Zechariah 12

1 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:

The word of the Lord about Israel. The Lord by whom the heavens are stretched out and the bases of the earth put in place, and the spirit of man formed inside him, has said:

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

See, I will make Jerusalem a cup of shaking fear to all the peoples round about, when Jerusalem is shut in.

3 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.

And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a stone of great weight for all the peoples; all those who take it up will be badly wounded; and all the nations of the earth will come together against it.

4 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.

In that day, says the Lord, I will put fear into every horse and make every horseman go off his head: and my eyes will be open on the people of Judah, and I will make every horse of the peoples blind.

5 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.’

And the families of Judah will say in their hearts, The people of Jerusalem have their strength in the Lord of armies, their God.

6 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.

In that day I will make the families of Judah like a pot with fire in it among trees, and like a flaming stick among cut grain; they will send destruction on all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem will be living again in the place which is hers, that is, in Jerusalem.

7 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.

And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the family of David and the glory of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.

8 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.

In that day the Lord will be a cover over the people of Jerusalem; and he who is feeble among them in that day will be as strong as David, and the family of David will be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

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

And it will come about on that day that I will take in hand the destruction of all the nations who come against Jerusalem.

10 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.

And I will send down on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayer; and their eyes will be turned to the one who was wounded by their hands: and they will be weeping for him as for an only son, and their grief for him will be bitter, like the grief of one sorrowing for his oldest son.

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

In that day there will be a great weeping in Jerusalem, like the weeping of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

12 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,

And the land will give itself to weeping, every family separately; the family of David by themselves, and their wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by themselves, and their wives by themselves;

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

The family of Levi by themselves, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by themselves, and their wives by themselves;

14 and all the remaining clans and their wives.

And all the other families by themselves, and their wives by themselves.