What is the meaning of Zechariah 13:6? If someone asks him • Zechariah has just promised that “every prophet will be ashamed of his vision” (13:4). The setting is the cleansed, restored Israel of the latter days, where idolatry and deception are no longer tolerated (13:2–3). • A curious bystander questions a man who once claimed prophetic authority. Judgment is now so thorough that ordinary people feel free to challenge anyone’s past behavior. Compare Acts 19:18–20, where new believers openly confessed and renounced occult practices. ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ • The word “wounds” points to the ritual gashes false prophets inflicted on themselves, imitating pagan worship (1 Kings 18:28; Jeremiah 16:6). They cut “on the chest” (lit., between the hands) where the scars stay visible. • Because God’s law forbade such mutilation (Leviticus 19:28), these marks expose a life once lived in rebellion. The questioner is really asking, “Why do you bear evidence of idolatry in a society now devoted to the LORD?” he will answer • In the purged kingdom the former deceiver cannot keep hiding. As Proverbs 12:19 says, “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” • Faced with direct scrutiny, the man offers an explanation—yet one meant to deflect full responsibility. This fulfills Numbers 32:23, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” ‘These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.’ • On the surface he claims, “I got hurt at my friend’s house,” implying a domestic accident rather than an idolatrous ritual. He hopes to make the scars sound harmless, much like Adam’s evasive reply in Genesis 3:12. • The verse also carries a deeper, messianic resonance. Jesus, Israel’s true Shepherd, was betrayed “in the house of My friends” (see Zechariah 11:12–13; Matthew 26:14–16). After His resurrection He showed “the marks of the nails in His hands” (John 20:27). Isaiah 53:5 confirms, “He was pierced for our transgressions,” and John 1:11 notes, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” • Thus the passage pictures two realities: – The shame of false prophets who try to hide their sin once God’s cleansing has come (Zechariah 13:2–5). – The foreshadowing of Christ, wounded yet proclaiming forgiveness even toward those who once rejected Him (Luke 23:34). summary Zechariah 13:6 depicts a coming day when false prophets, exposed by God’s purifying work, will be confronted about their self-inflicted scars. They will invent harmless stories to cover past rebellion, yet the very sight of their wounds testifies against them. At the same time the verse echoes forward to the Messiah, whose own wounds—inflicted within His covenant people—bring salvation. The contrast invites us to forsake deceit and cling to the One whose scars speak truth and grace forever. |
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