Zechariah

In that day a fountain shall be open to the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for purging and lustration.alustration Lit. “for impurity”; cf. Num. 19.9.

In that day, too—declares GOD of Hosts—I will erase the very names of the idols from the land; they shall not be uttered anymore. And I will also make the “prophets” and the impure spiritbimpure spirit To which abnormal human behavior was attributed. vanish from the land.

If some man “prophesies” thereafter, his own father and mother, who brought him into the world, will say to him, “You shall die, for you have lied in the name of GOD”; and his own father and mother, who brought him into the world, will put him to death when he “prophesies.”

In that day, every such “prophet” will be ashamed of the “visions” [he had] when he “prophesied.” In order to deceive, heche Heb. “they.” will not wear a hairy mantle,dwear a hairy mantle In imitation of Elijah; cf. 2 Kings 1.8.

and he will declare, “I am not a ‘prophet’; I am a tiller of the soil;eI am a tiller of the soil I.e., I was addicted to wine like Noah, the tiller of the soil (cf. Gen. 9.20–21), hence my hallucinations and ravings; cf. Prov. 23.33. you see, I was plied with the red stufffI was plied with the red stuff Connecting ʼadam with ʼadom “red” (cf. Prov. 23.31); but meaning of Heb. uncertain. from my youth on.”

And if he is asked, “What are those sores on your back?”gsores on your back Lit. “sores between your arms”; cf. 2 Kings 9.24. Sores are sometimes symptoms of hysteria. he will reply, “From being beaten in the homes of my friends.”hbeaten in the homes of my friends Presumably for making drunken scenes; cf. Prov. 23.35.

iVerses 7–9 would read well after 11.17. O sword!Rouse yourself against My shepherd,The man in charge of My flockjin charge of My flock Meaning of Heb. uncertain. —says GOD of Hosts.Strike down the shepherdAnd let the flock scatter;And I will also turn My handAgainst all the shepherd boys.

Throughout the land—declares GOD—Two-thirds shall perish, shall die,And one-third of it shall survive.

That third I will put into the fire,And I will smelt them as one smelts silverAnd test them as one tests gold.They will invoke Me by name,And I will respond to them.I will declare, “You are My people,”And they will declare,“ The ETERNAL is our God!”