Add parallel Print Page Options

Jerusalem on that day

12 A pronouncement. The Lord’s word against Israel,
    an utterance of the Lord
        who stretches out the heavens,
        who establishes the earth,
        and who fashions the spirit of humanity within it:
I am about to make Jerusalem a cup that will stagger all the surrounding nations.
        There will be a siege against Judah and against Jerusalem.

On that day I will make Jerusalem into a heavy stone[a] for all the peoples.
        All who carry it will hurt themselves;
        nevertheless, the nations of the earth will conspire against it.

On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with confusion
        and its rider with madness.
I will keep my eyes open for the house of Judah;
        I will strike blind every horse of the peoples.
The chieftains of Judah will say to themselves, We are strong;
        the inhabitants of Jerusalem will say,
            The Lord their God of heavenly forces is strong.[b]

On that day I will place the chieftains of Judah like a pot on a wood fire and like a burning torch among the bundles of grain.
        They will devour all the surrounding nations to the right and the left.
        Jerusalem will dwell again in its place, in Jerusalem.
The Lord will first deliver the tents of Judah so that the splendor of David’s house
        and the splendor of Jerusalem’s inhabitants won’t overshadow Judah.

On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Anyone among them who stumbles on that day will become like David,
        and David’s house will become like God,
            like the Lord’s messenger in front of them.

On that day I intend to destroy all the nations who come against Jerusalem,
10     but I will pour out a spirit of grace and mercy on David’s house
        and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They will look to me concerning the one whom they pierced;
        they will mourn over him like the mourning for an only child.
        They will mourn bitterly over him like the bitter mourning over the death of[c] an oldest child.

11 On that day, the mourning in Jerusalem
    will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the Megiddo Valley.
12 The land will mourn, each of the clans by itself:
    the clan of David’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
            the clan of Nathan’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
13             the clan of Levi’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
            and the Shimeites’ clan by themselves, and their women by themselves;
14             and all the remaining clans, each clan by itself, and their women by themselves.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 12:3 Heb uncertain
  2. Zechariah 12:5 Heb uncertain
  3. Zechariah 12:10 Heb lacks the death of.

Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

12 A prophecy:(A) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,(B) who lays the foundation of the earth,(C) and who forms the human spirit within a person,(D) declares: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup(E) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.(F) Judah(G) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations(H) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock(I) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure(J) themselves. On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.(K) Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,(L) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot(M) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume(N) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact(O) in her place.

“The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.(P) On that day the Lord will shield(Q) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest(R) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,(S) like the angel of the Lord going before(T) them. On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations(U) that attack Jerusalem.(V)

Mourning for the One They Pierced

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[a](W) of grace and supplication.(X) They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced,(Y) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,(Z) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.(AA) 11 On that day the weeping(AB) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(AC) 12 The land will mourn,(AD) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.(AE)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 12:10 Or the Spirit
  2. Zechariah 12:10 Or to