The Coming Day of the Lord

14 Behold, (A)a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For (B)I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and (C)the city shall be taken (D)and the houses plundered (E)and the women raped. (F)Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (G)Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. (H)On that day his feet shall stand (I)on (J)the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and (K)the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by (L)a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from (M)the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.[a]

(N)On that day (O)there shall be (P)no light, cold, or frost.[b] (Q)And there shall be a unique[c] day, (R)which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but (S)at evening time there shall be light.

(T)On that day (U)living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to (V)the eastern sea[d] and half of them to (W)the western sea.[e] (X)It shall continue in summer as in winter.

And (Y)the Lord will be king over all the earth. (Z)On that day the Lord will be (AA)one and (AB)his name one.

10 (AC)The whole land shall be turned into a plain from (AD)Geba to (AE)Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But (AF)Jerusalem shall remain aloft (AG)on its site from (AH)the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to (AI)the Corner Gate, and from (AJ)the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for (AK)there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.[f] (AL)Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

12 And this shall be (AM)the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

13 And (AN)on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that (AO)each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even (AP)Judah will fight at Jerusalem.[g] And (AQ)the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And (AR)a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem (AS)shall go up year after year to worship (AT)the King, the Lord of hosts, and (AU)to keep (AV)the Feast of Booths. 17 And if (AW)any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship (AX)the King, the Lord of hosts, (AY)there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;[h] there shall be (AZ)the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up (BA)to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up (BB)to keep the Feast of Booths.

20 And (BC)on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, (BD)“Holy to the Lord.” And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be (BE)holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And (BF)there shall no longer be (BG)a trader[i] in the house of the Lord of hosts (BH)on that day.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you
  2. Zechariah 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  3. Zechariah 14:7 Hebrew one
  4. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea
  5. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
  6. Zechariah 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction
  7. Zechariah 14:14 Or against Jerusalem
  8. Zechariah 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain
  9. Zechariah 14:21 Or Canaanite

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.