God's New Revelations

The Prophet Zechariah

Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic

- Chapter 12 -

1
This is a message from Yahweh concerning Israel, Yahweh, the one who stretched out the sky, who created the earth, and who gave life to human beings. This is what he says:
2
“I will soon cause Jerusalem to be like a cup full of very strong alcoholic drink, and the people of other nations who drink it will stagger around. The people of Judah will drink it, too, for they also will suffer when the enemy besieges Jerusalem.
3
At that time, the armies of all the people groups will gather to attack Jerusalem, but I will cause Jerusalem to be like a very heavy rock, and all who try to lift it will be badly injured. This will happen when the armies of all the world’s nations attack Jerusalem.
4
At that time I will cause every one of their enemies’ horses to panic, and their riders to become crazy. I will protect the people of Judah, but I will cause all their enemies’ horses to become blind.
5
Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people in Jerusalem encourage us because Yahweh, the Commander of the angel armies, is the one they worship.’
6
At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a pot of fire that someone puts in piles of firewood; and like a burning torch in a field of ripe grain. The leaders of Judah and their soldiers will destroy the people groups surrounding them in all directions. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe in their own city.”
7
Yahweh will protect those who live in the other places in Judah before he rescues the people of Jerusalem, in order that people will not honor the descendants of David and those in Jerusalem more than the people in all the rest of Judah.
8
At that time, Yahweh will protect everyone in Jerusalem. The weakest soldiers among them will be as strong as David was, and the descendants of David will be like God; they will lead the others like the angel of Yahweh himself.
9
“At that time, I will start to destroy all the armies that attack Jerusalem.”

Mourning the One They Pierced

(John 19:31–37)
10
“I, Yahweh, will cause the descendants of David to have mercy on others, and to beg me to have mercy on themselves. They will gaze at me, whom they pierced.” They will cry bitterly, as people cry for a firstborn son, an only son, who has died.
11
At that time, many people in Jerusalem will be crying bitterly, as people cry at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12
Many people in Judah will cry, each clan by themselves. The male descendants of David will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves; the male descendants of Nathan will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves.
13
The male descendants of Levi will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves; the male descendants of Shimei will mourn by themselves, and their wives will mourn by themselves.
14
All the clans will mourn separately, their males by themselves, and their wives by themselves.”
1
A revelation of the LORD’s word concerning Israel: The LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says:
2
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and it will also be on Judah in the siege against Jerusalem.
3
It will happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
4
In that day,” says the LORD, “I will strike every horse with terror and his rider with madness. I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
5
The chieftains of Judah will say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of Armies their God.’
6
In that day I will make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem will yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem.
7
The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of David’s house and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem not be magnified above Judah.
8
In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He who is feeble among them at that day will be like David, and David’s house will be like God, like the LORD’s angel before them.
9
It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning the One They Pierced

(John 19:31–37)
10
I will pour on David’s house and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication. They will look to me (a) whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for his firstborn.
11
In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
12
The land will mourn, every family apart; the family of David’s house apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13
the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
14
all the families who remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

Footnotes

(a)12:10 After “me”, the Hebrew has the two letters “Aleph Tav” (the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet), not as a word, but as a grammatical marker.