Zechariah 13

Zechariah · Chapter 13

Zechariah 13:5

1In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.2And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.3And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.4And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:5But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.6And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.8And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
5But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth.’but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Zechariah describes a coming day when the LORD removes idols and false prophets from the land. False prophets will be so ashamed that they stop wearing the prophet's rough garment. Instead, each one will deny being a prophet and claim he has only ever worked the land. Zechariah 13:2Zechariah 13:3Zechariah 13:4Zechariah 13:5

SpeakingThe LORD of hosts speaks through the prophet Zechariah. Inside the prophecy, the words of this verse are spoken by a false prophet who is trying to hide what he has been. Zechariah 13:2Zechariah 13:4Zechariah 13:5Zechariah overview

ToThe book was given to the people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon. Zechariah overview

Also involvedThe false prophets of the land, who speak lies in the name of the LORD, are the ones in view. Zechariah 13:2Zechariah 13:3Zechariah 13:4

A man who once prophesied falsely says, "I am no prophet, I am an husbandman." He claims he has been a farm worker since his youth. It is a cover story, not a confession of faith. Shame and danger make him disown the role he once claimed. Zechariah 13:3Zechariah 13:4Zechariah 13:5

The scene is "the land," where Jerusalem and the house of David are cleansed. The book was written in Jerusalem among the returned exiles. Zechariah 13:1Zechariah 13:2Zechariah overview

JUDAHMediterranean SeaJerusalemTyreSidonDamascusHamath 1GazaAshdodMegiddo

The eventsThe verse looks ahead to "that day," when a cleansing fountain is opened and idols are cut off. The text does not give a calendar date for it. Zechariah 13:1Zechariah 13:2Zechariah 13:4

WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote the whole book, with dated messages from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: chapters 1-8 come from Zechariah in those years, but many assign the undated chapters 9-14 to a later writer or writers, while others hold that Zechariah wrote them all. Zechariah overview

HereThe verse shows how fully God will clear out false prophecy. Lying prophets will no longer dare to own the title. Even their own parents will refuse to tolerate lies spoken in the LORD's name. Zechariah 13:2Zechariah 13:3Zechariah 13:4Zechariah 13:5

In the whole of ScriptureThis is part of the LORD's cleansing of his people. A fountain is opened for sin, idols are cut off, and a remnant is refined like silver until they say, "The LORD is my God." Zechariah 13:1Zechariah 13:2Zechariah 13:9Zechariah overview

For readersGod takes lies told in his name seriously, and he promises to purge them. His goal is a people cleansed and truly his own. Zechariah 13:3Zechariah 13:9

  • prophetנְבִיא
    Hebrew · ne.vi · H5030

    This is the ordinary word for prophet. The man denies the very title the chapter says God will remove from the land. His words echo Amos, a true prophet, who said "I was no prophet... but I was an herdman." Here, though, the denial is a disguise. Strong's H5030Zechariah 13:2Amos 7:14

  • tillsעָבַד
    Hebrew · a.vad · H5647I

    The word means to work or to serve, and here it is used of working the ground. The man presents himself as a plain laborer rather than someone who speaks for God. Strong's H5647IStrong's H0127G

  • he sold meקְנָא
    Hebrew · qe.na · H7069

    The entry gives "he sold me" here, from a word meaning to acquire or buy. On that reading, the man claims someone acquired him as a worker from his youth. Either way, the claim is that his life has been field labor, not prophecy. Strong's H7069Strong's H5271A

Takeaway

This verse is not a humble man's testimony. It is a false prophet hiding his past in the day God cleanses the land of lies. Zechariah 13:2Zechariah 13:4Zechariah 13:5

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.

The world around the text

About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.

Who ruled
  • King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC

    Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription

  • Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC

    A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8

  • High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC

    Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2

  • Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC

    The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13

What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
  1. 539 BC
    WarBabylon falls to Cyrus

    Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder

  2. 538 BC
    God's peopleThe first return

    Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65

  3. c. 536 BC
    God's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops

    The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24

  4. 525 BC
    WarPersia conquers Egypt

    Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16

  5. 522-521 BC
    WarDarius crushes the revolts

    When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11

  6. 520 BC
    God's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build

    In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1

  7. c. 520-519 BC
    RulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree

    Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12

  8. 515 BC
    BuildingThe second temple is finished

    The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9

  9. 490-479 BC
    WarPersia's wars with Greece

    Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13

  10. 445 BC
    BuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls

    Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15

  11. 332 BC
    WarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza

    Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7

The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and he will sayוְאָמַ֕רve-'a-MARH0559
to say

אָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

notלֹ֥אlo'H3808
not

לֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)

[am] a prophetנָבִ֖יאna-VI'H5030
prophet

נְבִיא (ne.vi) prophet Aramaic of na.vi (נָבִיא "prophet" H5030)

Iאָנֹ֑כִי'a-NO-khiH0595
I

אָֽנֹכִ֫י (a.no.khi) I (first pers. sing.) Another spelling of a.ni (אֲנִי, אָֽנֹכִ֫י "I" H0589)

[am] a manאִישׁ־'ish-H0376G
man

אִישׁ (ish) : man 1) man 1a) man, male (in contrast to woman, female) 1b) husband 1c) human being, person (in contrast to God) 1d) servant 1e) mankind 1f) champion 1g) great man 2) whosoever 3) each (adjective)

[who] tillsעֹבֵ֤ד'o-VEDH5647I
to serve

עָבַד (a.vad) : serve[someone] 1) to work, serve 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to labour, work, do work 1a2) to work for another, serve another by labour 1a3) to serve as subjects 1a4) to serve (God) 1a5) to serve (with Levitical service) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be worked, be tilled (of land) 1b2) to make oneself a servant 1c) (Pual) to be worked 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to compel to labour or work, cause to labour, cause to serve 1d2) to cause to serve as subjects 1e) (Hophal) to be led or enticed to serve

groundאֲדָמָה֙'a-da-MAHH0127G
land: soil

אֲדָמָה (a.da.mah) : soil 1) ground, land 1a) ground (as general, tilled, yielding sustenance) 1b) piece of ground, a specific plot of land 1c) earth substance (for building or constructing) 1d) ground as earth's visible surface 1e) land, territory, country 1f) whole inhabited earth 1g) city in Naphtali

Iאָנֹ֔כִי'a-NO-khiH0595
I

אָֽנֹכִ֫י (a.no.khi) I (first pers. sing.) Another spelling of a.ni (אֲנִי, אָֽנֹכִ֫י "I" H0589)

forכִּ֥יkiH3588A
for

כִּי (ki) 1) that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since 1a) that 1a1) yea, indeed 1b) when (of time) 1b1) when, if, though (with a concessive force) 1c) because, since (causal connection) 1d) but (after negative) 1e) that if, for if, indeed if, for though, but if 1f) but rather, but 1g) except that 1h) only, nevertheless 1i) surely 1j) that is 1k) but if 1l) for though 1m) forasmuch as, for therefore

someoneאָדָ֖ם'a-DAMH0120G
man

אָדָם (a.dam) 1) man, mankind 1a) man, human being 1b) man, mankind (much more frequently intended sense in OT) 1c) Adam, first man 1d) city in Jordan valley

he sold meהִקְנַ֥נִיhik-NA-niH7069
to buy

קְנָא (qe.na) (P'al) to acquire, buy, purchase Aramaic of qa.nah (קָנָה "to buy" H7069)

since youths myמִנְּעוּרָֽי׃mi-ne-'u-RAIH5271A
youth

נְעוּרִים (na.ur) youth, early life Also means: na.ur (נְעוּרוֹת "youth" H5271B)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.