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 burden of a word of YHWH on Israel. A declaration of YHWH, Stretching out the heavens, and founding earth, And forming the spirit of man in his midst:

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

“Behold, I am making Jerusalem a cup of reeling To all the surrounding peoples, And it is also against Judah, In the siege against Jerusalem.

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 has come to pass in that day, I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all the peoples, All loading it are completely pressed down, And gathered against it have been all nations of the earth.

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,” a declaration of YHWH, “I strike every horse with astonishment, And its rider with madness, And on the house of Judah I open My eyes, And every horse of the peoples I strike with blindness.

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 leaders of Judah have said in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem [are] strength to me, In YHWH of Hosts 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 make the leaders of Judah As a hearth of fire among trees, And as a torch of fire in a sheaf, And they have consumed—on the right and on the left—all the surrounding peoples, And Jerusalem has again inhabited her place 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 YHWH has saved the tents of Judah first, So that the beauty of the house of David does not become great against Judah, And the beauty of the inhabitant of Jerusalem.

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 YHWH covers over the inhabitant of Jerusalem, And the stumbling among them has been in that day as David, And the house of David as God—As the Messenger of YHWH—before them.

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

And it has come to pass in that day, I seek to destroy all the nations Who are coming in 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 have poured on the house of David, And on the inhabitant of Jerusalem, The Spirit of grace and supplications, And they have looked to Me whom they pierced, And they have mourned over Him, Like a mourning over the only one, And they have been in bitterness for Him, Like a bitterness over the firstborn.

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, great is the mourning of Jerusalem, As the mourning of Hadadrimmon 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 has mourned—every family apart, The family of the house of David apart, And their women apart; The family of the house of Nathan apart, And their women apart;

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

The family of the house of Levi apart, And their women apart; The family of Shimei apart, And their women apart,

14 and all the remaining clans and their wives.

All the families that are left, Every family apart, and their women apart!”