EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Zechariah 13:7
7‘Attack my shepherd with a sharp knife. Attack the man that is next to me,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘Kill the shepherd and then the sheep will run away. Then I will attack the young sheep.
Zechariah 13:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Awake, 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.
- New International Version (NIV)“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," declares the Lord of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
Context of Zechariah 13:7
5He will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a farmer. From the time that I was a boy, I have worked on the land.” 6If someone asks him, “Who cut your body?” he will answer, “My friends cut me when I was at their house.” ’ ‘Attack my shepherd with a sharp knife. Attack the man that is next to me,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘Kill the shepherd and then the sheep will run away. Then I will attack the young sheep. 8In the whole country,’ says the Lord, ‘two thirds of the people will die. But one third will still be living there. 9I will bring these people through fire. As men clean silver in the fire, so I will clean them. As men test gold in the fire, so I will test them. They will speak my name and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people.” They will say, “The Lord is our God.” ’
Read all of Zechariah 13Zechariah 13:7 word by word
חֶ֗רֶב עוּרִ֤י עַל־רֹעִי֙ וְעַל־גֶּ֣בֶר עֲמִיתִ֔י נְאֻ֖ם יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת הַ֤ךְ אֶת־הָֽרֹעֶה֙ וּתְפוּצֶ֣יןָ הַצֹּ֔אן וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֥י יָדִ֖י עַל־הַצֹּעֲרִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Awakeעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
- O swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- against my shepherdרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
- and against the manגָּבֶרgeber · great manH1397
- my fellowעָמִית‛âmîyth · neighborH5997
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
- smiteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
- and the sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- shall be scatteredפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
- and I will turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- mine handיָדyâd · handH3027
- upon the little onesצָעַרtsâ‛ar · be littleH6819
Cross-references for Zechariah 13:7
- Deuteronomy 32:41I will make my sword very sharp. It will move like lightning as I hold it in my hand. I will punish my enemies as they deserve. I will pay back everyone who hates me.
- Isaiah 27:1At that time, the Lord will punish Leviathan. The Lord will use his great and powerful sword to destroy that monster. Leviathan is a snake that moves very fast in the sea and it turns in every direction. But the Lord will kill it.
- Jeremiah 47:6You shout to the Lord, “How long will you attack us with your sword? Please stop killing us! Put your sword away!”
- Ezekiel 21:4I will remove righteous people and wicked people from among you. So I will use my sword to attack everyone in the land, from the north to the south.
- Zechariah 11:4This is what the Lord said to me, Zechariah. ‘My people are like sheep. There will be a time when men will buy them. And then they will kill them. But feed them until that time.
- Isaiah 40:11He takes care of his people, like a shepherd who takes care of his sheep. He picks up the young lambs and he carries them near to his heart. He carefully leads the mother sheep that have lambs.
- Ezekiel 34:23Then I will choose one shepherd to lead them. He is my servant, David. He will take care of them as their shepherd.
- Ezekiel 37:24My servant David will be their king. There will be one shepherd who takes care of them all. They will carefully obey my rules and my laws.
- Micah 5:2But God tells us this: ‘Bethlehem Ephrathah is only a little town, among all the many towns in Judah,’ God says. ‘But I will choose someone who is born there. He will rule Israel for me. Long, long ago, I prepared for him to come.’
- John 10:10The robber only wants to take away my sheep. He wants to kill them. He comes only to destroy them. But I have come so that they can have true life. And so that they can have everything that they need.
- Hebrews 13:20I pray that God will help you. He is the one who gives us peace in our minds. He caused our Lord Jesus Christ to become alive again after death. God forgives us because of the blood of Jesus' death on the cross. That is God's new agreement with his people that will be true for ever. Jesus is our great shepherd. He takes care of us like his sheep.
- 1 Peter 5:4Then our master, Christ, will give you a beautiful crown when he appears. That is a great gift that will never become old or less beautiful. He is the great Shepherd who takes care of us.
- Isaiah 9:6Yes, your people are happy! A child has been born for us. We now have a son with the authority to rule. His names will be: Wonderful Advisor, Mighty God, Father for Ever, Ruler who brings Peace.
- Jeremiah 23:5The Lord says, ‘The time will come when I do this: I will cause a descendant of David to be born. He will be righteous. He will grow like a branch on the tree of David's family. He will rule as king in a wise way. He will do what is right and fair in the land.
- Hosea 12:3Before Jacob was born, he cheated his brother. He did that when they were both inside their mother's body. When Jacob became a man, he fought against God.
- Matthew 1:23The prophet had said, ‘A young woman who has never had sex will have a baby boy. People will call her son Immanuel.’ This name means ‘God is with us’.
Commentaries on Zechariah 13:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd - This is generally understood of Jesus Christ. The sword is that of Divine justice which seemed to have been long asleep, and should long ago have struck either Man, or his Substitute, the Messiah. Jesus is here called God's Shepherd, because he had appointed him to feed and govern, as well as to save, the whole lost world. This is a prosopopoeia, and the address to the sword is very poetic. There is a fine passage in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Awake, O sword - So Jeremiah apostrophises the sword, “O thou sword of the Lord, when wilt thou be quiet?” Jeremiah 47:6. The prophets express what “will be,” by a command that it should be; “Make the heart of this people heavy” Isaiah 6:10. But by this command he signifies that human malice, acting freely, could do no more than His “Hand and” His “counsel determined before to be done” Acts 4:28. The envy and hatred of Satan, the blind fury of the chief…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-9Verses 7-9 Here is a prophecy of the sufferings of Christ. God the Father gave order to the sword of his justice to awake against his Son, when he freely made his soul an offering for sin. As God, he is called "my Fellow." Christ and the Father are one. He is the Shepherd who was to lay down his life for the sheep. If a Sacrifice, he must be slain, for without shedding of the life-blood there was no remission. This sword must awake against him, yet he had…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7The sword is described as a warrior called to awaken for battle, emphasizing its role as God's servant and a tool of death (see Isaiah 31:8; 34:6; 66:16). My shepherd represents the Messiah, the future leader of Israel (see Ezekiel 34:23; 37:24). My partner shows the shepherd's equality with God (see Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Expounded by Christ as referring to Himself (Mt 26:31, 32). Thus it is a resumption of the prophecy of His betrayal (Zec 11:4, 10, 13, 14), and the subsequent punishment of the Jews. It explains the mystery why He, who came to be a blessing, was cut off while bestowing the blessing. God regards sin in such a fearful light that He spared not His own co-equal Son in the one Godhead, when that Son bore the sinner's guilt. Awake--Compare a similar address…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 13:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Zechariah 13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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