Zechariah 13:6

wounds on your chest?: These wounds may be cuts or bruises. Some ecstatic prophets (prophets who worked themselves into a religious frenzy), especially in Canaanite worship, injured themselves during ceremonies (see 1 Kings 18:28).

When questioned, false prophets would try to explain the wounds away. They might claim, “I was wounded at my friends’ house,” to hide their former practices.

God will completely cleanse his people from their sin and impurity. This cleansing will create such fear that false prophets will hide who they really are. They will deny their identity and lie about what they do, especially if their actions resemble those of prophets from idolatrous cults (groups that worship false gods).

The second message (Zechariah 13:126) of the second oracle (Zechariah 12–14) focuses on cleansing from sin.

The theme of Jerusalem versus the nations connects the four messages in Zechariah's second oracle. The nations gather against Jerusalem at both the start (Zechariah 12:1–9) and the end (14:1–15) of the oracle. The repeated phrase on that day points to the future day of the Lord.

This oracle shows both judgment and blessing for Jerusalem. The main focus is the cleansing of the people of Israel (Zechariah 13:1), ending with God's universal kingdom (14:16–21). These future visions encouraged the Judeans of Zechariah's time to stay faithful despite feeling unimportant and helpless.