. Other interpreters link it with the leaders of the people in the prophet's day. The text calls him the Lord's companion, an expression that speaks of closeness.
It is an image of severe judgment: only a third remains. But that third is not destroyed; it is refined. Some see it as a description of the people's history; others, as a picture of the final judgment. The emphasis is on the remnant that calls on the Lord.
The passage is difficult. It may describe a false prophet who denies being one and explains his wounds, which were once made for his cult, as if from a fight. Others link it with the shepherd wounded by his own. The text does not clarify it fully.