Judah’s Security

12 A pronouncement:

The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
A declaration of the Lord,
who stretched out the heavens,(A)
laid the foundation of the earth,(B)
and formed the spirit of man within him.

“Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering(C) for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah.(D) On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her.(E) On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness.(F) I will keep a watchful eye on(G) the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Armies, their God. On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile,(H) like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem,(I) so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord, before them.(J) On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning for the Pierced One

10 “Then I will pour out a spirit[a](K) of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at[b] me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.(L) 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s[c](M) house by itself and their women by themselves; 13 the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei[d](N) by itself and their women by themselves; 14 all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.

Footnotes

  1. 12:10 Or out the Spirit
  2. 12:10 Or to
  3. 12:12 = a son of David
  4. 12:13 = a descendant of Levi

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) 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) 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) 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) Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.”(E)

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)

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) 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) 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

  1. 12.10 Heb on me