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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

12 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.

In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;

14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.