Zechariah 13:3

3 "And if anyone still 1prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, 'You shall 2not live, for you have spoken 3falsely in the name of the LORD '; and his 4father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies.

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 "In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.
2 "It will come about in that day," declares the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
3 "And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, 'You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD '; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies.
4 "Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;
5 but he will say, 'I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.'

Cross References 4

  • 1. Jeremiah 23:34
  • 2. Deuteronomy 18:20; Ezekiel 14:9
  • 3. Jeremiah 23:25
  • 4. Deuteronomy 13:6-11; Matthew 10:37
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.