Zechariah 12

1 A prophecy: This message came from the Lord concerning Israel, a declaration of the Lord who spread out the heavens, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who placed the breath of life within human beings.

The prophecy of the word of the Lord concerning Israel, Saith the Lord, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him:

2 Look! I am going to make Jerusalem like a cup containing alcoholic drink that will make all the surrounding nations stagger like drunks when they come to attack Judah and Jerusalem.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of confusion unto all the people round about; and also against Judah, who will have to be at the siege against Jerusalem.

3 On that day I will make Jerusalem like a heavy rock to all peoples. Anyone who tries to lift the rock will injure themselves badly. All the nations will join together to attack Jerusalem.

And it shall come to pass on that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the people; all that burden themselves with it shall be severely cut: yet then will be gathered together against it all the nations of the earth.

4 On that day I will make every horse panic-stricken and every rider go mad, declares the Lord, but I will watch over the people of Judah while I blind all the horses of their enemies.

On that day, saith the Lord, will I smite every horse with dizziness, and his rider with madness; but over the house of Judah will I open my eyes, while I will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

5 Then the families of Judah will say to themselves, the people of Jerusalem are strong in their God, the Lord Almighty.

And the chiefs of Judah will say in their heart, A strong support for me are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of hosts their God.

6 On that day I will make the families of Judah like burning coals in a wood, like a flaming torch in a field of straw. They will burn up to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while the people of Jerusalem will live safely in their city.

On that day will I make the chiefs of Judah like a fire-hearth among the wood, and like a torch of fire among sheaves; and they shall devour on the right hand and on the left all the people round about; and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The Lord will give the victory to the soldiers of Judah first so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not be greater than that of Judah.

The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first: in order that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become boastful over Judah.

8 On that day the Lord will place a shield around the people of Jerusalem so that even the clumsiest of them will be as skilled a warrior as David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who leads them.

On that day will the Lord be a shield around the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and the feeblest among them shall be on that day like David; and the house of David shall be like divine beings, like an angel of the Lord before them.

9 On that day I will start destroying all those nations that attack Jerusalem.

And it shall come to pass on that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that are come against Jerusalem.

10 I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They will look at me whom they pierced, and they will wail in grief over him, mourning as for an only child, weeping bitterly as for a firstborn.

But I will pour out over the house of David, and over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they will look up toward me [for every one] whom they have thrust through, and they will lament for him, as one lamenteth for an only son, and weep bitterly for him, as one weepeth bitterly for the first-born.

11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning in Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.

On that day will the lamentation be great in Jerusalem, like the lamentation at Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

12 The land will mourn, every family alone: the family house of David alone and their women by themselves, the families of Nathan,

And the land will mourn, every family apart by itself: the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

13 Levi, and Shimei—

The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shim'i apart, and their wives apart;

14 and all the surviving families and their women, each group mourning alone by themselves.

All the families that remain, every family apart by itself, and their wives apart.