And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.
Parallel translations
- WEB It will happen in that day, that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision, when he prophesies; neither will they wear a hairy mantle to deceive:
- KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
- NKJV “And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.
- NASB Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;
- NLT “On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes.
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
In that day false prophets will be ashamed of their visions and stop wearing the prophet's hairy mantle to deceive. It matters because the cleansed people will see through and abandon religious pretense.
Overview
The would-be prophets will be so discredited that they renounce both their false visions and the rough garment that marked the prophetic office (cf. 2 Kings 1:8). The removal of deceptive religious appearances is part of God's purifying work. This points to a day when all false claims to speak for God are exposed and abandoned in shame.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Mic 3:6–7Therefore night will come over you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.
- Matt 3:4John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Isa 20:2the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.
- 2 Kgs 1:8“He was a hairy man,” they answered, “with a leather belt around his waist.” “It was Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.
- Rev 11:3And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
- Jer 6:15Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD.
- Mark 1:6John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Jer 2:26As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets
- Matt 11:8–9Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.
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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 13:4 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.