Zechariah 12
King James Version
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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
Zechariah 12
Amplified Bible
Jerusalem to Be Attacked
12 The [a]oracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.
Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling (staggering) to all the surrounding peoples; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 And in that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will come and be gathered against it. 4 In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with panic and his rider with madness; but I will open My eyes and watch over the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the [opposing] nations with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are our strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’
6 “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, and like a flaming torch among sheaves [of grain]. They will devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left; and the people of Jerusalem will again live [securely] in their own place, in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord shall save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem, and the one who is impaired among them in that day [of persecution] will become [strong and noble] like David; and the house of David [b]will be like God, like the [c]Angel of the Lord [who is] before them. 9 And in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace (unmerited favor) and supplication. And they will look at Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him as one who weeps bitterly over a firstborn.(A) 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of [the city of] Hadadrimmon in the Valley of [d]Megiddo [over beloved King [e]Josiah].(B) 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the [royal] family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan [David’s son] by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the [priestly] family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei [grandson of Levi] by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, each by itself, and their wives by themselves [each with an overwhelming individual regret for having blindly rejected their Messiah].
Footnotes
- Zechariah 12:1 See note 9:1.
- Zechariah 12:8 I.e. maintain its supremacy.
- Zechariah 12:8 See Ex 14:19; 23:20; 32:34; 33:2, 14, 15, 22; Hos 12:3, 4.
- Zechariah 12:11 Heb Megiddon.
- Zechariah 12:11 King Josiah was mortally wounded at the age of thirty-nine, and his death sparked an extraordinarily deep sense of grief among the people. That same kind of deep grief will characterize the mourning of Israel when they recognize their once-crucified Messiah who has come to reign.
Zechariah 12
Expanded Bible
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
12 ·This message is [The oracle/burden of] the word of the Lord ·to [or concerning] Israel. This is what the Lord says, who stretched out the ·skies [heavens], and laid the foundations of the earth [Gen. 1], and ·put [forms] the human spirit within: 2 “I will make Jerusalem like a cup of ·poison [staggering; reeling; drunkenness] to the nations around her. They will come and ·attack [besiege] Jerusalem and Judah. 3 ·One [L And it shall be on that] day all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem, but I will make it like a ·heavy [immovable] rock; anyone who tries to ·move [carry] it will ·get hurt [be injured]. 4 At that time I will ·confuse [strike with panic] every horse and cause its rider to go crazy,” says the Lord. “I will ·watch over [L open my eyes to] the ·people [L house] of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the ·enemies [nations; peoples]. 5 Then the ·leaders [or clans] of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The ·people [inhabitants] of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is their God.’
6 “At that time I will make the ·leaders [or clans] of Judah like a ·fire burning [firepot on] a stack of wood or like a ·fire burning straw [burning torch among sheaves]. They will ·destroy [consume; devour] all the people around them left and right. But the people of Jerusalem will remain ·safe [L settled in their place].
7 “The Lord will save the ·homes [L tents] of Judah first so that the ·honor given to [glory of] ·David’s family [L the house of David] and to the people of Jerusalem won’t be greater than the ·honor given to [glory of] Judah [C the defenseless countryside would be saved before the fortified city, showing the victory was due to the Lord]. 8 ·At that time [L On that day] the Lord will ·protect [defend] the people in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest of them will be strong like David. And the ·family [house] of David will be like God, like ·an [or the] angel of the Lord in front of them [Gen. 48:16; Ex. 14:19; 23:20]. 9 ·At that time [L On that day] I will ·go [set out; begin] to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Crying for the One They Pierced
10 “I will pour out on ·David’s family [L the house of David] and the ·people in [inhabitants of] Jerusalem a spirit of ·kindness [grace] and ·mercy [prayer; supplication]. They will look at me, the one they have ·stabbed [pierced], and they will ·cry [L mourn/lament for him] like someone ·crying [mourning; lamenting] over the death of an only ·child [son]. They will ·be as sad [grieve bitterly] as someone who has lost a firstborn son. 11 ·At that time [L On that day] there will be much crying in Jerusalem, like the crying for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo [C either where Judah mourned the death of king Josiah (2 Chr. 35:25), or ritualistic mourning associated with the Canaanite storm god (Ezek. 8:14; 2 Kin. 5:18)]. 12 The land will ·cry [mourn], each ·family [clan] by itself: the ·family [clan] of [L the house of] David by itself and their wives by themselves, the ·family [clan] of Nathan [2 Sam. 5:14] by itself and their wives by themselves, 13 the ·family [clan] of Levi [Num. 3:17–18, 21] by itself and their wives by themselves, the ·family [clan] of Shimei [C a clan of Levites; Ex. 6:16–17] by itself and their wives by themselves, 14 and all the rest of the ·families [clans] by themselves and their wives by themselves.
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