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Zechariah 10-12
New King James Version
Zechariah 10-12
New King James Version
Restoration of Judah and Israel
10 Ask (A)the Lord for (B)rain
In (C)the time of the [a]latter rain.
The Lord will make [b]flashing clouds;
He will give them showers of rain,
Grass in the field for everyone.
2 For the (D)idols[c] speak delusion;
The diviners envision (E)lies,
And tell false dreams;
They (F)comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wend their way like (G)sheep;
They are [d]in trouble (H)because there is no shepherd.
3 “My anger is kindled against the (I)shepherds,
(J)And I will punish the [e]goatherds.
For the Lord of hosts (K)will visit His flock,
The house of Judah,
And (L)will make them as His royal horse in the battle.
4 From him comes (M)the cornerstone,
From him (N)the tent peg,
From him the battle bow,
From him every [f]ruler together.
5 They shall be like mighty men,
Who (O)tread down their enemies
In the mire of the streets in the battle.
They shall fight because the Lord is with them,
And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.
6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph.
(P)I will bring them back,
Because I (Q)have mercy on them.
They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;
For I am the Lord their God,
And I (R)will hear them.
7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man,
And their (S)heart shall rejoice as if with wine.
Yes, their children shall see it and be glad;
Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will (T)whistle for them and gather them,
For I will redeem them;
(U)And they shall increase as they once increased.
9 “I(V) will [g]sow them among the peoples,
And they shall (W)remember Me in far countries;
They shall live, together with their children,
And they shall return.
10 (X)I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt,
And gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
(Y)Until no more room is found for them.
11 (Z)He shall pass through the sea with affliction,
And strike the waves of the sea:
All the depths of [h]the River shall dry up.
Then (AA)the pride of Assyria shall be brought down,
And (AB)the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 “So I will strengthen them in the Lord,
And (AC)they shall walk up and down in His name,”
Says the Lord.
Desolation of Israel
11 Open (AD)your doors, O Lebanon,
That fire may devour your cedars.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the (AE)cedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
(AF)For the thick forest has come down.
3 There is the sound of wailing (AG)shepherds!
For their glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the [i]pride of the Jordan is in ruins.
Prophecy of the Shepherds
4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5 whose owners slaughter them and (AH)feel no guilt; those who sell them (AI)say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do (AJ)not pity them. 6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall [j]attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”
7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, [k]in particular (AK)the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called [l]Beauty, and the other I called [m]Bonds; and I fed the flock. 8 I [n]dismissed the three shepherds (AL)in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then I said, “I will not feed you. (AM)Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff, [o]Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus (AN)the[p] poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it is [q]agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they (AO)weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (AP)potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, [r]Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 And the Lord said to me, (AQ)“Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. 16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in (AR)pieces.
17 “Woe(AS) to the worthless shepherd,
Who leaves the flock!
A sword shall be against his arm
And against his right eye;
His arm shall completely wither,
And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”
The Coming Deliverance of Judah
12 The [s]burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, (AT)who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and (AU)forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem (AV)a cup of [t]drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 (AW)And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem (AX)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, (AY)“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 (AZ)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 (BA)destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 (BB)“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will (BC)look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him (BD)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 (BE)mourning in Jerusalem, (BF)like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of [u]Megiddo. 12 (BG)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 (BH)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 10:1 Spring rain
- Zechariah 10:1 Or lightning flashes
- Zechariah 10:2 Heb. teraphim
- Zechariah 10:2 afflicted
- Zechariah 10:3 Leaders
- Zechariah 10:4 Or despot
- Zechariah 10:9 Or scatter
- Zechariah 10:11 The Nile
- Zechariah 11:3 Or floodplain, thicket
- Zechariah 11:6 Lit. strike
- Zechariah 11:7 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX for the Canaanites
- Zechariah 11:7 Or Grace
- Zechariah 11:7 Or Unity
- Zechariah 11:8 Or destroyed, lit. cut off
- Zechariah 11:10 Or Grace
- Zechariah 11:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX the Canaanites
- Zechariah 11:12 good in your sight
- Zechariah 11:14 Or Unity
- Zechariah 12:1 oracle, prophecy
- Zechariah 12:2 Lit. reeling
- Zechariah 12:11 Heb. Megiddon
Zechariah 10-12
New International Version
Zechariah 10-12
New International Version
The Lord Will Care for Judah
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(A) to all people,
and plants of the field(B) to everyone.
2 The idols(C) speak deceitfully,
diviners(D) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(E) that are false,
they give comfort in vain.(F)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(G)
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;(H)
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.(I)
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,(J)
from him the tent peg,(K)
from him the battle bow,(L)
from him every ruler.
5 Together they[a] will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(M)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(N)
6 “I will strengthen(O) Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion(P) on them.(Q)
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer(R) them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(S)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice(T) in the Lord.
8 I will signal(U) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous(V) as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.(W)
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.(X)
I will bring them to Gilead(Y) and Lebanon,
and there will not be room(Z) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(AA)
Assyria’s pride(AB) will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter(AC) will pass away.(AD)
12 I will strengthen(AE) them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,(AF)”
declares the Lord.
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,(AG)
so that fire(AH) may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(AI) of Bashan;
the dense forest(AJ) has been cut down!(AK)
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;(AL)
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!(AM)
Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(AN) 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.(AO) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors(AP) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(AQ)
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(AR) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detested(AS) me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(AT) Let those who are left eat(AU) one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor(AV) and broke it, revoking(AW) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.(AX)
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver(AY) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(AZ)
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,(BA)
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm(BB) and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!”(BC)
Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed
12 A prophecy:(BD) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,(BE) who lays the foundation of the earth,(BF) and who forms the human spirit within a person,(BG) declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup(BH) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.(BI) Judah(BJ) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations(BK) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock(BL) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure(BM) themselves. 4 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.(BN) 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,(BO) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot(BP) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume(BQ) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact(BR) in her place.
7 “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.(BS) 8 On that day the Lord will shield(BT) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest(BU) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,(BV) like the angel of the Lord going before(BW) them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations(BX) that attack Jerusalem.(BY)
Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[b](BZ) of grace and supplication.(CA) They will look on[c] me, the one they have pierced,(CB) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,(CC) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.(CD) 11 On that day the weeping(CE) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(CF) 12 The land will mourn,(CG) 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.(CH)
Footnotes
- Zechariah 10:5 Or ruler, all of them together. / 5 They
- Zechariah 12:10 Or the Spirit
- Zechariah 12:10 Or to
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.