Zechariah 12 - Malachi 4
New King James Version
The Coming Deliverance of Judah
12 The [a]burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, (A)who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and (B)forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem (C)a cup of [b]drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 (D)And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem (E)a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. 4 In that day,” says the Lord, (F)“I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’ 6 In that day I will make the governors of Judah (G)like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.
7 “The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to (H)destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 (I)“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will (J)look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him (K)as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great (L)mourning in Jerusalem, (M)like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of [c]Megiddo. 12 (N)And the land shall 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 (O)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 Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
Idolatry Cut Off
13 “In that (P)day (Q)a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for (R)uncleanness.
2 “It shall be in that day,” says the Lord of hosts, “that I will (S)cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause (T)the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. 3 It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, ‘You shall (U)not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who begot him (V)shall thrust him through when he prophesies.
4 “And it shall be in that day that (W)every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear (X)a robe of coarse hair to deceive. 5 (Y)But he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’ 6 And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your [d]arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’
The Shepherd Savior
7 “Awake, O sword, against (Z)My Shepherd,
Against the Man (AA)who is My Companion,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
(AB)“Strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered;
Then I will turn My hand against (AC)the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the Lord,
“That (AD)two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
(AE)But one-third shall be left in it:
9 I will bring the one-third (AF)through the fire,
Will (AG)refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
(AH)They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
(AI)I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”
The Day of the Lord(AJ)
14 Behold, (AK)the day of the Lord is coming,
And your [e]spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For (AL)I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses [f]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.
3 Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand (AM)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,
(AN)Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.
5 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 (AO)earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
6 It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The [h]lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day
(AR)Which is known to the Lord—
Neither day nor night.
But at (AS)evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.
8 And in that day it shall be
That living (AT)waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward [i]the eastern sea
And half of them toward [j]the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the Lord shall be (AU)King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
(AV)“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. [k]Jerusalem shall be raised up and (AW)inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, (AX)and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.
11 The people shall dwell in it;
And (AY)no longer shall there be utter destruction,
(AZ)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 [l]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 (BA)a great panic from the Lord will be among them.
Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,
And raise (BB)his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.
(BC)And the wealth of all the surrounding nations
Shall be gathered together:
Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.
15 (BD)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 (BE)go up from year to year to (BF)worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep (BG)the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 (BH)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 (BI)Egypt will not come up and enter in, (BJ)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 [m]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 (BK)“HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The (BL)pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, [n]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 (BM)Canaanite (BN)in the house of the Lord of hosts.
Polluted Offerings to God
1 The [o]burden of the word of the Lord to Israel [p]by Malachi.
Israel Beloved of God
2 “I(BO) have loved you,” says the Lord.
“Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’
Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”
Says the Lord.
“Yet (BP)Jacob I have loved;
3 But Esau I have hated,
And (BQ)laid waste his mountains and his heritage
For the jackals of the wilderness.”
4 Even though Edom has said,
“We have been impoverished,
But we will return and build the desolate places,”
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“They may build, but I will (BR)throw down;
They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness,
And the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever.
5 Your eyes shall see,
And you shall say,
(BS)‘The Lord is magnified beyond the border of Israel.’
Polluted Offerings
6 “A son (BT)honors his father,
And a servant his master.
(BU)If then I am the Father,
Where is My honor?
And if I am a Master,
Where is My reverence?
Says the Lord of hosts
To you priests who despise My name.
(BV)Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
7 “You offer (BW)defiled food on My altar,
But say,
‘In what way have we defiled You?’
By saying,
(BX)‘The table of the Lord is [q]contemptible.’
8 And (BY)when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
Is it not evil?
And when you offer the lame and sick,
Is it not evil?
Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he (BZ)accept[r] you favorably?”
Says the Lord of hosts.
9 “But now entreat God’s favor,
That He may be gracious to us.
(CA)While this is being done by your hands,
Will He accept you favorably?”
Says the Lord of hosts.
10 “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors,
(CB)So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain?
I have no pleasure in you,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
(CC)“Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.
11 For (CD)from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,
My name shall be great (CE)among the Gentiles;
(CF)In every place (CG)incense shall be offered to My name,
And a pure offering;
(CH)For My name shall be great among the nations,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
12 “But you profane it,
In that you say,
(CI)‘The table of the [s]Lord is defiled;
And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’
13 You also say,
‘Oh, what a (CJ)weariness!’
And you sneer at it,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick;
Thus you bring an offering!
(CK)Should I accept this from your hand?”
Says the Lord.
14 “But cursed be (CL)the deceiver
Who has in his flock a male,
And takes a vow,
But sacrifices to the Lord (CM)what is blemished—
For (CN)I am a great King,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“And My name is to be feared among the nations.
Corrupt Priests
2 “And now, O (CO)priests, this commandment is for you.
2 (CP)If you will not hear,
And if you will not take it to heart,
To give glory to My name,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“I will send a curse upon you,
And I will curse your blessings.
Yes, I have cursed them (CQ)already,
Because you do not take it to heart.
3 “Behold, I will rebuke your descendants
And spread (CR)refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
And one will (CS)take you away [t]with it.
4 Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,
That My covenant with Levi may continue,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
5 “My(CT) covenant was with him, one of life and peace,
And I gave them to him (CU)that he might fear Me;
So he feared Me
And was reverent before My name.
6 (CV)The[u] law of truth was in his mouth,
And [v]injustice was not found on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace and equity,
And (CW)turned many away from iniquity.
7 “For(CX) the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
And people should seek the law from his mouth;
(CY)For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
8 But you have departed from the way;
You (CZ)have caused many to stumble at the law.
(DA)You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
9 “Therefore (DB)I also have made you contemptible and base
Before all the people,
Because you have not kept My ways
But have shown (DC)partiality in the law.”
Treachery of Infidelity
10 (DD)Have we not all one Father?
(DE)Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
11 Judah has dealt treacherously,
And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,
For Judah has (DF)profaned
The Lord’s holy institution which He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob
The man who does this, being [w]awake and aware,
Yet (DG)who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
13 And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
14 Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the Lord has been witness
Between you and (DH)the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
(DI)Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
15 But (DJ)did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks (DK)godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
16 “For (DL)the Lord God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
17 (DM)You have wearied the Lord with your words;
Yet you say,
“In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,
(DN)“Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the Lord,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”
The Coming Messenger
3 “Behold, (DO)I send My messenger,
And he will (DP)prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
(DQ)Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, (DR)He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
2 “But who can endure (DS)the day of His coming?
And (DT)who can stand when He appears?
For (DU)He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
3 (DV)He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And [x]purge them as gold and silver,
That they may (DW)offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.
4 “Then (DX)the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be [y]pleasant to the Lord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.
5 And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
(DY)Against perjurers,
Against those who (DZ)exploit wage earners and (EA)widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
6 “For I am the Lord, (EB)I do not change;
(EC)Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of (ED)your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
(EE)Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
(EF)“But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’
Do Not Rob God
8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
(EG)In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 (EH)Bring all the tithes into the (EI)storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the (EJ)windows of heaven
And (EK)pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke (EL)the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts;
12 “And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be (EM)a delightful land,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The People Complain Harshly
13 “Your(EN) words have been [z]harsh against Me,”
Says the Lord,
“Yet you say,
‘What have we spoken against You?’
14 (EO)You have said,
‘It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners
Before the Lord of hosts?
15 So now (EP)we call the proud blessed,
For those who do wickedness are [aa]raised up;
They even (EQ)tempt God and go free.’ ”
A Book of Remembrance
16 Then those (ER)who feared the Lord (ES)spoke to one another,
And the Lord listened and heard them;
So (ET)a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the Lord
And who [ab]meditate on His name.
17 “They(EU) shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts,
“On the day that I make them My (EV)jewels.[ac]
And (EW)I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.”
18 (EX)Then you shall again discern
Between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God
And one who does not serve Him.
The Great Day of God
4 “For behold, (EY)the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all (EZ)the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be (FA)stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will (FB)leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who (FC)fear My name
The (FD)Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 (FE)You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Remember the (FF)Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With (FG)the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you (FH)Elijah the prophet
(FI)Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And (FJ)he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and (FK)strike the earth with (FL)a curse.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 12:1 oracle, prophecy
- Zechariah 12:2 Lit. reeling
- Zechariah 12:11 Heb. Megiddon
- Zechariah 13:6 Or hands
- Zechariah 14:1 plunder or booty
- Zechariah 14:2 Or plundered
- Zechariah 14:5 Or you; LXX, Tg., Vg. Him
- Zechariah 14:6 Lit. glorious ones
- Zechariah 14:8 The Dead Sea
- Zechariah 14:8 The Mediterranean Sea
- Zechariah 14:10 Lit. She
- Zechariah 14:12 Lit. decay
- Zechariah 14:19 Lit. sin
- Zechariah 14:21 Or on every pot . . . shall be engraved “HOLINESS TO THE LORD OF HOSTS”
- Malachi 1:1 oracle, prophecy
- Malachi 1:1 Lit. by the hand of
- Malachi 1:7 Or to be despised
- Malachi 1:8 Lit. lift up your face
- Malachi 1:12 So with Bg.; MT Lord
- Malachi 2:3 Lit. to it
- Malachi 2:6 Or True instruction
- Malachi 2:6 Or unrighteousness
- Malachi 2:12 Talmud, Vg. teacher and student
- Malachi 3:3 Or refine
- Malachi 3:4 pleasing
- Malachi 3:13 Lit. strong
- Malachi 3:15 Lit. built
- Malachi 3:16 Or esteem
- Malachi 3:17 Lit. special treasure
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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