Zechariah 13:8

Zechariah 13:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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.
• New International Version (NIV)In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one–third shall be left in it:
• New Living Translation (NLT)Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. “But one-third will be left in the land.

Context of Zechariah 13:8

6And if one asks him, 'What are these wounds on your back?' he will say, 'The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' 7"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. In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. 9And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'"

Zechariah 13:8 word by word

וְהָיָ֤ה בְכָל־הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה פִּֽי־שְׁנַ֣יִם בָּ֔הּ יִכָּרְת֖וּ יִגְוָ֑עוּ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖ית יִוָּ֥תֶר בָּֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• in all the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• partsפֶּהpeh · lip: one thirdH6310
• therein shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
• dieגָּוַעgâva‛ · to dieH1478
• but the thirdשְׁלִישִׁיshelîyshîy · thirdH7992
• shall be leftיָתַרyâthar · to remainH3498

Cross-references for Zechariah 13:8

• Zechariah 11:6For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand."
• Deuteronomy 28:49The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,
• Isaiah 65:12I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in."
• Isaiah 66:4I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight."
• Ezekiel 5:2A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.
• Daniel 9:27And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."
• Malachi 3:1"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
• Malachi 4:1"For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
• Matthew 3:10Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Matthew 21:43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
• Matthew 22:7The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
• Matthew 23:35so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
• Matthew 24:21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
• Luke 19:41And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
• Luke 20:16He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "Surely not!"
• Luke 21:20"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.

Commentaries on Zechariah 13:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Two parts therein shall be cut off - In the war with the Romans. But the third shall be left - Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be preserved alive; and not one of these perished in the siege, or afterwards, by those wars.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8In all the land, two parts therein shall be cut off and die - “In all the land of Israel,” says a Jewish interpreter; (Kimchi); “ - the land, in which the Good Shepherd had been slain and the sheep scattered, “that upon you.” our Lord had said, “may come all the righteous blood.” As David punished Moab, “with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive” 2 Samuel 8:2; and Ezekiel prophesied, “A third part of thee shall die…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. 8two-thirds … a third: The divine judgment would be catastrophic. However, God would save a small group and forgive their sin (see Isaiah 65:9; Jeremiah 50:20; Ezekiel 5:2–12; Revelation 9:15–18).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-98-9. Two-thirds of the Jewish nation were to perish in the Roman wars, and a third to survive. Probably from the context (Zec 14:2-9), which has never yet been fulfilled, the destruction of the two-thirds (literally, "the proportion of two," or "portion of two") and the saving of the remnant, the one-third, are still future, and to be fulfilled under Antichrist.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Awake
• Fellow
• Refine
• Bible, the
• Number
• Portion; Part
• Salvation
• Zechariah, Book of
• perish

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