Zechariah 13:9

Translations

Modern

This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

Traditional

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Literal

And I will bring the third through the fire, and I will refine them like the refining of silver, and I will test them like the testing of gold. He will call on my name, and I will answer him. I will say, ‘It is My people,’ and he will say, ‘YHWH is My God.’”

Latin

Et ducam tertiam partem per ignem, et uram eos sicut uritur argentum, et probabo eos sicut probatur aurum. Ipse vocabit nomen meum, et ego exaudiam eum. Dicam: Populus meus es: et ipse dicet: Dominus Deus meus.

Original

Hebrew

English

This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

Notes

Zechariah 13:9

Fire is a metaphor for God's judgment (see Isaiah 66:15; Jeremiah 4:4; Ezekiel 36:5; Amos 5:6). God's fire can destroy the wicked or, as in this context, test and purify the righteous.
Refine them … like gold: God acts as a divine metallurgist, using fire to remove impurities from metal (Isaiah 1:25; Malachi 3:2–3).
They are my people … The LORD is our God: These declarations of loyalty by God and Israel restore their broken covenant relationship (Zechariah 11:10, 14; see Exodus 19:5; Jeremiah 30:22; 31:33; Hosea 2:23).

Zechariah 13:7–9

This message talks about a future day when God’s chosen leader of Israel will be harmed, causing the people of Israel to scatter. Some of the nation will face divine judgment, while others will experience spiritual renewal. This will fulfill Zechariah’s vision of God being with his people again (see Zechariah 1:16; 2:5, 10–11; 8:3, 23). The gospel writers connect parts of this passage (Zechariah 13:7) to the scattering of the disciples of Jesus when he was arrested, tried, and executed by the Romans (see Matthew 26:31, 56).

Zechariah 12:1–14:21

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.

Theme notes and profiles

Apocalyptic Literature

Events

Prophecies of Zechariahc. 520 BC

Related verses

Psalm 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
Jeremiah 29:11–12
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
Acts 2:21
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Isaiah 65:23–24
They will not labor in vain or bear children doomed to disaster; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD—they and their descendants with them.
Isaiah 48:10
See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Psalm 34:15–19
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
1 Peter 1:6–7
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials
Psalm 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Revelation 21:7
The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
Jeremiah 30:22
“And you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Zechariah 13:9

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