Zechariah 13:3

3 If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the LORD .’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.

Zechariah 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 13:3

And it shall come to pass, [that] when any shall yet
prophesy
Or attempt to prophesy, or propagate their idolatrous religion and principles after this time, when they shall be abundantly detected and exposed: then his father and his mother that begat him;
of whom he is born, and who, as his parents, must be supposed to have the most tender regard unto him, even to these the imposture will be so flagrant, that they will not encourage him, but, on the contrary, shall say unto him, Thou shall not live;
but die, according to the law against the false prophet in ( Deuteronomy 18:20 ) : for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord;
which is the very character of the followers of the man of sin, who speak lies in hypocrisy, pretending that they are of God, and carrying a show of truth; religion, and holiness, ( 1 Timothy 4:1 1 Timothy 4:2 ) : and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him
through when he prophesieth;
so great will be their love to God, and to his truth, that, notwithstanding the nearness of blood, their hands will be upon him first, and either beat him, or put him to death; a son, according to the law, not being to be spared in such a case, ( Deuteronomy 13:6-10 ) .

Zechariah 13:3 In-Context

1 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.

2 “And on that day,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them.

3 If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the LORD .’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.

4 “On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes.

5 He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’