Zechariah 13

1 there shall be a fountain opened, etc. This promise includes both the remission of sin, and moral and spiritual healing.

“Cleanse me from its guilt and power.”

2 the idols. Though idolatry was not so much a prevailing sin after the Captivity, the lingering spirit of it remained.

3 shall thrust him through. Fulfilling the law in Deut. xiii.

4 a rough garment to deceive. The garb of a prophet, after the pattern of Elijah (1 Kings xix. 13, 19); cp. Matt. iii. 4.

5 man taught me to keep cattle. Rather, “one purchased me,” i.e., as his servant. A man will rather be thought a slave than a false prophet.

6 in thine hands. Rather, as R.V., “between thine arms” (hands); scars upon his breast; either superstitious marks or wounds incurred in a private brawl.

7 the man that is My fellow. See note on Psa. xlv. 7. The Messiah is here represented as a Ruler. If He, the Shepherd, is cut off, the sheep and lambs (“the little ones”) must expect to suffer. Cp. Matt. xxvi. 31.