Zechariah 13 · Verse 7

Zechariah 13:7

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Zechariah 13:7, King James Version

Zechariah 13:7 in other translations

BSBAwake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
WEB“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is close to me,” says the LORD of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
ASVAwake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.
YLTSword, awake against My shepherd, And against a hero--My fellow, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts. Smite the shepherd, and scattered is the flock, And I have put back My hand on the little ones.
DARBYAwake, O sword, against my shepherd, even against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.
BBEAwake! O sword, against the keeper of my flock, and against him who is with me, says the Lord of armies: put to death the keeper of the sheep, and the sheep will go in flight: and my hand will be turned against the little ones.
WebsterAwake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.

What does Zechariah 13:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
7. Expounded by Christ as referring to Himself (Mt 26:31, 32). Thus it is a resumption of the prophecy of His betrayal (Zec 11:4, 10, 13, 14), and the subsequent punishment of the Jews. It explains the mystery why He, who came to be a blessing, was cut off while bestowing the blessing. God regards sin in such a fearful light that He spared not His own co-equal Son in the one Godhead, when that Son bore the sinner's guilt. Awake--Compare a similar address to the sword of justice personified (Jr 46:6, 7). For "smite" (imperative), Mt 26:31 has "I will smite." The act of the sword, it is thus implied, is God's act. So the prophecy in Is 6:9, "Hear ye," is imperative; the fulfilment as declared by Jesus is future (Mt 13:14), "ye shall hear." sword--the symbol of judicial power, the highest exercise of which is to take away the life of the condemned (Psa 17:13; Ro 13:4). Not merely a show, or expression, of justice (as Socinians think) is distinctly implied here, but an actual execution of it on Messiah the shepherd, the substitute for the sheep, by God as judge. Yet God in this shows His love as gloriously as His justice. For God calls Messiah "My shepherd," that is, provided (Re 13:8) for sinners by My love to them, and ever the object of My love, though judicially smitten (Is 53:4) for their sins (Is 42:1; 59:16). man that is my fellow--literally, "the man of my union." The Hebrew for "man" is "a mighty man," one peculiarly man in his noblest ideal. "My fellow," that is, "my associate." "My equal" ([De Wette]; a remarkable admission from a Rationalist). "My nearest kinsman" [Hengstenberg], (Joh 10:30; 14:10, 11; Php 2:6). sheep shall be scattered--The scattering of Christ's disciples on His apprehension was the partial fulfilment (Mt 26:31), a pledge of the dispersion of the Jewish nation (once the Lord's sheep, Psa 100:3) consequent on their crucifixion of Him. The Jews, though "scattered," are still the Lord's "sheep," awaiting their being "gathered" by Him (Is 40:9, 11). I will turn ... hand upon ... little ones--that is, I will interpose in favor of (compare the phrase in a good sense, Is 1:25) "the little ones," namely, the humble followers of Christ from the Jewish Church, despised by the world: "the poor of the flock" (Zec 11:7, 11); comforted after His crucifixion at the resurrection (Joh 20:17-20); saved again by a special interposition from the destruction of Jerusalem, having retired to Pella when Cestius Gallus so unaccountably withdrew from Jerusalem. Ever since there has been a Jewish "remnant" of "the little ones ... according to the election of grace." The hand of Jehovah was laid in wrath on the Shepherd that His hand might be turned in grace upon the little ones.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd - This is generally understood of Jesus Christ. The sword is that of Divine justice which seemed to have been long asleep, and should long ago have struck either Man, or his Substitute, the Messiah. Jesus is here called God's Shepherd, because he had appointed him to feed and govern, as well as to save, the whole lost world. This is a prosopopoeia, and the address to the sword is very poetic. There is a fine passage in Aeschylus to the same effect: - Ξενος δε κληροις επινωμᾳ, Χαλυβος Σκυθων αποικας, Κτεανων χρηματοδαιτας Πικρος, ωμοφρων σιδαρος, Χθονα ναιειν διαπηλας Ὁποσαν αν και φθιμενοισι κατεχειν, Των μεγαλων πεδιων αμοιροις, Aeschyl. Sept. cont. Hebrews 733. "The rude barbarian, from the mines Of Scythia, o'er the lots presides; Ruthless to each his share assigns, And the contested realm divides: To each allots no wider a domain Than, on the cold earth as they lie, Their breathless bodies occupy, Regardless of an ampler reign: Such narrow compass does the sword - A cruel umpire - their high claims afford." Potter. The man that is my Fellow - ועל גבר עמיתי veal geber amithi, "upon the strong man," or "the hero that is with Me;" my neighbor. "The Word was God, and the Word was With God;" Joh 1:1. "I and my Father are One;" Joh 10:30. Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered - This is quoted by our Lord, Mat 26:31, in relation to his disciples, who should be scattered on his crucifixion: and they were so; for every one, giving up all for lost, went to his own house. And I will turn mine hand upon the little ones - I will take care of the little flock, and preserve them from Jewish malice and Gentile persecution. And so this little flock was most wondrously preserved, and has been increasing from year to year from that time to the present day.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Zechariah 13:7-9
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 no sin of his own to answer for. It may refer to the whole of Christ's sufferings, especially his agonies in the garden and on the cross, when he endured unspeakable anguish till Divine justice was fully satisfied. Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. This passage our Lord Jesus declares was fulfilled, when all his disciples, in the night wherein he was betrayed, forsook him and fled. It has, and shall have its accomplishment, in the destruction of the corrupt and hypocritical part of the professed church. Because of the sin of the Jews in rejecting and crucifying Christ, and in opposing his gospel, the Romans would destroy the greater part. But a remnant would be saved. And if we are his people, we shall be refined as gold; he will be God, and the end of all our trials and sufferings will be praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Zechariah 13:7 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

חֶ֗רֶבChe.revO swordH2719
עוּרִ֤י'u.RiawakeH5782
עַל\־'al-onH5921
רֹעִי֙ro.'Ishepherd myH7462
וְעַל\־ve.'al-and onH5921
גֶּ֣בֶרGe.ver[the] man ofH1397
עֲמִיתִ֔י'a.mi.Ticommunity myH5997
נְאֻ֖םne.'Um[the] utterance ofH5002
יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahwehH3068
צְבָא֑וֹתtze.va.'otof hostsH6635
הַ֤ךְhakhstrikeH5221
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָֽרֹעֶה֙ha.ro.'Ehthe shepherdH7462
וּתְפוּצֶ֣יןָu.te.fu.Tzei.naand they may be scatteredH6327
הַצֹּ֔אןha.Tzonthe sheepH6629
וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֥יva.ha.shi.vo.Tiand I will turnH7725
יָדִ֖יya.Dihand myH3027
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הַצֹּעֲרִֽים\׃ha.tzo.'a.Rimthe little [ones]H6819

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Zechariah 13:7

  • Mark 14:27

    And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

  • Matthew 26:31

    Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

  • John 16:32

    Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

  • Isaiah 40:11

    He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

  • Mark 14:50

    And they all forsook him, and fled.

  • Ezekiel 37:24

    And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

  • Zechariah 11:7

    And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

  • Jeremiah 23:5-6

    Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

  • Micah 5:2

    But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

  • John 10:10-18

    The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. …

  • Jeremiah 47:6

    O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.

  • Revelation 1:8

    I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
O sword.
De 32:41,42; Isa 27:1; Jer 47:6; Eze 21:4,5,9,10,28
my shepherd.
11:4,7; Isa 40:11; Eze 34:23,24; 37:24; Mic 5:2,4; Joh 10:10-18
Heb 13:20; 1Pe 5:4
the man.
Isa 9:6; Jer 23:5,6; Ho 12:3-5; Mt 1:23; 11:27; Joh 1:1,2; 5:17,18
Joh 5:23; 8:58; 10:30,38; 14:1,9-11,23; 16:15; 17:21-23; Php 2:6
Col 1:15-19; Heb 1:6-12; Re 1:8,11,17; 2:23; 21:6; 22:13-16
smite.
Isa 53:4-10; Da 9:24-26; Joh 1:29; 3:14-17; Ac 2:23; 4:26-28
Ro 3:24-26; 4:25; 5:6-10; 8:32; 2Co 5:21; Ga 3:13; Col 1:19,20
Heb 10:5-10; 1Pe 1:18-20; 2:24,25; 3:18; 1Jo 2:2; 4:9,10; Re 13:8
the sheep.
Mt 26:31,56; Mr 14:27,50; Joh 16:32
I will turn.
11:7,11; Mt 10:42; 18:10,11,14; Lu 12:32; 17:2; Joh 18:8,9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Zechariah 13:6

    And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

  • Zechariah 13:7

    Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

  • Zechariah 13:8

    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.

Read all of Zechariah 13

Zechariah 13:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Levántate, oh espada, sobre el pastor, y sobre el hombre compañero mío, dice Jehová de los ejércitos. Hiere al pastor, y se derramarán las ovejas: mas tornaré mi mano sobre los chiquitos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Épée, réveille-toi contre mon berger, contre l’homme qui est mon compagnon, dit l’ Éternel des armées; frappe le berger, et le troupeau sera dispersé; et je tournerai ma main sur les petits.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Schwert, erwache wider meinen Hirten und wider den Mann, der mein Genosse ist! spricht Jehova der Heerscharen; schlage den Hirten, und die Herde wird sich zerstreuen. Und ich werde meine Hand den Kleinen zuwenden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Framea, suscitare super pastorem meum, et super virum cohærentem mihi, dicit Dominus exercituum: percute pastorem, et dispergentur oves: et convertam manum meam ad parvulos.