14 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness Unto The Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Foes

14 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you (Jerusalem) will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished; and half of the city will be exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from the east to the west by a very large valley, and half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south.(A) You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; and you will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my [a]God will come, and all the holy ones (believers, angels) with Him.(B)

In that day there will be no light; the glorious ones (heavenly bodies) shall be darkened. But it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord—not day and not night, but at evening time there will be light.

And in that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half of them to the western sea (the Mediterranean); it will be in summer as well as in winter.

God Will Be King over All

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord shall be the only one [worshiped], and His name the only one.

10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon, [the Rimmon that is] south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain [lifted up] on its site from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 It will be inhabited, for there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.(C)

12 Now this will be the plague with which the Lord shall strike all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. 13 In that day a great panic and dismay from the Lord will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together—gold and silver and garments in great abundance. 15 So like this plague [on men] there will be the plague on the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the livestock in those camps.

16 Then everyone who is left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 If the family of Egypt does not go up [to Jerusalem] and present themselves, then no rain will fall on them. It will be the plague with which the Lord will strike the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). 19 This will be the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of Egypt, and the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

20 In that day there will be written on the little bells on the horses, “[b]HOLY TO The Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be [holy to the Lord] like the bowls before the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in [all the houses in] Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take them and boil [their sacrifices] in them. And in that day there will no longer be a Canaanite [that is, any godless or spiritually unclean person, whether Jew or Gentile] in the house of the Lord of hosts.(D)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:5 The second coming of Christ to the earth is taught many times in Scripture. See Deut 30:3; Zech 14:3, 4; Matt 16:27; 24:3-14, 27, 36-39; 25:31, 32; 26:64; Luke 21:25-28; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor 1:7, 8; 4:5; 1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 4:1; Titus 2:13; Heb 9:28; 1 John 2:28; Rev 3:11; 16:15; 22:7, 20.
  2. Zechariah 14:20 What had previously been reserved for the most sacred occasions now will adorn common objects, thus eliminating the difference between the sacred and the secular.

The Day of Punishment

14 The ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord; Zeph. 1:7] is coming when ·the wealth you have taken [your plunder] will be divided ·among you [in your midst; or right in front of you; while you watch].

I will bring all the nations together to ·fight [wage war against] Jerusalem. They will capture the city and ·rob [plunder; loot] the houses and ·attack [rape] the women. Half the people will be taken away ·as captives [into exile], but the rest of the people won’t be taken from the city.

Then the Lord will go to war against those nations; he will fight as in a day of battle. On that day ·he [L his feet] will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will split in two, forming a deep valley that runs east and west. Half the mountain will move toward the north, and half will move toward the south. You will ·run [flee] through this mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel [C unknown location east of Jerusalem]. You will run just as you did from the earthquake when Uzziah was king of Judah [Amos 1:1]. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones [C either angels or believers; Matt. 25:31; 1 Thess. 3:13; Jude 14; Rev. 19:14] with him.

On that day there will be no light, ·cold, or frost [or the sources of lights will diminish]. There will be no other day like it, ·and the Lord knows when it will come [L a day known to the Lord]. There will be no day or night; even at evening it will still be light.

At that time ·fresh [bubbling; or living; life-giving] water will flow from Jerusalem. Half of it will flow east to the ·Dead [L eastern] Sea, and half will flow west to the ·Mediterranean [L western] Sea. It will flow summer and winter.

Then the Lord will be king over the whole world. ·At that time [L On that day] ·there will be only one Lord [L the Lord will be one; Deut. 6:4–5], and his name ·will be the only name [L one].

10 All the land south of Jerusalem from Geba [C six miles northeast of Jerusalem, the northern boundary of Judah] to ·Rimmon [C thirty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem] will be ·turned into a plain [or like the Arabah; C the Jordan Valley, from Mount Hermon to the Gulf of Aqaba]. Jerusalem will be raised up, but it will stay in the same place. The city will reach from the Benjamin Gate and to the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 People will live there, and it will never be destroyed again. Jerusalem will ·be safe [dwell in security].

12 But the Lord will bring a terrible ·disease [plague] on the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot away while they are still standing up. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 ·At that time [L On that day] the Lord will cause panic. Everybody will grab ·his [L the hand of his] neighbor, and they will ·attack each other [L raise his hand against the hand of his neighbor]. 14 ·The people of Judah [L Judah] will fight in Jerusalem. And the wealth of the nations around them will be collected—much gold, silver, and clothes. 15 A similar ·disease [plague] will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals in the camps.

16 All of those left alive of the ·people [nations] who came to fight Jerusalem will come back to Jerusalem year after year to worship the King, the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], and to celebrate the Feast of ·Shelters [Booths; Tabernacles; Deut. 31:9–13]. 17 Anyone from the nations who does not go to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], will not have rain fall on his land. 18 If the Egyptians do not go to Jerusalem, they will not have rain. Then the Lord will send them the same ·terrible disease [plague] he sent the other nations that did not celebrate the Feast of ·Shelters [Booths; Tabernacles]. 19 This will be the punishment for Egypt and any nation that does not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters.

20 ·At that time [L On that day] the horses’ bells will have written on them: holy to the lord. The cooking pots in the Temple of the Lord will be like the holy altar bowls. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], and everyone who offers sacrifices will be able to take food from them and cook in them. ·At that time [L On that day] there will not be any ·buyers or sellers [or Canaanite] in the Temple of the Lord [Matt. 21:12–13; John 2:13–16] ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].