Zechariah 12
New King James Version
The Coming Deliverance of Judah
12 The [a]burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, (A)who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and (B)forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem (C)a cup of [b]drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 (D)And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem (E)a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. 4 In that day,” says the Lord, (F)“I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’ 6 In that day I will make the governors of Judah (G)like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.
7 “The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to (H)destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 (I)“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will (J)look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him (K)as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great (L)mourning in Jerusalem, (M)like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of [c]Megiddo. 12 (N)And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of (O)Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 12:1 oracle, prophecy
- Zechariah 12:2 Lit. reeling
- Zechariah 12:11 Heb. Megiddon
Zechariah 12
International Children’s Bible
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
12 This message is the word of the Lord to Israel. The Lord stretched out the skies. He laid the foundations of the earth. He put man’s spirit in him. And the Lord says this: 2 “I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. They will come and attack Jerusalem and Judah. 3 One day all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem. But I will make Jerusalem like a heavy rock. Anyone who tries to move it will get hurt. 4 At that time I will scare every horse. And its rider will panic,” says the Lord. “I will watch over Judah. But I will blind all the horses of the enemies. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong. This is because the Lord of heaven’s armies is their God.’
6 “At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning a stack of wood. They will be like a fire burning straw. They will destroy all the people around them left and right. But Jerusalem will remain safe.
7 “The Lord will save the people of Judah first. Then the people in Jerusalem, David’s city, won’t have more honor than Judah. 8 At that time the Lord will protect the people in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest of them will be strong like David. And the family of David will be like God. They will be like an angel of the Lord leading the people. 9 At that time I will go to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Crying for the One They Stabbed
10 “I will give David’s family and people in Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look at me, the one they have stabbed. And they will cry like someone crying over the death of an only child. They will be as sad as someone who has lost a firstborn son. 11 At that time there will be much crying in Jerusalem. It will be like the crying for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will cry. Each family will cry alone. The family of David and their wives will cry. The family of Nathan and their wives will cry. 13 The family of Levi and their wives will cry. The family of Shimei and their wives will cry. 14 And all the rest of the families and their wives will cry.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.