Zechariah 13 5

Zechariah 13:5 kjv

But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

Zechariah 13:5 nkjv

But he will say, 'I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.'

Zechariah 13:5 niv

Each will say, 'I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.'

Zechariah 13:5 esv

but he will say, 'I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'

Zechariah 13:5 nlt

He will say, 'I'm no prophet; I'm a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.'

Zechariah 13 verses

Zechariah 13 5 Meaning

Zechariah 13:5 depicts a future scene of profound purification within God's people, where individuals who formerly presented themselves as prophets will emphatically deny any such calling. Under immense pressure and the threat of severe judgment, they will desperately renounce their prophetic claims, instead identifying themselves as mere "workers of the soil." Their assertion of having been a "bondservant from my youth" aims to cement this mundane identity, demonstrating a lifelong commitment to agricultural labor rather than a divine commission, thereby attempting to escape the consequences of false prophecy.

Zechariah 13 5 Context

Zechariah chapter 13, building upon the preceding chapters, speaks of a future day of purification for Israel and Jerusalem. This day involves the cleansing of sin and impurity (v.1), the removal of idols and false prophets from the land (v.2-6), and a national suffering that leads to the refining of a remnant (v.7-9).

Verse 5 is embedded in this intense prophetic purification. Verses 2-6 specifically target false prophecy. In this coming age, God declares He will "remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land" (v.2). This removal is so severe that family members will even pierce a false prophet when they prophesy in God's name (v.3). In this dire context, Zechariah 13:5 vividly illustrates the profound fear and desperation of those who once claimed to speak for God. Faced with death and social ostracism, the false prophet dramatically reverses course, disowning any spiritual affiliation and desperately attempting to appear as an ordinary, working-class citizen, untainted by prophetic claims. It reflects an eschatological purging, where deception will no longer be tolerated, and even the appearance of spiritual authority will be avoided by those who are not truly God's spokesmen.

Zechariah 13 5 Word analysis

• "but he will say": The Hebrew וְאָמַר (və'āmar) is in the imperfect tense, often indicating future action. "He" refers to the false prophet mentioned in verses 3 and 4. This phrase sets the scene for a dramatic, forced confession. It indicates a verbal declaration, an attempt to publicly redefine his identity.

• "‘I am no prophet,’": לֹא-נָבִיא אָנֹכִי (lō-nāvî’ ’ānōkhî). The לֹא (lo) is a strong negative, meaning "no" or "not." נָבִיא (naví) means "prophet," and אָנֹכִי (ʼānōkhî) is an emphatic first-person singular pronoun "I" (similar to "I myself"). This is a resolute, even frantic, denial of his previous vocation, signifying a complete reversal born out of fear. He's not merely stating he isn't a prophet now, but aggressively repudiating the very identity.

• "‘I am a worker of the soil,’": כִּי-אִישׁ עֹבֵד אֲדָמָה אָנֹכִי (kî-’îsh ‘ōvēd ’ădāmâ ’ānōkhî).

  • כִּי (kî) here acts as an emphatic "indeed" or "rather."
  • אִישׁ (’îsh) means "man."
  • עֹבֵד אֲדָמָה ('ōvēd ’ădāmâ) literally means "one who serves the ground" or "works the earth," a farmer, tiller. This is a deliberate shift to a common, practical, and non-spiritual occupation. It anchors his identity firmly in the mundane, hard-labor aspects of life, seeking to establish credibility as someone with no connection to spiritual deception. This also ties into Genesis 3, where man's labor on the ground becomes his lot after the fall.

• "for I have been a bondservant from my youth.": כִּי-אָדָם הָיָה עֹבֵד אֹתִי מִנְּעוּרָי (kî-’ādām hāyâ ‘ōvēd ’ōtî minnə‘urāy).

  • כִּי (kî) here means "for" or "because," explaining the preceding statement.
  • אָדָם הָיָה עֹבֵד אֹתִי (ʼādām hāyâ ‘ōvēd ’ōtî) is a more challenging phrase to translate.
    • Literally, "a man was working/serving me." The active participle עֹבֵד (oved) implies "working." אֹתִי ('oti) is "me." This could mean "a man made me work" (indentured servant/slave) or "a man taught me" (an apprentice).
    • The common English translations (e.g., ESV "bondservant," NIV "a master taught me") reflect scholarly interpretations to convey the sense of being committed to labor from a young age, potentially under someone else's authority, thus justifying a farmer identity and disqualifying any prophetic claim. The ESV's "bondservant" captures the humble, often forced, nature of labor that would serve as an effective alibi against accusations of being a spiritual leader.
  • מִנְּעוּרָי (minnə‘urāy) means "from my youth." This emphasizes the long-standing nature of his declared occupation, suggesting that farming was not a recent choice but his entire life's work, providing a more robust alibi.

• Words-group Analysis:

  • "I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil": This stark juxtaposition highlights the complete reversal and denial. It's not just a claim of a different job, but a repudiation of any spiritual authority, substituting it with a deliberately non-spiritual, common, and humble identity to escape judgment. The false prophet abandons all pretensions.
  • "for I have been a bondservant from my youth": This phrase functions as a defensive maneuver, an attempt to bolster the credibility of his denial. By claiming a life of servile, manual labor from childhood, he asserts he's had no time, training, or inclination for spiritual matters or prophecy. It serves as an alibi, arguing his entire existence has been tethered to the earth, not the heavens. The desperate nature of this plea underlines the severity of the coming purification.

Zechariah 13 5 Bonus section

• Rhetorical Counterpart to Amos 7:14: This verse has a significant parallel with Amos 7:14, but in reverse. Amos, a true prophet, denied being a professional prophet or from a prophetic family ("I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs") to authenticate his divine call as truly from God, not from human training or desire for gain. In Zechariah 13:5, the false prophet denies being a prophet to escape the consequences, inventing a mundane identity for self-preservation. Both use the "common man" card, but for opposing ends related to prophetic authenticity.
• Cultural Understanding of "Servant": The Hebrew word עֹבֵד ('oved) implies work and service. Being a "bondservant from youth" would imply a deep familiarity and dedication to the land and its demands, rather than being educated in spiritual matters or having the leisure often associated with those who pursue or fake a prophetic career. This was an effective disguise because such a background immediately signaled a lack of formal spiritual training.
• Eschatological Fulfillment: This scene of radical denial of false prophecy is a critical part of the Day of the LORD. It underscores that God's future purification will not only remove overt sin and idolatry but also subtly entrenched spiritual deceptions and their propagators, ushering in an era of authentic faith and truth.

Zechariah 13 5 Commentary

Zechariah 13:5 presents a vivid, almost shocking, reversal in the spiritual landscape of a purified Israel. In a day of intense divine judgment, false prophets, who previously dared to speak in the LORD's name, will be consumed by fear. Their boastful spiritual claims will vanish, replaced by a desperate, even abject, denial of any prophetic calling. The declaration "I am no prophet" signifies a profound disavowal of their former deceptive lives. They attempt to convincingly shed their spiritual façade by declaring themselves "a worker of the soil" – a humble, earthy, and entirely non-spiritual profession. The final assertion, "for I have been a bondservant from my youth," functions as an elaborate alibi, seeking to legitimize their farmer identity by claiming a lifelong commitment to physical labor, perhaps even implying an imposed or indentured servitude. This dramatic change of tune illustrates the effectiveness of God's purification: the spiritual atmosphere will be so hostile to falsehood that charlatans will choose self-preservation through deliberate deceit, denying their true identities and history, rather than facing divine wrath. This portrays a future reality where true godliness and sincere commitment to the LORD will stand alone, as all deception is driven into hiding or eliminated.