Zechariah 13:5

Zechariah 13:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
• New International Version (NIV)Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)but he will say, 'I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)But he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’

Context of Zechariah 13:5

3And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. 4Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ 7“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Zechariah 13:5 word by word

וְאָמַ֕ר לֹ֥א נָבִ֖יא אָנֹ֑כִי אִישׁ־עֹבֵ֤ד אֲדָמָה֙ אָנֹ֔כִי כִּ֥י אָדָ֖ם הִקְנַ֥נִי מִנְּעוּרָֽי׃Read the interlinear

• but he will sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• not a prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• I am a tillerאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• I am a tillerעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: labourH5647
• of the groundאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• for a manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• soldקָנָהqânâh · to buyH7069
• me as a slave in my youthנְעוּרִיםnâ‛ûr nâ‛ûr ne‛ûrâh · youthH5271

Cross-references for Zechariah 13:5

• Amos 7:14Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.
• Acts 19:17This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.

Commentaries on Zechariah 13:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5But he shall say, I am no prophet - This must be the case of a false prophet or diviner, who had been obliged to give up his infamous practice, and become even a laborer in the land. But having been known to be such, he is questioned by the people to see if he still were addicted in heart to the same practices. He declares he is no prophet, neither true nor false; that he is now a husbandman, and was brought up a herdsman.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And he shall say - Repudiating his former claims, “I am a husbandman:” for a man hath taught me from my youth.” There was no room then for his having been a false prophet, since he had had from his youth one simple unlettered occupation, as Amos said truly of himself; “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet‘s son: but I was an herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit” Amos 7:14. The prophet does not approve the lie, any more than our Lord did the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5I work the land: This statement may be a deliberate echo of Amos 7:14. In that passage, Amos says he is not a prophet by profession but a farmer whom the Lord called to speak his message.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. The detection of one of the false prophets dramatically represented. He is seized by some zealous vindicator of the law, and in fear cries out, "I am no prophet." man--that is, one. taught me to keep cattle--As "keeping cattle" is not the same as to be "an husbandman," translate rather, "Has used (or 'appropriated') me as a servant," namely, in husbandry [Maurer]. However, husbandry and keeping cattle might be regarded as jointly the occupation of…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 13:5

• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Awake
• Fellow
• Refine
• Bible, the
• Salvation
• Zechariah, Book of

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