Zechariah 13:4, commentary and pictures

Zechariah, whose name means Jehovah hath remembered, was contemporary with Haggai and prophesied in the time of the reformation under Zerubbabel, and the verse stands in chapters 9-14, a section distinct in character from chapters 1-8 on that reformation. It belongs to the latest Old Testament prophecy concerning the return to the literal land of Canaan, dated to 487 B.C., with full restoration to its cities placed in 445 B.C., forty-two years later. The section containing it is introduced by the phrase the burden of the word of the Lord and includes the prophecy of Zechariah 11:12-13 cited in Matthew 27:9-10 under Jeremiah's name, and its general tenor is prediction of Christ's kingdom, of the great day of the Lord, and the punishment of the wicked of earth.

Zechariah 13 is not one consecutive sequence but has parts applying at different times, so its prophetic meaning is found by comparing Scripture with Scripture rather than by private interpretation or unsupported assertion. The chapter opens with a prophecy of Jesus Christ fulfilled at His crucifixion, when a fountain was opened for sin and uncleanness. It belongs to the time of that day when abundant mercy refreshes the church as the Spirit moves people to mourn over Christ and pray. The prophecy was partly fulfilled when Israel returned from Babylonian captivity and will be fulfilled more fully under different conditions in the final restoration. That restoration from Babylon serves as a type and prophecy of the greater restoration from the later Babylon and this world.

The verse means that false prophets will become ashamed of their visions when God causes their predictions to fail. When their deception is exposed and people turn against Satan, they will try to deny that they ever prophesied and conceal their former role. They will no longer wear a rough garment to deceive but will claim an ordinary occupation such as keeping cattle or working the soil.