UST ZEC Chapter 13

Getting rid of idols and false prophets

13 At that time God will provide a way to cleanse the descendants of King David and all the other people in Jerusalem from the guilt of every sin that they have committed and from every kind of defilement.

2 Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says, “At that time, I will completely remove the idols from the land, and no one will even remember them anymore. I will also drive the false prophets and the unclean spirit that inspires them out of the land. 3 If anyone still claims to speak messages from me, his own father and mother will say to him, ‘You must die, because you have spoken lies and claimed that Yahweh gave you authority to say those things.’ Then his own father and mother will stab him to death because he prophesied falsely.

4 At that time, each of those false prophets will feel ashamed of the visions that he claimed to receive. They will no longer wear the cloaks made from animal hair that prophets usually wear, because they will not want anyone to know that they ever claimed to be prophets. 5 Instead, each of them will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer. Someone put me to work on the land ever since I was young.’ 6 If someone sees wounds on his body and asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ he will lie and say, ‘My friends gave me these wounds in their house.”

What will happen to the leader and the people

7 Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says,

“I will send violence to strike the leader whom I appointed,

the man who is my close companion.

When someone kills that leader,

the people will scatter in every direction,

and I will use my power against even the weak and vulnerable ones among them.

8 In all the land,” Yahweh declares,

“I will cause two thirds of the people to die,

and only one third will survive.

9 I will cause that remaining third to go through severe trials.

I will purify them the way someone purifies silver, and I will test them the way someone tests gold.

Then they will call out to me for help,

and I will answer them.

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘Yahweh is our God.’ ”