Zechariah 13 Commentary
Please choose a passage:
Zechariah 13:1-6
The LORD promises to purify the Judeans. This cleansing entails removing idols and false prophets from the land. The people will devote themselves to God so wholeheartedly that even a false prophet’s parents would be willing to execute him. False prophets will apply their craft to avoid detection, asserting they are not prophets at all.
Zechariah 13:7-9
The LORD describes the death of His anointed leader, resulting in the scattering of His covenant people. This prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus (Matthew 26:31). Two-thirds of the nation will be cut off but the remaining third will experience spiritual renewal and live in perfect communion with God.
Additional Resources
The book of Zechariah begins with a title verse providing information concerning the date, authorship, and source of the revelation. It states that the prophecy occurred in the eighth month of the second year of Darius (vs 1). The biblical material likely dates the prophetic message according to the regnal year of the Persian king because there was no king in Judah during that time. Judah had been conquered by Babylon, which in turn had been taken over by Persia (Daniel 5:30-31).
The term prophet [“nābî” in Hebrew] means “proclaimer” or “forth-teller.” It describes someone who received a call from God to be God’s spokesman. A prophet was God’s emissary. He had a particular calling to see or hear what God was saying, live it out in his life, and proclaim it to the people roundabout. That means the prophet could not speak from his authority and was not free to say what he pleased. Rather, he was to discern what God thought about a given situation, what His attitude was toward the people’s behavior in the past, what He required of them in the present, and how He would act in their favor in the future.
In Zechariah 13, the Suzerain God promises to cleanse His covenant people from sin and impurity. This purification entails removing idols and false prophets from the land of Judah. The people will commit themselves to serving God to the point that false prophets will no longer be tolerated in the land.
There is also a prediction that the Messiah (Jesus) will die and His followers scattered, a prophesy fulfilled in Matthew 26:31.
This is followed by a prediction of a great fall in the land, where only a third is preserved. This third will be refined, and God will restore His people through them.
The passage’s outline is as follows:
- The LORD promises to purify the Judeans by removing idols and false prophets from the land. Anyone who prophesies falsely will do it secretly for fear of punishment (vv. 1–6).
- The LORD describes the death of His anointed leader, and scattering of His sheep. The land will fall under attack with a third preserved. This third will become the covenant community (vv. 7–9).
View Zechariah on the Timeline