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 Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus saith Jehovah, who stretched out the heavens, And laid the foundation of the earth, And formed 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 make Jerusalem a cup of giddiness to all the nations round about, And for Judah also shall it be In 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 in that day will I make Jerusalem A burdensome stone for all nations; All that lift it up shall tear themselves, And all the nations of the earth shall gather themselves together against it.

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.

In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with amazement, And his rider with madness; I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, And every horse of the nations will I smite with blindness.

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

Then shall the leaders of Judah say in their heart, “Strong are the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Through Jehovah 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.

In that day will I make the leaders of Judah Like a fire-pan among wood, And like a torch of fire in a sheaf, And they shall devour, on the right hand and on the left, All the nations round about. And Jerusalem shall again dwell in her own place at 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.

Jehovah will also save the tents of Judah first, That the glory of the house of David, And the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, May not magnify itself against 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.

In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, And he that is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, And the house of David shall be as God, As the angel of Jehovah before them.

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

And it shall come to pass in that day That I will seek to destroy all the nations Which 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.

Then will I pour upon the house of David, And upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, A spirit of supplication, and of prayer; And they shall look to me whom they pierced, And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his 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.

In that day the mourning shall be great in Jerusalem, As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo.

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 shall mourn, every family apart; 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 the house of Shimei 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, and their wives apart.