Bible Strands
Zechariah 13:1
“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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Zechariah delivers a prophetic oracle to the post-exilic community, naming the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem as recipients. The "on that day" frames it as a future eschatological moment of divine action.
The words — מָקוֹר (ma.Kor), "fountain" or "spring," is a specific word for a natural source of water, not a cistern or pool. Paired with נִפְתָּח (nif.Tach), "will be opened" (Niphal), the image is of a sealed source being set free.
The thread — The motif of divine cleansing from sin runs through Psalm 51:2 (wash me clean), 1 Corinthians 6:11 (washed, sanctified, justified), and John 1:29 (the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world).
Why it lands — The verse presents purification as something God does to the people, not something they accomplish. It asks the reader to hold the tension between the promise of cleansing and the ongoing reality of sin and impurity.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 And 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.
- Psalms 51:2 Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
- Ezekiel 36:25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Hebrews 9:13 For 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 John 1:7 But 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 John 5:6 This 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.
- Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
- Zechariah 12:7 The 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.
- Isaiah 1:16 Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!