Zechariah 13:3

3 And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, "You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord"; and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy.

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 shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
2 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit.
3 And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, "You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord"; and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy.
4 On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive,
5 but each of them will say, "I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil; for the land has been my possession since my youth."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.