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 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 one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ 7“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. 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: 9I will bring the one–third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one 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 pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”
• Deuteronomy 28:49The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,
• Isaiah 65:12Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.”
• Isaiah 66:4So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.”
• Ezekiel 5:2You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them.
• Daniel 9:27Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
• 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, Even 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, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.
• Matthew 3:10And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Matthew 21:43“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
• Matthew 22:7But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
• Matthew 23:35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
• Matthew 24:21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
• Luke 19:41Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
• Luke 20:16He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”
• Luke 21:20“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is 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