Zechariah 12:1-5
Lexham English Bible
The Day of Yahweh
12 An oracle. The word of Yahweh concerning Israel. “Thus declares[a] Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, founds the earth, and forms the spirit of humankind in its midst:[b] 2 ‘Look, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding nations; it will also be against Judah in the siege against Jerusalem. 3 And then[c] on that day I will make Jerusalem a stone weight[d] for all the peoples. All those lifting it up will grievously hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will assemble against it. 4 On that day,’ declares[e] Yahweh, ‘I will strike every horse with confusion, and the one riding it with madness; but over the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open,[f] and I will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the clans of Judah will say to themselves,[g] “The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strength to us,[h] through Yahweh of hosts, their God.”
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- Zechariah 12:1 Literally “Declaration of”
- Zechariah 12:1 Or “forms the spirit of a man within him”
- Zechariah 12:3 Literally “And it will happen”
- Zechariah 12:3 Or “a heavy stone”
- Zechariah 12:4 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 12:4 Literally “I will open my eyes,” that is, “I will be responsive” or “I will pay attention”
- Zechariah 12:5 Literally “in their heart”
- Zechariah 12:5 Hebrew “me”
Zechariah 12:1-5
New English Translation
The Repentance of Judah
12 This is an oracle,[a] the Lord’s message concerning Israel: The Lord—he who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth, who forms the human spirit within a person[b]—says, 2 “I am about to make Jerusalem a cup that brings dizziness[c] to all the surrounding nations; indeed, Judah will also be included when Jerusalem is besieged. 3 Moreover, on that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy burden[d] for all the nations, and all who try to carry it will be seriously injured;[e] yet all the peoples of the earth will be assembled against it. 4 On that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will pay close attention to the house of Judah, but will strike all the horses[f] of the nations[g] with blindness. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a means of strength to us through their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’
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- Zechariah 12:1 tn See note at Isa 13:1.
- Zechariah 12:1 tn Heb “who forms the spirit of man within him” (so NIV).
- Zechariah 12:2 sn The image of a cup that brings dizziness is that of drunkenness. The Lord will force the nations to drink of his judgment and in doing so they will become so intoxicated by his wrath that they will stumble and become irrational.
- Zechariah 12:3 tn Heb “heavy stone” (so NRSV, TEV, NLT); KJV “burdensome stone”; NIV “an immovable rock.”
- Zechariah 12:3 sn In Israel’s and Judah’s past they had been uprooted by various conquerors such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In the eschaton, however, they will be so “heavy” with God’s glory and so rooted in his promises that no nation will be able to move them.
- Zechariah 12:4 tn Heb “every horse.”
- Zechariah 12:4 tn Or “peoples” (so NAB, NRSV).
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