The Meaning of Zechariah 13:2 Explained

Zechariah 13:2

KJV: And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

YLT: And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, I cut off the names of the idols from the land, And they are not remembered any more, And also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I cause to pass away from the land.

Darby: And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

ASV: And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it shall come to pass in that day,  saith  the LORD  of hosts,  [that] I will cut off  the names  of the idols  out of the land,  and they shall no more be remembered:  and also I will cause the prophets  and the unclean  spirit  to pass  out of the land. 

What does Zechariah 13:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

At that time the Lord also promised to remove idolatry, false prophets, and unclean spirits from the land. There would be external cleansing as well as internal. The Jews would "no longer ascribe supernatural powers to mere things, nor worship them as divine" (cf. Zechariah 10:2-3; Jeremiah 23:30-32; Jeremiah 27:9-10; Ezekiel 13:1 to Ezekiel 14:11). [1] False prophets, as is clear from the context, would not mislead the people (cf. Matthew 24:4-5; Matthew 24:11; Matthew 24:15; Matthew 24:23-24; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4; Revelation 9:20; Revelation 13:4-15). The unclean spirits are the diviners, mediums, and demons who confused and afflicted the people in the past.
"The reference to the banishment of the unclean spirits out of the land ... is the only passage in Scripture which explicitly refers to the imprisonment of demons during the kingdom age. But since Satan is remanded to the abyss (the prison house of evil spirits) during this era, as is clearly declared in Revelation 20:1-3, it is a necessary corollary that his demon aids shall also share the same fate." [2]

Context Summary

Zechariah 13:1-9 - A Day Of Testing
This Fountain was opened, when the soldier pierced the Savior's side. But it is not enough for God to forgive; He must deal drastically with the waywardness of his people. And so thorough would be the work, that parents would rather their son should die than assume for filthy lucre and without the divine call, the lucrative profession of a prophet. A township would arise against a man suspected of being a prophet, who, in his terror, would pretend that he was a tiller of the ground. And if they discovered marks in his body which indicated that he had been previously branded as a false prophet, he would rather assert that his friends had been the cause of his affliction, than that he had any sympathy with the prophetic office.
Note that remarkable anticipation, Zechariah 13:7-9. See Matthew 26:31. Jesus knew that He was the Father's fellow. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. "We will come unto Him, and make our abode with Him." But He is also the Man. By the grace of the One Man, we may reign in life, Romans 5:17. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 13

1  The fountain of purgation for Jerusalem,
2  from idolatry, and false prophecy
7  The death of Christ, and the trial of a third part

What do the individual words in Zechariah 13:2 mean?

And it shall be in day that says Yahweh of hosts [that] I will cut off - the names of the idols from the land and no they shall be remembered longer and also the prophets and spirit the unclean I will cause to depart the land
וְהָיָה֩ בַיּ֨וֹם הַה֜וּא נְאֻ֣ם ׀ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֗וֹת אַכְרִ֞ית אֶת־ שְׁמ֤וֹת הָֽעֲצַבִּים֙ מִן־ הָאָ֔רֶץ וְלֹ֥א יִזָּכְר֖וּ ע֑וֹד וְגַ֧ם הַנְּבִיאִ֛ים וְאֶת־ ר֥וּחַ הַטֻּמְאָ֖ה אַעֲבִ֥יר הָאָֽרֶץ

וְהָיָה֩  And  it  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בַיּ֨וֹם  in  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַה֜וּא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
נְאֻ֣ם ׀  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֗וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
אַכְרִ֞ית  [that]  I  will  cut  off 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שְׁמ֤וֹת  the  names 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
הָֽעֲצַבִּים֙  of  the  idols 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עָצָב  
Sense: idol, image.
הָאָ֔רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְלֹ֥א  and  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִזָּכְר֖וּ  they  shall  be  remembered 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
ע֑וֹד  longer 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
וְגַ֧ם  and  also 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
הַנְּבִיאִ֛ים  the  prophets 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.
ר֥וּחַ  spirit 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
הַטֻּמְאָ֖ה  the  unclean 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: טֻמְאָה  
Sense: uncleanness.
אַעֲבִ֥יר  I  will  cause  to  depart 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
הָאָֽרֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.