Zechariah Chapter 12

¹ A Message from the LORD About Israel

Future Destruction of Jerusalem’s Enemies

This is what the LORD says who stretched out the sky, laid earth’s foundation, and formed the human spirit:

² “I’m going to make Jerusalem a cup that makes every nation stagger who lays siege to Jerusalem and Judah. ³ I’ll make Jerusalem a heavy rock; any nation that tries to pick it up will rupture itself. When nations surround it, ⁴ I’ll make their horses bolt and their riders panic, but I’ll watch over Judah as I strike those enemies’ horses blind. ⁵The clans in Judah will realize that the residents of Jerusalem have strong protection from the LORD of Hosts their God.’

Zech 12:1-5

⁶ “At that time, I’ll make the clans in Judah like a fire pot in a woodpile, a torch among bundles of grain. They’ll consume the nations around them while Jerusalem stays safe. ⁷ The LORD will save the people in Judah first so David’s royal line and Jerusalem won’t have greater glory than the rest of Judah. ⁸ The weakest among the people in Jerusalem will be as strong as David, and his descendants will lead them out like God, like the angel of the LORD. ⁹ I’ll destroy any nation that attacks Jerusalem.

Zech 12:6-9

The One They Have Pierced

¹⁰ “I’ll pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on David’s family and the people in Jerusalem so they’ll look at me that they’ve speared. They’ll mourn for me like people mourn for an only son or a firstborn son. ¹¹ There’ll be extreme mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning for Hadad-rimmon on the Plain of Megiddo. ¹² Each clan in Israel will mourn by itself, husbands and wives separately: the clans of Nathan, ¹³ Levi, the Shimeites, and ¹⁴ the rest.

Zech 12:10-14