New Living Translation
Zechariah 13:4
4“On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes.
Zechariah 13:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
- New International Version (NIV)“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.
Context of Zechariah 13:4
2“And on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them. 3If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him. “On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes. 5He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ 6And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’
Read all of Zechariah 13Zechariah 13:4 word by word
וְהָיָ֣ה׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יֵבֹ֧שׁוּ הַנְּבִיאִ֛ים אִ֥ישׁ מֵחֶזְיֹנ֖וֹ בְּהִנָּֽבְאֹת֑וֹ וְלֹ֧א יִלְבְּשׁ֛וּ אַדֶּ֥רֶת שֵׂעָ֖ר לְמַ֥עַן כַּחֵֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it shall come to pass in that dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- shall be ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
- every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- of his visionחִזָּיוֹןchizzâyôn · visionH2384
- when he hath prophesiedנָבָאnâbâ' · to prophesyH5012
- neither shall they wearלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
- a roughשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
- garmentאַדֶּ֫רֶת'addereth · clothingH155
- to deceiveכָּחַשׁkâchash · to deceiveH3584
Cross-references for Zechariah 13:4
- Jeremiah 2:26“Israel is like a thief who feels shame only when he gets caught. They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets— all are alike in this.
- Micah 3:6Now the night will close around you, cutting off all your visions. Darkness will cover you, putting an end to your predictions. The sun will set for you prophets, and your day will come to an end.
- 2 Kings 1:8They replied, “He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.” “Elijah from Tishbe!” the king exclaimed.
- Isaiah 20:2the Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot.
- Matthew 3:4John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
- Matthew 11:8Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.
- Mark 1:6His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
- Revelation 11:3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
Commentaries on Zechariah 13:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Neither shall they wear a rough garment - A rough garment made of goats' hair, coarse wool, or the course pile of the camel, was the ordinary garb of God's prophets. And the false prophets wore the same; for they pretended to the same gifts, and the same spirit, and therefore they wore the same kind of garments. John Baptist had a garment of this kind.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The prophets shall be ashamed, every one of them - They who before their conversion, gave themselves to such deceits, shall be ashamed of their deeds; as, after the defeat of the seven sons of the chief priest Sceva, “fear fall on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified, and many that believed came and confessed and showed their deeds: many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together and burned them before all, and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4ashamed of his vision: In the Old Testament, people often called a prophet a visionary "seer" (see 1 Samuel 9:9–19; 2 Kings 17:13) because they received divine messages in dreams or night visions (for example, Zechariah 1:7–6:15). hairy cloak: Old Testament Hebrew prophets wore a rough cloak made of camel or goat hair (see 2 Kings 1:8; Matthew 3:4).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. prophets ... ashamed--of the false prophecies which they have uttered in times past, and which the event has confuted. rough garment--sackcloth. The badge of a prophet (2Ki 1:8; Is 20:2), to mark their frugality alike in food and attire (Mt 3:4); also, to be consonant to the mournful warnings which they delivered. It is not the dress that is here condemned, but the purpose for which it was worn, namely, to conceal wolves under sheep's clothing…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 13:4
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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