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Future Warfare and Final Victory

14 See, a day is coming for the Lord, when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your midst.(A) For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped; half the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.(B) Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.(C) On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the mount shall withdraw northward and the other half southward.(D) And you shall flee by the valley of the Lord’s mountain,[a] for the valley between the mountains shall reach to Azal,[b] and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him.(E)

On that day there shall not be[c] either cold or frost.[d] And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light.(F)

On that day living water shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the eastern sea and half of it to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter.(G)

And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one.(H)

10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem[e] shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.(I) 11 And it shall be inhabited, for never again shall it be doomed to destruction; Jerusalem shall abide in security.(J)

12 This shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they are still on their feet, their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths.(K) 13 On that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other;(L) 14 even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected: gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.(M) 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever animals may be in those camps.(N)

16 Then all who survive of the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Festival of Booths.[f](O) 17 If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain upon them.(P) 18 And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, there will be no rain for them; there will be the plague that the Lord inflicts on the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Booths.[g](Q) 19 Such shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the Festival of Booths.[h](R)

20 On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the cooking pots in the house of the Lord shall be as holy as[i] the bowls in front of the altar,(S) 21 and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. And there shall no longer be traders[j] in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.(T)

Footnotes

  1. 14.5 Heb my mountains
  2. 14.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 14.6 Cn: Heb there shall not be light
  4. 14.6 Compare Gk Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 14.10 Heb it
  6. 14.16 Or Tabernacles
  7. 14.18 Or Tabernacles
  8. 14.19 Or Tabernacles
  9. 14.20 Heb shall be like
  10. 14.21 Or Canaanites

The Lord Will Rule the Earth

14 Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal.[a] Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.[b]

On that day the sources of light will no longer shine,[c] yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light.

On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean,[d] flowing continuously in both summer and winter.

And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.

10 All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place and will be inhabited all the way from the Benjamin Gate over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed.

12 And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand. 14 Judah, too, will be fighting at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the neighboring nations will be captured—great quantities of gold and silver and fine clothing. 15 This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camps.

16 In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 17 Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain. 18 If the people of Egypt refuse to attend the festival, the Lord will punish[e] them with the same plague that he sends on the other nations who refuse to go. 19 Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they don’t go to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

20 On that day even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these words: Holy to the lord. And the cooking pots in the Temple of the Lord will be as sacred as the basins used beside the altar. 21 In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. All who come to worship will be free to use any of these pots to boil their sacrifices. And on that day there will no longer be traders[f] in the Temple of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Footnotes

  1. 14:5a The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  2. 14:5b As in Greek version; Hebrew reads with you.
  3. 14:6 Hebrew the precious ones shall diminish; or the precious ones and frost. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  4. 14:8 Hebrew half toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea.
  5. 14:18 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions; Masoretic Text reads will not punish.
  6. 14:21 Hebrew Canaanites.