Zechariah 13:2-9 ▼

2 On that day”—this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies—“I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

3 If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You cannot remain alive because you have spoken a lie in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.

4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.

5 He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased me as a servant since my youth.’

6 If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ —then he will answer, ‘I received the wounds in the house of my friends.’

7 Sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.

8 In the whole land — this is the LORD’s declaration — two-thirds will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in it.

9 I will put this third through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. 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 our God.’ ”