Zechariah 13:6

If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ he will answer, ‘These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — A man who previously rejected prophetic status and identified as a former servant-farmer answers an inquirer about the scars on his body. This exchange occurs within a prophetic oracle detailing the removal of idolatry and the impending strike against the shepherd.

The words — The Hebrew מַכּוֹת (ma.Kot) translates literally to "wounds" or "strikes," while בֵּין (bein) means "between." These terms frame the physical marks as the direct result of violent encounters within a domestic circle.

The thread — The motif of unexplained wounds and pierced extremities resurfaces in Psalms 22:16, where a band encircles the speaker and pierces hands and feet. Later, John 18:35 records Pilate’s inquiry about Jesus’ authority, echoing the pattern of external questioning regarding divine or prophetic identity.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that prophetic or shepherd identity is validated by suffering rather than title or office. It requires the reader to confront the reality that divine commissioning often bears the physical and relational cost of betrayal.

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

וְאָמַ֣רve./'a.Marand/ someone will say אֵלָ֔יו'e.La/vto/ him מָ֧הmahwhat?הַמַּכּ֛וֹתha./ma.Kot[are] the/ wounds הָאֵ֖לֶּהha./'E.leh<the>/ these בֵּ֣יןbeinbetween יָדֶ֑יךָya.Dei./khahands/ your וְאָמַ֕רve./'a.Marand/ he will say אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sher[those] which הֻכֵּ֖יתִיhu.Kei.tiI was wounded בֵּ֥יתbeit[the] house of מְאַהֲבָֽי׃ סme.'a.ha.Va/ifriends/ my

King James Version

And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Cross-references

John 18:35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
Psalms 22:16 For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
Proverbs 27:5 Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
John 19:14 It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
1 Kings 18:28 So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
Revelation 13:16 And the second beast required all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,