Zechariah 12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jerusalem’s Victory
12 An Oracle.
The word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within:(A) 2 See, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples; it will be against Judah also in the siege against Jerusalem.(B) 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it shall grievously hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth shall come together against it.(C) 4 On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. But on the house of Judah I will keep a watchful eye, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.(D) 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.”(E)
6 On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot on a pile of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves, and they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.(F)
7 And the Lord will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah.(G) 8 On that day the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, at their head.(H) 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.(I)
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that, when they look on the one[a] whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn.(J) 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(K) 12 The land shall mourn, each family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of 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 the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself and their wives by themselves.
Footnotes
- 12.10 Heb on me
Zechariah 12
Common English Bible
Jerusalem on that day
12 A pronouncement. The Lord’s word against Israel,
an utterance of the Lord
who stretches out the heavens,
who establishes the earth,
and who fashions the spirit of humanity within it:
2 I am about to make Jerusalem a cup that will stagger all the surrounding nations.
There will be a siege against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 On that day I will make Jerusalem into a heavy stone[a] for all the peoples.
All who carry it will hurt themselves;
nevertheless, the nations of the earth will conspire against it.
4 On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with confusion
and its rider with madness.
I will keep my eyes open for the house of Judah;
I will strike blind every horse of the peoples.
5 The chieftains of Judah will say to themselves, We are strong;
the inhabitants of Jerusalem will say,
The Lord their God of heavenly forces is strong.[b]
6 On that day I will place the chieftains of Judah like a pot on a wood fire and like a burning torch among the bundles of grain.
They will devour all the surrounding nations to the right and the left.
Jerusalem will dwell again in its place, in Jerusalem.
7 The Lord will first deliver the tents of Judah so that the splendor of David’s house
and the splendor of Jerusalem’s inhabitants won’t overshadow Judah.
8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Anyone among them who stumbles on that day will become like David,
and David’s house will become like God,
like the Lord’s messenger in front of them.
9 On that day I intend to destroy all the nations who come against Jerusalem,
10 but I will pour out a spirit of grace and mercy on David’s house
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They will look to me concerning the one whom they pierced;
they will mourn over him like the mourning for an only child.
They will mourn bitterly over him like the bitter mourning over the death of[c] an oldest child.
11 On that day, the mourning in Jerusalem
will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the Megiddo Valley.
12 The land will mourn, each of the clans by itself:
the clan of David’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
the clan of Nathan’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
13 the clan of Levi’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
and the Shimeites’ clan by themselves, and their women by themselves;
14 and all the remaining clans, each clan by itself, and their women by themselves.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 12:3 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 12:5 Heb uncertain
- Zechariah 12:10 Heb lacks the death of.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible