“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
Parallel translations
- WEB “In that day there will be a spring opened to David’s house and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
- KJV In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
- NKJV “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
- NASB “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for defilement.
- NLT “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
On that day a fountain will be opened for David's house and Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. It matters because it promises full cleansing from sin—fulfilled in the blood of Christ.
Overview
Following the mourning of repentance, God opens a perpetual 'spring' to wash away sin and impurity. This pictures the gracious provision of cleansing that no human effort could supply. Christians rightly see its fulfillment in the cleansing blood of Jesus, the fountain opened at the cross, which purifies from all sin (1 John 1:7; Heb. 9:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 24
- John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- 1 Cor 6:11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- Ps 51:2Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
- Ezek 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Heb 9:13–14For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- 1 Jn 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- 1 Jn 5:6This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth.
- Rev 7:13–14Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
- Zech 12:7–8The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.
- Rev 1:5–6and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- Isa 1:16–18Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Ps 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
- Zech 12:3On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.
- 1 Pet 1:19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
- Ezek 36:29I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine upon you.
- Eph 5:25–27Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Titus 3:5–7He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- Job 9:30–31If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,
- Zech 12:10–11Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- John 19:34–35Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
- Ezek 36:17“Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. Their behavior before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman’s impurity.
- Jer 17:13O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.
- Lev 15:2–33“Say to the Israelites, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.
- Num 19:9–22Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.
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Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 13:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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