the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Zechariah 13
False Gods and False Preachers
1 "On that day a well of water will be opened for the family of David and for the people of Jerusalem to make them clean from their sin.
2 "On that day," says the Lord of All, "I will destroy the names of the false gods from the land. They will no longer be remembered. And I will take away from the land those who tell what will happen in the future and the unclean spirit. 3 If anyone still tells what will happen in the future, his father and mother who gave birth to him will tell him, ‘You must not live, because you have lied in the name of the Lord.' And his father and mother who gave birth to him will kill him when he speaks false words. 4 On that day those who tell what will happen in the future will each be ashamed of his special dream when he speaks. He will not put on clothing made from hair to fool the people. 5 But he will say, ‘I am not a man who speaks for God. I am a farmer. A man sold me as a servant when I was young.' 6 If someone asks him, ‘What are these sores on your back?' he will answer, ‘They are the sores I received in the house of my friends.'
The Shepherd Who Saves
7 "Wake up, O sword, against My shepherd and against the man who is close to Me," says the Lord of All. "Kill the shepherd, and the sheep will go everywhere. And I will turn My hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land," says the Lord, "two-thirds will die, but one-third will be left alive. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire. I will make them pure like silver is made pure. I will test them as gold is tested. 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 my God.'"