Zechariah 14

1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

Listen! It will soon be the time when Yahweh [will judge everyone]. At that time, the possessions that were taken from you [people of Jerusalem by your enemies will be returned to you, and] will be divided among you.

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

[Before that happens, ] Yahweh will cause [the armies of] many [HYP] nations to attack Jerusalem. They will capture the city and steal all the valuable things from your houses and rape the women. They will take half of the people to other countries, but the other half of the people will be allowed to remain in the city.

3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Then Yahweh will go out to fight against those nations; he will fight like [SIM] [soldiers] fight in a battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

On that day, he will stand on Olive [Tree] Hill, east of Jerusalem. Olive [Tree] Hill will be split into two [parts], with a large valley between the parts. Half of the hill will move toward the north and half [will move] toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee [to] the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.

People will flee through that valley which extends to the other side (OR, to Azel), like [SIM] people fled when there was an earthquake during the time that King Uzziah ruled Judah. Then Yahweh my God will come with his holy [angels].

6 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the light shall not be clear, [nor] dark:

At that time, there will be no light [from the sun]; it will not become cold and there will be no frost.

7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, [that] at evening time it shall be light.

There has been no other time like that time, and only Yahweh knows when it will happen. There will be no daytime or nighttime; there will be [light continually], [even] in the evening.

8 And it shall be in that day, [that] living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

At that time, running/fresh water will flow from Jerusalem. One stream will flow toward the east to the [Dead] Sea. The other stream will flow toward the west to the [Mediterranean] Sea. The water will flow [all the time], during (summer/the hot season) as well as in (winter/the cold season).

9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

After that time, Yahweh will be the king [who rules] the entire world. [Everyone will know that] Yahweh, and only Yahweh [MTY], is the true God.

10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and [from] the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.

[At that time, ] all the land [in Judah] from Geba [town at the north] to Rimmon [town far to] the south of Jerusalem, will become a plain. Jerusalem will remain raised up like it has always been. [It will extend] from the Benjamin Gate and the First Gate [northeast] to the Tower of Hananel, and to the king’s winepresses [to the southwest].

11 And [men] shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

Many people will live there, and the city will never be destroyed again. It will be a safe city.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

But Yahweh will cause the people in all the nations that attacked Jerusalem to be afflicted by a (plague/severe illness). Their flesh will rot while they are still standing up. Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

13 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

At that time, Yahweh will cause many people to panic. People will grab and attack each other.

14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

[The people who live in other places in] Judah will fight to defend Jerusalem. They will collect the valuable things from the surrounding nations—a lot of gold and silver and clothes.

15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

The same plague [that will afflict the people of other nations] will afflict their horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other work animals in their (camps/places where they have set up their tents).

16 And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

The people of other nations who [previously] came [to fight] against Jerusalem, all those who are still alive, will return to Jerusalem every year to worship the King, the Commander of the armies of angels, and to celebrate the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters.

17 And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

If there are people in those nations who do not go [to Jerusalem to worship there], rain will not fall on their land.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that [have] no [rain; ] there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

If the people of Egypt [or any other nation] do not go to Jerusalem, [they will not have any rain]. And Yahweh will cause them to experience the same plague that afflicted the [people of other] nations that did not celebrate the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters.

19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

That is how [Yahweh] will punish [the people of] Egypt and [the people of] any [other] nation who do not go [to Jerusalem] to celebrate the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters.

20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

At that time, [the words] ‘Dedicated to Yahweh’ will be written on the bells that are fastened to the horses. The [cooking] pots in [the courtyard of the] temple will be [sacred], like the bowls that are near the altar.

21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

Every pot in Jerusalem and [in other places in] Judah will be dedicated to the Commander of the armies of angels. So everyone who offers sacrifices [there in Jerusalem] will be able to take some of the meat that has been brought for sacrifices, and cook it in their own pots. And at that time, people will no longer buy or sell things in [the courtyard of] the temple of the Commander of the armies of angels.