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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.
• 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:

Context of Zechariah 13:8

6“When someone asks him, ‘What are these scars on your chest?’ he will answer, ‘I was hurt at my friend’s house.’ 7“Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my friend,” declares the Lord of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones.” The Lord declares, “Throughout the land two-thirds will be cut off and die. Yet, one-third will be left in it. 9I will bring this third ⌞of the people⌟ through the fire. I will refine them as silver is refined. I will test them as gold is tested. They will call on me, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people.’ They will reply, ‘The Lord is our 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 11:6The Lord declares, “I will no longer have pity on those who live in the land. I am going to hand the people over to their neighbors and their king, who will crush the land. And I won’t rescue any of them from their power.”
• Deuteronomy 28:49The Lord will bring against you a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth. The nation will swoop down on you like an eagle. It will be a nation whose language you won’t understand.
• Isaiah 65:12Now I will destine you for death. All of you will bow to be slaughtered. I called, but you didn’t answer. I spoke, but you didn’t listen. You did what I consider evil. You chose what I don’t like.
• Isaiah 66:4So I will choose harsh treatment for them and bring on them what they fear. I called, but no one answered. I spoke, but they didn’t listen. They did what I consider evil. They chose what I don’t like.
• Ezekiel 5:2When the blockade is over, burn one-third of your hair in a fire in the middle of the city. Take another third, and cut it up with a blade around the city. Then scatter the remaining third to the wind, and I will draw a sword and go after it.
• Daniel 9:27He will confirm his promise with many for one set of seven time periods. In the middle of the seven time periods, he will stop the sacrifices and food offerings. This will happen along with disgusting things that cause destruction until ⌞those time periods⌟ come to an end. It has been determined that this will happen to those who destroy ⌞the city⌟.”
• Malachi 3:1“I’m going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the promise will come. He is the one you want,” says the Lord of Armies.
• Malachi 4:1“Certainly the day is coming! It will burn like a furnace. All arrogant people and all evildoers will be ⌞like⌟ straw. The day that is coming will burn them up completely,” says the Lord of Armies. “It won’t leave a single root or branch.
• Matthew 3:10The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.
• Matthew 21:43That is why I can guarantee that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce what God wants.
• Matthew 22:7“The king became angry. He sent his soldiers, killed those murderers, and burned their city.
• Matthew 23:35As a result, you will be held accountable for all the innocent blood of those murdered on earth. This includes the murder of Abel, who had God’s approval, to that of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
• Matthew 24:21There will be a lot of misery at that time, a kind of misery that has not happened from the beginning of the world until now and will certainly never happen again.
• Luke 19:41When he came closer and saw the city, he began to cry.
• Luke 20:16He will destroy these workers and give the vineyard to others.” Those who heard him said, “That’s unthinkable!”
• Luke 21:20“When you see armies camped around Jerusalem, realize that the time is near for it to be destroyed.

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