Albert Barnes Commentary


Albert Barnes Commentary
"And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of Jehovah; and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth." — Zechariah 13:3 (ASV)
His father and mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live — The prophet describes the zeal against false prophecy, with reference to the law against those who seduced others to apostasy from God (Deuteronomy 13:6–10): “the nearest relations were themselves to denounce anyone who had secretly tried to seduce them and, as the accusers, to cast the first stone at them.”
Cyril: “Such shall in those times be the reverence toward God, so careful shall they be of perfect integrity and praiseworthy life, that parents themselves shall be stirred up against their children, if they should speak anything falsely from their own heart, as though God spoke through them—how true that word is, and how confirmed the prophecy! This clearly indicates a great advance toward godliness, with God transforming things for the better. What previously was held in great esteem, is now hated, accursed, and held intolerable.”