He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth.’
Parallel translations
- WEB but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondservant from my youth.’
- KJV But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
- NKJV But he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’
- NASB but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’
- NLT He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’
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
A former false prophet will deny his calling, claiming to be merely a farmer and lifelong servant. It matters because it shows false prophets disowning their pretensions once deception is no longer tolerated.
Overview
To escape the stigma now attached to false prophecy, such a man insists he is no prophet at all, only a tiller of the ground bound to the land from youth. The denial illustrates how thoroughly false prophecy will be discredited in the cleansed land. It contrasts sharply with the boldness of true prophets and points to the day when only God's truth stands.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Amos 7:14“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
- Acts 19:17–20This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
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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 13:5 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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