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The Lord comes

14 There will be a day when your enemies will take away everything. They will take away everything that is yours. They will each have some of your things.

I will bring soldiers from all countries to fight against Jerusalem. They will go into the city and they will rob the houses. They will have sex with the women. They will lead away half the people to other countries. They will let the other half stay in Jerusalem.

Then the Lord will go out. And he will fight against the people from those countries as in past years.

On that day, the Lord's feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. This mountain is east of Jerusalem. It will break in two from east to west and it will make a wide valley. Half of the mountain will move north and half of the mountain will move south.

In the time of Uzziah, king of Judah, you ran away when the earth moved. You will do this again. Then the Lord will come. And all those who are holy will come with him.[a]

On that day, it will not be light in some places and dark in other places.

It will be a day like no other day. There will be no night. When it is evening, there will still be light. Only the Lord himself will know that day.

On that day, water will come out from Jerusalem. Half of this water will go towards the sea in the east. Half of this water will go towards the sea in the west. This will go on during summer and winter.

The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day, there will be only one Lord and he will have only one name.

10 All the land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become flat. But Jerusalem will rise and it will be high in its place. The city will be from the Gate of Benjamin to the Corner Gate and to the High Building of Hananel. The place where the servants of the king make his wine will be in it too.

11 Jerusalem will be safe. People will live there. Nobody will destroy Jerusalem ever again.

12 The Lord will make the people sick that fought against Jerusalem. Their bodies will become bad as they stand on their feet. Their eyes will become bad and they will fall out. And their tongues will become bad in their mouths.

13 On that day, the Lord will make men so afraid that each man will attack the man next to him.

14 Judah also will go to Jerusalem and they will fight. They will take every good thing from all the countries. There will be a lot of expensive metals and many rich clothes.

15 The horses and all the other animals will be sick. And they will die as the soldiers died.

16 Some of the soldiers from the countries that attacked Jerusalem will not die. They will go to Jerusalem year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty. They will worship him at the Feast of Huts.[b]

17 All the people on the earth will have to go to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty. If any people on the earth do not go, they will have no rain.

18 If the people from Egypt do not go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, they will have no rain. And the Lord will make them sick. If the people from other countries will not go to Jerusalem, the Lord will make them sick. They will die.

19 This will happen to the people from Egypt. This will happen to the people from all the countries that do not go up to Jerusalem at that time.

20 On that day, men will write the words, ‘This is for the Lord’ on the bells of the horses. The pots that anyone uses to cook with in the house of the Lord will be special. They will be as special as the dishes in front of the altar.

21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be for the Lord Almighty. All the people who come to offer animals to the Lord will cook in those pots. On that day, nobody who sells things will come into the house of the Lord Almighty.

Footnotes

  1. 14:5 We are not sure what ‘those who are holy’ means. Some students think that these are people. And some students think that they are angels.
  2. 14:16 During the Feast of Huts, the Jews remember that the Lord was kind to his people when they left Egypt many years ago. See Leviticus 23:34.

The Lord Comes and Reigns

14 A day of the Lord(A) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions(B) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

I will gather all the nations(C) to Jerusalem to fight against it;(D) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.(E) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.(F) Then the Lord will go out and fight(G) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.(H) On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(I) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split(J) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake[a](K) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,(L) and all the holy ones with him.(M)

On that day there will be neither sunlight(N) nor cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique(O) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.(P) When evening comes, there will be light.(Q)

On that day living water(R) will flow(S) out from Jerusalem, half of it east(T) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.(U)

The Lord will be king(V) over the whole earth.(W) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.(X)

10 The whole land, from Geba(Y) to Rimmon,(Z) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up(AA) high from the Benjamin Gate(AB) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,(AC) and from the Tower of Hananel(AD) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.(AE) 11 It will be inhabited;(AF) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.(AG)

12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike(AH) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.(AI) 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.(AJ) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.(AK) 14 Judah(AL) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected(AM)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague(AN) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

16 Then the survivors(AO) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship(AP) the King,(AQ) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(AR) 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship(AS) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.(AT) 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[b] will bring on them the plague(AU) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(AV) 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(AW)

20 On that day holy to the Lord(AX) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots(AY) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls(AZ) in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy(BA) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day(BB) there will no longer be a Canaanite[c](BC) in the house(BD) of the Lord Almighty.(BE)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:5 Or My mountain valley will be blocked and will extend to Azel. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake
  2. Zechariah 14:18 Or part, then the Lord
  3. Zechariah 14:21 Or merchant