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)

Cleansing From Sin

13 “On that day a fountain(AF) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse(AG) them from sin and impurity.

“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols(AH) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”(AI) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets(AJ) and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies(AK) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.(AL)

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed(AM) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment(AN) of hair(AO) in order to deceive.(AP) Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[c](AQ) If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[d]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

“Awake, sword,(AR) against my shepherd,(AS)
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,(AT)
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.(AU)
This third I will put into the fire;(AV)
    I will refine them like silver(AW)
    and test them like gold.(AX)
They will call(AY) on my name(AZ)
    and I will answer(BA) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’(BB)
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.(BC)’”

The Lord Comes and Reigns

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

I will gather all the nations(BF) to Jerusalem to fight against it;(BG) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.(BH) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.(BI) Then the Lord will go out and fight(BJ) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.(BK) On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(BL) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split(BM) 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[e](BN) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,(BO) and all the holy ones with him.(BP)

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

On that day living water(BU) will flow(BV) out from Jerusalem, half of it east(BW) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.(BX)

The Lord will be king(BY) over the whole earth.(BZ) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.(CA)

10 The whole land, from Geba(CB) to Rimmon,(CC) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up(CD) high from the Benjamin Gate(CE) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,(CF) and from the Tower of Hananel(CG) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.(CH) 11 It will be inhabited;(CI) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.(CJ)

12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike(CK) 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.(CL) 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.(CM) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.(CN) 14 Judah(CO) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected(CP)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague(CQ) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

16 Then the survivors(CR) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship(CS) the King,(CT) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(CU) 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship(CV) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.(CW) 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[f] will bring on them the plague(CX) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(CY) 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.(CZ)

20 On that day holy to the Lord(DA) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots(DB) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls(DC) in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy(DD) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day(DE) there will no longer be a Canaanite[g](DF) in the house(DG) of the Lord Almighty.(DH)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 12:10 Or the Spirit
  2. Zechariah 12:10 Or to
  3. Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
  4. Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands
  5. 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
  6. Zechariah 14:18 Or part, then the Lord
  7. Zechariah 14:21 Or merchant

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.

13 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:

But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

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.

Purpose and Theme

The proverbs(A) of Solomon(B) son of David, king of Israel:(C)

for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to those who are simple,[a](D)
    knowledge and discretion(E) to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,(F)
    and let the discerning get guidance—
for understanding proverbs and parables,(G)
    the sayings and riddles(H) of the wise.[b](I)

The fear of the Lord(J) is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools[c] despise wisdom(K) and instruction.(L)

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Listen, my son,(M) to your father’s(N) instruction
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(O)
They are a garland to grace your head
    and a chain to adorn your neck.(P)

10 My son, if sinful men entice(Q) you,
    do not give in(R) to them.(S)
11 If they say, “Come along with us;
    let’s lie in wait(T) for innocent blood,
    let’s ambush some harmless soul;
12 let’s swallow(U) them alive, like the grave,
    and whole, like those who go down to the pit;(V)
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
    and fill our houses with plunder;
14 cast lots with us;
    we will all share the loot(W)”—
15 my son, do not go along with them,
    do not set foot(X) on their paths;(Y)
16 for their feet rush into evil,(Z)
    they are swift to shed blood.(AA)
17 How useless to spread a net
    where every bird can see it!
18 These men lie in wait(AB) for their own blood;
    they ambush only themselves!(AC)
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
    it takes away the life of those who get it.(AD)

Wisdom’s Rebuke

20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,(AE)
    she raises her voice in the public square;
21 on top of the wall[d] she cries out,
    at the city gate she makes her speech:

22 “How long will you who are simple(AF) love your simple ways?
    How long will mockers delight in mockery
    and fools hate(AG) knowledge?
23 Repent at my rebuke!
    Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
    I will make known to you my teachings.
24 But since you refuse(AH) to listen when I call(AI)
    and no one pays attention(AJ) when I stretch out my hand,
25 since you disregard all my advice
    and do not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh(AK) when disaster(AL) strikes you;
    I will mock(AM) when calamity overtakes you(AN)
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
    when disaster(AO) sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
    when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;(AP)
    they will look for me but will not find me,(AQ)
29 since they hated knowledge
    and did not choose to fear the Lord.(AR)
30 Since they would not accept my advice
    and spurned my rebuke,(AS)
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
    and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.(AT)
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
    and the complacency of fools will destroy them;(AU)
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety(AV)
    and be at ease, without fear of harm.”(AW)

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

My son,(AX) if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding(AY)
indeed, if you call out for insight(AZ)
    and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,(BA)
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.(BB)
For the Lord gives wisdom;(BC)
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.(BD)
He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield(BE) to those whose walk is blameless,(BF)
for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.(BG)

Then you will understand(BH) what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,(BI)
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.(BJ)

12 Wisdom will save(BK) you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,(BL)
14 who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,(BM)
15 whose paths are crooked(BN)
    and who are devious in their ways.(BO)

16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,(BP)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.[e](BQ)
18 Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.(BR)
19 None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.(BS)

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,(BT)
    and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked(BU) will be cut off from the land,(BV)
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.(BW)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 1:4 The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs denotes a person who is gullible, without moral direction and inclined to evil.
  2. Proverbs 1:6 Or understanding a proverb, namely, a parable, / and the sayings of the wise, their riddles
  3. Proverbs 1:7 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who is morally deficient.
  4. Proverbs 1:21 Septuagint; Hebrew / at noisy street corners
  5. Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.