Zechariah 12-13
New American Standard Bible
Jerusalem to Be Attacked
12 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:
The Lord who (A)stretches out the heavens, (B)lays the foundation of the earth, and (C)forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a (D)cup [a]that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against (E)Judah. 3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy (F)stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will (G)injure themselves severely. And all the (H)nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will [b]watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the [c]clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a [d]strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the [e]clans of Judah like a (I)firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while [f]the (J)inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will (K)save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of (L)David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will (M)protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who [g](N)is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like (O)God, like the (P)angel of the Lord before them. 9 And on that day I will (Q)seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “And I will (R)pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem [h]the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they (S)pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one (T)mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 On that day the (U)mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the [i]plain of [j]Megiddo. 12 The land will 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 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 all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
False Prophets Ashamed
13 “On that day a (V)fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for (W)sin and for (X)defilement.
2 “And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord of armies, “that I will (Y)eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the (Z)prophets and the (AA)unclean spirit from the land. 3 And if anyone still (AB)prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall (AC)not live, because you have spoken (AD)falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his (AE)father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be (AF)ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a (AG)hairy robe in order to deceive; 5 but he will say, ‘I am (AH)not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man [k]sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6 And someone will say to him, ‘What are these wounds (AI)between your [l]arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded at the house of [m]my friends.’
7 “Awake, (AJ)sword, against My (AK)Shepherd,
And against the Man, My (AL)Associate,”
Declares the Lord of armies.
“(AM)Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered;
And I will (AN)turn My hand [n]against the little ones.
8 And it will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“That (AO)two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
9 And I will bring the third part through the (AP)fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will (AQ)call on My name,
And I will (AR)answer them;
I will say, ‘They are (AS)My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 12:2 Lit of reeling
- Zechariah 12:4 Lit open My eyes
- Zechariah 12:5 Or chiefs
- Zechariah 12:5 Lit strength for me
- Zechariah 12:6 Or chiefs
- Zechariah 12:6 Lit Jerusalem...is again inhabited on its
- Zechariah 12:8 Lit stumbles
- Zechariah 12:10 Or a spirit
- Zechariah 12:11 I.e., broad valley
- Zechariah 12:11 Heb Megiddon
- Zechariah 13:5 Lit caused another to buy me
- Zechariah 13:6 Lit hands
- Zechariah 13:6 Lit those who love me
- Zechariah 13:7 Or upon
Zechariah 12-13
New Living Translation
Future Deliverance for Jerusalem
12 This[a] message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: “This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. 2 I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.
4 “On that day,” says the Lord, “I will cause every horse to panic and every rider to lose his nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of their enemies. 5 And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a flame that sets a woodpile ablaze or like a burning torch among sheaves of grain. They will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while the people living in Jerusalem remain secure.
7 “The Lord will give victory to the rest of Judah first, before Jerusalem, so that the people of Jerusalem and the royal line of David will not have greater honor than the rest of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who goes before them! 9 For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “Then I will pour out a spirit[b] of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. 11 The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the great mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
12 “All Israel will mourn, each clan by itself, and with the husbands separate from their wives. The clan of David will mourn alone, as will the clan of Nathan, 13 the clan of Levi, and the clan of Shimei. 14 Each of the surviving clans from Judah will mourn separately, and with the husbands separate from their wives.
A Fountain of Cleansing
13 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.
2 “And on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them. 3 If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.
4 “On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes. 5 He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ 6 And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?[c]’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’
The Scattering of the Sheep
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
the man who is my partner,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Strike down the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn against the lambs.
8 Two-thirds of the people in the land
will be cut off and die,” says the Lord.
“But one-third will be left in the land.
9 I will bring that group through the fire
and make them pure.
I will refine them like silver
and purify them like gold.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
