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
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Lord Will Give Victory to Jerusalem
12 An oracle, the word of the Lord concerning Israel. This is what the Lord declares, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of a man within him:
2 Look! I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes all the surrounding peoples to stagger. When there is a siege against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will be seriously injured, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
4 On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. But I will keep my eye on the house of Judah, and I will strike with blindness every horse that belongs to the other peoples. 5 Each of the leaders of the clans of Judah will say in his heart, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Armies, their God.”
6 On that day I will make the leaders of the clans of Judah like a firepot that ignites the woods, and like a flaming torch among the sheaves. They will devour all the surrounding peoples, on the right and on the left. The people of Jerusalem will once again live in their own place—in Jerusalem!
7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not become greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Anyone among them who is feeble will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord, before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
They Will Mourn for the One They Pierced
10 “I[a] will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace, who pleads for mercy.[b] Then they will look at me, the one they have pierced.”
They will mourn for him[c] as one mourns for an only child. They will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves over his firstborn. 11 On that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, as great as the mourning for Hadad Rimmon[d] in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will 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[e] 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[f] by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, each family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 12:10 The speaker is the coming Messiah.
- Zechariah 12:10 Or a spirit that pleads for grace and mercy
- Zechariah 12:10 Sudden, unmarked shifts from first person (look at me) to third person (mourn for him) are not unusual in prophecy. The words set off by quotation marks are the words of the Messiah. The following words are commentary spoken by the prophet.
- Zechariah 12:11 Or at Hadad Rimmon. Hadad Rimmon may be the name of a heathen god, whose death was mourned like the death of Tammuz. Or it may be the name of a place where Israel mourned the death of Josiah.
- Zechariah 12:12 Not the well-known prophet Nathan, but Nathan the son of David who was an ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:31)
- Zechariah 12:13 One of the divisions of the Levites
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.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.