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Zechariah 13 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Getting Rid of Idols and False Prophets

13 In the future there will be a fountain, where David's descendants and the people of Jerusalem can wash away their sin and guilt.

²The Lord All-Powerful says:

When that time comes, I will get rid of every idol in the country, and they will be forgotten forever. I will also do away with their prophets and those evil spirits that control them. ³If any such prophets ever appear again, their own parents must warn them that they will die for telling lies in my name—the name of the Lord. If those prophets don't stop speaking, their parents must then kill them with a sword.

⁴Those prophets will be ashamed of their so-called visions, and they won't deceive anyone by dressing like a true prophet. ⁵Instead, they will say, “I'm no prophet. I've been a farmer all my life.”^[a]

⁶And if any of them are asked why they are wounded,^[b] they will answer, “It happened at the house of some friends.”

A Wounded Shepherd and Scattered Sheep

⁷^(A) The Lord All-Powerful said:

My sword, wake up! Attack
    my shepherd and friend.
Strike down the shepherd!
Scatter the little sheep,
    and I will destroy them.
⁸Nowhere in the land
will more than a third of them
    be left alive.
⁹Then I will purify them
    and put them to the test,
just as gold and silver
    are purified and tested.
They will pray in my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, “You are my people,”
and they will reply,
    “You, Lord, are our God!”

Contemporary English Version (CEV)