Zechariah Chapter 13
Showing all 9 verses for Zechariah Chapter 13.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. "
"A time is coming when a flowing spring will be opened up for the royal family of David and for everyone living in Jerusalem, washing away sin and impurity."
Whatever guilt you're carrying, there is always a way back to being clean - it isn't reserved for people who already look 'good', it's open to anyone who wants it. Don't let shame lock you out of a freedom that's already available to you.
"And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD 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. "
"On that day, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, I will wipe out the very names of the false gods from the land so no one even remembers them, and I will remove the false prophets and impure spiritual influences from the land too."
Notice what you privately lean on for security or answers - status, other people's approval, a substance, a screen. I'm not interested in shaming you for it, but I want to gently draw your trust back towards something that actually deserves it.
"And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. "
"If anyone still tries to prophesy falsely after this, their own parents will tell them, 'You will not live, because you're speaking lies in the LORD's name,' and his own father and mother will run him through when he does it."
Be honest about where your words come from - are you speaking what you actually know to be true, or borrowing authority you don't have to sound convincing? People who love you should be able to trust what you tell them, so guard that trust carefully.
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: "
"On that day, every false prophet will be embarrassed by the 'visions' he once claimed to have, and none of them will wear the rough hairy cloak prophets used to wear, in order to stop deceiving people."
If you've ever borrowed the appearance of credibility - a title, a look, a reputation - to say something you didn't actually believe, this is your invitation to drop the costume. Authenticity is worth more than any authority a disguise can buy you.
"But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. "
"Instead he will say, 'I'm not a prophet - I'm a farmer; I've worked the land since I was young.'"
There's real dignity in ordinary, honest work - you don't need a grand title or claimed authority to matter. Sometimes the most trustworthy thing you can say about yourself is simply the plain truth of what you actually do.
"And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. "
"Someone will ask him, 'Then what are these wounds on your body?' And he will answer, 'These are wounds I got in the house of my friends.'"
Old wounds - literal or emotional - from wrong paths you've walked don't have to define your future, but honesty about them matters more than papering over them with a smoother story. I would rather you tell the truth about your scars than construct a convenient lie.
"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. "
"'Wake up, sword, and strike my shepherd, the man who is my closest associate,' says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter - and I will turn my hand against the little ones.'"
Even the person you trust most can face a crisis that scatters everyone who depended on them, and that isn't a sign my care for you has failed. I stay close to the 'little ones' - the vulnerable and scattered - even when everything looks like it's falling apart.
"And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. "
"Throughout the whole land, declares the LORD, two out of every three people will be cut off and die, but a third will survive there."
Hard seasons can feel like they're stripping everything away, and sometimes real loss does happen - I won't pretend otherwise or rush you past it. But I'm interested in what remains and grows stronger afterwards, not in pretending the difficulty away.
"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 hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. "
"I will put that surviving third through the fire, refining them the way silver is refined and testing them the way gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"
If life is testing you right now, know that the goal isn't to break you but to burn off what isn't real, so what's left is genuinely yours - your own tested trust, not something borrowed. Call on me; I'm listening, even in the fire.