Zechariah 12

1 [This is] a message from Yahweh concerning Israel. Yahweh is the one who stretched out the sky, who created the earth, and who (gave life to humans/caused humans to be alive). This is what he says:

The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel. Thus saith the Lord, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in him:

2 “I will soon cause Jerusalem to be [like] [MET] a cup full [of very strong alcoholic drink], and the people of other nations who drink it will stagger around. And they will come and attack Jerusalem and [the other towns in] Judah.

Behold I will make Jerusalem a lintel of surfeiting to all the people round about: and Juda also shall be in the siege against Jerusalem.

3 At that time, [the armies of] all the nations will gather to attack Jerusalem, but I will cause [the leaders of] Judah to be [like] [SIM] a very heavy rock, and all who [try to] lift it will be badly injured.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all people: all that shall lift it up shall be rent and torn, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall be gathered together against her.

4 At that time I will cause every [one of their enemies’] horses to panic, and their riders to become crazy. I [IDM] will protect the people of Judah, but I will cause all their enemies’ horses to become blind.

In that day, saith the Lord, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open my eyes upon the house of Juda, and will strike every horse of the nations with blindness.

5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people in Jerusalem are strong because the Commander of the armies of angels is their God.’

And the governors of Juda shall say in their heart: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened for me in the Lord of hosts, their God.

6 At that time I will enable the leaders of Judah to be like [SIM] a pan containing hot coals [that is put] in a woodpile [to set it on fire], or like [SIM] a burning torch [that is put] in a [field of] ripe grain [to set it on fire]. The leaders of Judah [and their army] will destroy the people of the surrounding nations in all directions. But [the people of] Jerusalem will remain safe.

In that day I will make the governors of Juda like a furnace of fire amongst wood, and as a firebrand amongst hay: and they shall devour all the people round about, to the right hand, and to the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem.

7 And [I], Yahweh, will protect the tents of [the soldiers in other places in] Judah before [I rescue the people of Jerusalem], in order that the leaders of Jerusalem [DOU] will not be honored more than [the people in other places in] Judah [are honored].

And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Juda, as in the beginning: that the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, may not boast and magnify themselves against Juda.

8 At that time, I will protect [MET] the people of Jerusalem. When that happens, even the weakest people in Jerusalem will be [strong] like [King] David [was]. And the descendants [MTY] of David will [rule the people] like I [would], as though an angel sent from [me], Yahweh, was their leader.

In that day shall the Lord protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he that hath offended among them in that day shall be as David: and the house of David, as that of God, as an angel of the Lord in their sight.

9 At that time, I will prepare to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.”

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “I, [Yahweh, ] will cause the descendants [MTY] of [King] David to act very kindly and mercifully. They will look at me, [the one] who has been stabbed, and they will cry bitterly, like people cry for a firstborn son [who has died] [DOU].

And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers: and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.

11 At that time, many people in Jerusalem will be crying bitterly, like people cried [when King Josiah was killed in the battle] at Hadad-Rimmon on the Megiddo Plain.

In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem like the lamentation of Adadremmon in the plain of Mageddon.

12 Many people in Judah will cry, each family by themselves: the male descendants of David by themselves, and their wives by themselves, the male descendants of [David’s son] Nathan by themselves, and their wives by themselves,

And the land shall mourn: families and families apart: the families of the house of David apart, and their women apart:

13 the male descendants [MTY] of Levi by themselves, and their wives by themselves, the male descendants of [Levi’s grandson] Shimei by themselves, and their wives by themselves,

The families of the house of Nathan apart, and their women apart: the families of the house of Levi apart, and their women apart: the families of Semei apart, and their women apart.

14 and all the other members [of the kings’ clans and the priests’ clans] by themselves, and their wives by themselves.”

All the rest of the families, families and families apart, and their women apart.