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Zechariah’s Apocalyptic Vision

14 Look! A day is coming for Yahweh, when your plunder will be divided in your midst. I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, like when he fights[a] on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,[b] which faces Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives[c] will be split in half,[d] from east to west, by a very great valley; and half of the mountain will withdraw toward the north, and the other half toward the south. And you will flee by the valley of my mountains, because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal, and you will flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. And Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.[e]

And then[f] on that day there will not be light,[g] the precious things will congeal.[h] There shall be continuous day—it is known to Yahweh—not day and not night; and at evening time there will be light.

And then[i] on that day, living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea,[j] and the other half to the western sea;[k] it will happen both in the summer and in the winter. And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; on that day Yahweh will be one and his name one. 10 All the land will be transformed into a desert plateau[l] from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But it[m] will rise up high and it will stay[n] in its place from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, up to the Corner Gate and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And they[o] will dwell in it, and there will be no more ban imposed,[p] and Jerusalem will dwell in security.

12 And this will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the peoples that fight against Jerusalem: their[q] flesh will rot while they[r] are standing on their[s] feet; their[t] eyes will rot in their sockets, and their[u] tongues[v] will rot in their mouths.[w] 13 And then[x] on that day a great panic from Yahweh will fall[y] on them, and they will seize one another’s hand,[z] and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of another.[aa] 14 And Judah also will fight at[ab] Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—gold and silver, and garments in great abundance.[ac] 15 Like this plague[ad] will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and every kind of animal in those camps.

16 And then[ae] every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year[af] to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths.[ag] 17 And then[ah] whoever of the clans of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, it will not rain on them. 18 And if the clan of Egypt will not go up and come in, on them will be that plague Yahweh inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

20 On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to Yahweh.” And the cooking pots in the house[ai] of Yahweh will be holy like the sacrificial basins[aj] before the altar. 21 And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a trader[ak] in the house[al] of Yahweh of hosts on that day.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:3 Literally “the day of his fighting”
  2. Zechariah 14:4 Literally “the mountain of the olive trees”
  3. Zechariah 14:4 Literally “the mountain of the olive trees”
  4. Zechariah 14:4 Literally “from its half”
  5. Zechariah 14:5 Hebrew “you”; LXX has “him”
  6. Zechariah 14:6 Literally “And it will happen”
  7. Zechariah 14:6 Some suggest reading “flame” (= “heat”) here
  8. Zechariah 14:6 Or “the noble ones will congeal”; the Hebrew is difficult here
  9. Zechariah 14:8 Literally “And it will happen”
  10. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea
  11. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
  12. Zechariah 14:10 Or “will be changed like the Arabah”
  13. Zechariah 14:10 That is, Jerusalem
  14. Zechariah 14:10 Or “remain”
  15. Zechariah 14:11 That is, the people
  16. Zechariah 14:11 Literally “and there will not be a thing devoted to destruction” (that is, put under the ban of utter destruction)
  17. Zechariah 14:12 Hebrew “his”
  18. Zechariah 14:12 Hebrew “he”
  19. Zechariah 14:12 Hebrew “his”
  20. Zechariah 14:12 Hebrew “his”
  21. Zechariah 14:12 Hebrew “his”
  22. Zechariah 14:12 Hebrew “tongue”
  23. Zechariah 14:12 Hebrew “mouth”
  24. Zechariah 14:13 Literally “And it will happen”
  25. Zechariah 14:13 Hebrew “will be”
  26. Zechariah 14:13 Literally “and a man will seize the hand of his neighbor”
  27. Zechariah 14:13 Literally “his neighbor”
  28. Zechariah 14:14 Or “against” (so NAB, CEV)
  29. Zechariah 14:14 Literally “as far as the very multitude”
  30. Zechariah 14:15 Literally “And so”
  31. Zechariah 14:16 Literally “And it will happen”
  32. Zechariah 14:16 Or “from year to year”; or “yearly”
  33. Zechariah 14:16 That is, Succoth (or Tabernacles)
  34. Zechariah 14:17 Literally “And it will happen”
  35. Zechariah 14:20 Or “temple”
  36. Zechariah 14:20 That is, the ceremonial bowls used by the priests for sprinkling blood
  37. Zechariah 14:21 Literally “Canaanite” (Canaanites, especially Phoenicians, were merchants and traders)
  38. Zechariah 14:21 Or “temple”

The Day of the Lord(A)

14 Behold, (B)the day of the Lord is coming,
And your [a]spoil will be divided in your midst.
For (C)I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses [b]rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand (D)on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
(E)Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.

Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the (F)earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

(G)Thus the Lord my God will come,
And (H)all the saints with [c]You.

It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The [d]lights will diminish.
It shall be one day
(I)Which is known to the Lord
Neither day nor night.
But at (J)evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.

And in that day it shall be
That living (K)waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward [e]the eastern sea
And half of them toward [f]the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
And the Lord shall be (L)King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
(M)“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.

10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. [g]Jerusalem shall be raised up and (N)inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, (O)and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.

11 The people shall dwell in it;
And (P)no longer shall there be utter destruction,
(Q)But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem:

Their flesh shall [h]dissolve while they stand on their feet,
Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets,
And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

13 It shall come to pass in that day
That (R)a great panic from the Lord will be among them.
Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,
And raise (S)his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.
(T)And the wealth of all the surrounding nations
Shall be gathered together:
Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.

15 (U)Such also shall be the plague
On the horse and the mule,
On the camel and the donkey,
And on all the cattle that will be in those camps.
So shall this plague be.

The Nations Worship the King

16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall (V)go up from year to year to (W)worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep (X)the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 (Y)And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of (Z)Egypt will not come up and enter in, (AA)they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the [i]punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

20 In that day (AB)“HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The (AC)pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, [j]every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a (AD)Canaanite (AE)in the house of the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:1 plunder or booty
  2. Zechariah 14:2 Or plundered
  3. Zechariah 14:5 Or you; LXX, Tg., Vg. Him
  4. Zechariah 14:6 Lit. glorious ones
  5. Zechariah 14:8 The Dead Sea
  6. Zechariah 14:8 The Mediterranean Sea
  7. Zechariah 14:10 Lit. She
  8. Zechariah 14:12 Lit. decay
  9. Zechariah 14:19 Lit. sin
  10. Zechariah 14:21 Or on every pot . . . shall be engraved “HOLINESS TO THE LORD OF HOSTS”