Zacharias 12

1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel; says the Lord, that stretches out the sky, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.

This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him:

2 Behold, I [will] make Jerusalem as trembling door-posts to all the nations round about, and in Judea there shall be a siege against Jerusalem.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem.

3 And it shall come to pass in that day [that] I will make Jerusalem a trodden stone to all the nations: every one that tramples on it shall utterly mock at [it], and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it.

On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.

4 In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will strike every horse with amazement, and his rider with madness: but I will open mine eyes upon the house of Juda, and I will strike all the horses of the nations with blindness.

On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations.

5 And the captains of thousands of Juda shall say in their hearts, We shall find for ourselves the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord Almighty their God.

Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: ‘The people of Jerusalem are my strength, for the LORD of Hosts is their God.’

6 In that day I will make the captains of thousands of Juda as a firebrand amongst wood, and as a torch of fire in stubble; and they shall devour on the right hand and on the left all the nations round about: and Jerusalem shall dwell again by herself, [even] in Jerusalem.

On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there.

7 And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Juda as at the beginning, that the boast of the house of David, and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, may not magnify themselves against Juda.

The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.

8 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the weak one amongst them in that day shall be as David, and the house of David as the house of God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked [me], and they shall make lamentation for him, as for a beloved [friend], and they shall grieve intensely, as for a firstborn [son].

Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

11 In that day the lamentation in Jerusalem shall be very great, as the mourning for the pomegranate grove cut down in the plain.

On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

12 And the land shall lament in separate families, 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;

The land will mourn, each clan on its own: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,

13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Symeon by itself, and their wives by themselves;

the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,

14 all the families that are left, each family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

and all the remaining clans and their wives.