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Zechariah 9-14
The Voice
Zechariah 9-14
The Voice
9 This is the message with which the Eternal burdened His prophet.
He has set His message against the land of Hadrach,
and the city of Damascus is its resting place.
For the eyes of all humanity—especially His people from the tribes of Israel—
are fixed on the Eternal.
2 His message is also against Hamath, on the northern border of Syria,
and Tyre and Sidon, coastal cities filled with self-proclaimed wise citizens.
3 Tyre, that prosperous city, has strong defenses
including an earthen rampart around her thick walls;
She mounds up silver like dust,
and gold is as common as dirt in the street.
4 But the Lord will steal her treasures
and sink the ships of her livelihood in the depths of the sea.
Tyre, that watery city, will be consumed by unquenchable fire.
5 Ashkelon will witness the fall of Tyre from her own coast and quake with fear;
Gaza, not far to her south, will writhe in great agony;
Ekron will, too, because all hope will be lost.
Gaza’s monarchy will end when her king dies,
and Ashkelon’s streets will be left empty.
6 Children of unholy unions will live in Ashdod’s houses,
the pride of the Philistines turned over to mongrels.
Eternal One: I will make this happen.
7 I will cleanse those children from pagan practices
such as drinking blood and chewing on forbidden meats.
Those people will then belong to our God, a remnant for the Lord.
They will become like a clan[a] in Judah,
And those in Ekron will be like the surviving Jebusites
who became God’s people when David conquered Jerusalem.
8 Eternal One: When that day comes, I will set up an army camp before My house
to guard My lands against those who’d march against My people.
Never again will they bow to an oppressor,
for I am watching over them Myself.
9 Cry out with joy, O daughter of Zion!
Shout jubilantly, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Look—your King is coming;
He is righteous and able to save.
He comes seated humbly on a donkey,
on a colt, a foal of a donkey.[b]
10 I will dismantle Ephraim’s chariots,
retire the warhorses from Jerusalem,
send home the archers to their families in peace.
He will make peace with the nations;
His sovereignty will extend from coast to coast,
from the Euphrates River to the limits of the earth.
Like many earlier prophets, Zechariah tells of a day when an ideal King will enter Jerusalem to the uproarious shouts and jubilant celebration of the people. Unlike other kings, this King enters humbly riding on a donkey, a beast of burden, not on a warhorse. He comes to establish real justice. God has given Him the victory, and now He shares that victory with the people. In that day, as His reign reaches the ends of the earth, war and the instruments of war are laid aside in the greater interests of an abiding, universal peace.
11 Eternal One: As for you, because of the covenant promise I made with you through your ancestor David,
a covenant sealed in blood,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pits of death.
12 Return to your walled cities, safe and secure,
O hostages of hope.
I announce today that I will restore to you twice as much as what was taken.
13 For My people will be My weapons:
Judah, My drawn bow, loaded with Ephraim, My arrow.
I will stir your sons, Zion, making them My attacking hordes against the sons of Greece,
and I will brandish you like a warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Eternal will appear over them,
and His arrow will move like lightning;
The Eternal Lord will sound the battle trumpet
and cloak His marching forces in an approaching storm from the south.
15 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will shield His people,
and they will feast and trample the sling stones hurled uselessly by their enemies.
They will drink in and roar at the battle like men filled with wine;
they will be full like a bowl collecting the blood of a sacrifice,
drenched like the corners of the altar during a festival offering.
16 On that glorious day, the Eternal their God will save His people, for they are His flock;
they will sparkle over His lands like jewels in a crown,
17 For goodness and beauty will abound!
Grain will grow and nourish the young men;
Wine will flow and flourish the young women.
10 Pray to the Eternal, asking for rain in the spring;
He is the One bringing the storm clouds.
He fills them with heavy rain,
showers of rain for the plants of the field for everyone.
2 For household gods[c] speak nothing but tricks,
diviners see deceptions, dreamers tell lies,
And all offer useless comfort.
And so, the people wander without purpose,
Suffering like sheep because they have no shepherd.
3 Eternal One: My anger burns against these imitation shepherds,
and I will bring punishment to those goats.
The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,
brings caring to His flock, the people of Judah,
And will make them like His brave royal steed, arrayed for battle.
4 The people of Judah will supply the leadership:
the stable cornerstone, the secure tent peg, the powerful battle bow.
Every commander will come from there.
5 Together they will be like a formidable force of champions in battle,
trampling the enemy in the muck and mire of the roads.
They will fight on because the Eternal fights with them;
they will bring shame and defeat to riders on horseback.
6 Eternal One: I will give strength to the people of Judah
and liberate the northern descendants of Joseph.
I will restore their standing because I care for them,
and they will live as if I never sent them away,
For I am the Eternal their God, and I will answer their call.
7 The Ephraimites, too, will grow strong like warriors
and feel deep joy as if they were warmed by wine.
Their children will see all this and be happy;
their hearts will celebrate what the Eternal has done.
8 Eternal One: I will whistle for My people and gather them in,
for I will redeem them, rescue them, ransom them,
And restore their numbers to what they were before I turned My back on them.
9 Even though I will scatter them among the nations,
they will remember Me in faraway lands.
They will make sure their children will survive to return one day.
10 From the lands of Egypt and Assyria I will restore them.
I will gather them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon
Until no room remains in this good land for them.
11 An ocean of trouble will meet Him, but He will pass safely through;
sea waves will be quieted, and the Nile will dry up.
Assyria’s prideful domination will be reduced to nothing,
and Egypt’s rule of other nations will end.
12 I will give strength to My people,
and in My name will they live.
So says the Eternal One.
11 Eternal One: Open your gates, O Lebanon;
let the fire in to destroy your cedars!
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedars have fallen
and their glory lies smoldering in the dust.
Wail, stately oaks of Bashan,
for your thick forest lies on the ground!
3 Listen to the shepherds in the land,
wailing for their power and splendor that lies smoldering in the dust!
Listen to the roar of the lions,
the pride of the Jordan that lies smoldering in the dust!
One of the most beautiful and pervasive images in prophetic poetry and praise psalms is that of the good shepherd. It’s an appropriate and recognizable image for such a pastoral people. The Eternal One, the psalm says, is the Shepherd (Psalm 23). The Anointed King also comes to shepherd His people. But there are wicked shepherds, too; self-appointed and self-interested, they use and abuse the people.
4 The Eternal my God has this to say:
Eternal One: Take care of the flock headed for slaughter. 5 The people who buy My sheep kill them without repercussion. Their sellers mockingly say, “I’m rich. Praise the Eternal One!” Even their own shepherds have no mercy on them. 6 Because of this I promise that I, the Eternal One, will no longer show pity to the citizens of this land. Instead, I will hand each one over to his neighbor, each one over to his king. Those power mongers will oppress them and abuse the land, and I will do nothing to free the sheep.
7 And so I became the shepherd of the sheep headed for slaughter because of the poorest sheep. I took two staffs in my hand—one I named Favor of God and the other I named Unity of the People. With those I took care of the sheep. 8 In the span of one month, I expelled three shepherds who cared nothing for the sheep. I had become tired of the way they have cared for my flock, and they have cared nothing for me.
Zechariah (to the sheep): 9 I will watch over you no longer. Those who are meant to die will die. Those who are meant to perish will perish. Whoever is left behind will devour his neighbor!
10 Then I took my staff named Favor of God, and I snapped it in half, dissolving the covenant I had made with all the people. 11 On that very day when the covenant was broken, the sheep traders[d] watching me knew it was the word of the Eternal One.
Zechariah (to the sheep traders): 12 If you think it is right, give me what I have earned. If you don’t, then keep it for yourselves.
They took 30 pieces of silver, the price set as my wages, the price of a slave.
Eternal One (to Zechariah): 13 Give My deserved portion of your fee to the potter.
And I did as He told me. I took the 30 shekels of silver—the noble price of my valuable service—and gave them to the potter in the Eternal’s temple.[e] 14 Afterward I broke my other staff, Unity of the People, which severed the bond between the people of Judah and Israel.
Eternal One (to Zechariah): 15 Take up once again the tools of a shepherd, this time a foolish shepherd, 16 because I am going to raise up in this land a new breed of shepherd: one who does not care for the perishing, search for the young, heal the injured, or feed the hungry. This new shepherd will feast on the fat from his own flock, tearing their hoofs from their flesh.
17 Watch out, worthless shepherd who abandons the flock!
You will be made defenseless.
May the sword strike his right arm
and pierce his right eye!
May his arm hang limp at his side so he has no strength,
and may his right eye be forever blinded so he can’t shoot an arrow!
12 This is the message with which the Eternal burdened His prophet concerning Israel—the Eternal One, who began existence by stretching out the sky and founding the earth and forming the spirit deep in man.
Eternal One: 2 Watch what I’m about to do! I’m going to make Jerusalem like a cup of strong alcohol to confuse all her neighboring peoples. When they lay siege to Jerusalem, Judah will also be in the fight.[f] 3 On that day, when the enemies begin the attack, I will make Jerusalem a solid stone which cannot be moved; any who try to lift her will only be weighed down and seriously hurt themselves. All the nations on earth will come together to oppose her. 4 And on that day I promise I, the Eternal One, will confound every horse and drive every rider to madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the people of Judah even as I blind every war horse from every enemy nation. 5 Every clan of Judah will see what I am doing and believe, “The people of Jerusalem cannot be beaten because the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and their True God, leads them.”[g] 6 On that day, I will make the clans of Judah unstoppable against their enemies, a blazing pot igniting a pile of tinder, a flaming torch consuming dry bundles of wheat. They will devour all the surrounding peoples, those to the right and those to the left, but Jerusalem will remain safe and secure, bustling with citizens. 7 The Eternal will ensure that victory comes first to the tents of Judah, so that the respect due the family of David and the citizens of Jerusalem will not outstrip the respect owed to Judah as a whole. So Jerusalem need not boast, but neither should it fear. 8 When that day comes, the Eternal will protect her citizens as a shield does. He will make the weak who stumble become like David, brave in battle; the royal line of David will be like God, like the Special Messenger of the Eternal One who goes before them in travels and in battle.
9 On that day, rest assured, I will set out to destroy all the nations who attack Jerusalem. 10 And I pledge that I will pour out a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy on the family of David and the citizens of Jerusalem. As a result, they will look upon Me whom they pierced,[h] they will grieve over Him as one grieves for an only child, and they will moan and weep for Him as one weeps for a firstborn son. 11 On that day, the grieving in Jerusalem will be as great as the pagans’ grieving ritual honoring Hadadrimmon on the plain of Megiddo each year. 12-14 The land itself will seem to mourn as family after family begins to grieve privately: the family of David and their wives, the family of Nathan’s descendants and their wives, the family of Levi and their wives, the family of Shimei and their wives, and all the families that are left and their wives. They will all mourn, a profound and private grief.
13 A day is coming when a special spring will continually flow to purify the royal house of David and the citizens of Jerusalem from sin and sexual and religious impurities.
2 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, promises to remove all idolatry from the land.
Eternal One: On that day, I will certainly blot out the names of the detestable idols and false gods from the land. They will never again be remembered or worshiped in this place. What’s more, I will cut off from the land the disreputable prophets and the impure spirits they work for. 3 If prophets speak again, even their fathers and mothers who brought them into the world will condemn them, saying, “You don’t deserve to live, for you speak lies and do so in the name of the Eternal.” And if they still try to prophesy, their parents will pierce their bodies to silence their lying voices. 4 On that day, the prophets will be clothed with the shame their visions will bring them. They will not be clothed with the hairy mantle, the attire of some of My prophets, to deceive the people into believing they speak for Me. 5 And each of them will have to admit, “I am no prophet, no servant of God. I am a farmer, bound to the land. I work the soil because a man sold me into slavery when I was young.” 6 And if anyone happens to say, “How did you get these ritual wounds on your chest and back?” then the answer will come back—another deception—“Oh, I received these at my friend’s house.”
7 This is a message of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
Eternal One: Sword, begin to stir; be ready to strike My shepherd,
to strike the man at My side.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will scatter.[i]
I’ll turn My hand against the little ones.
8 It will spread across the land:
two of three will be cut down and perish,
And one of three will be left to survive.
9 And I will put this one-third through the fire—
refine them all as silver is refined, test them all as gold is tested.
They will invoke My name,
trust in My promises, and I will answer them.
I will announce, “These are My people”;
and they will confess, “The Eternal is our God.”
14 Pay attention. The day for the Eternal is coming, a day of judgment when your enemies will plunder your goods and divide them right in front of you. 2 For I am going to incite all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city will be surrounded and taken. The houses will be ransacked; all of your treasured possessions will be looted. Your wives and daughters will be raped. Half of the city will be forced into exile. The other half will remain in the city to pick up the pieces. 3 The Eternal One will join in the battle and fight against those enemy nations as your champion as He would on any day of any battle. 4 When that day comes, His feet will stand securely on the Mount of Olives, which sits east of Jerusalem. The mountain will quake under His weight and split in two, divided by a wide valley that runs east to west. Half of the mountain will retreat to the north, the other half to the south. 5 That valley will become your escape route because the valley of My mountains will lead as far as Azel, and you shall run as you ran from the earthquake that hit during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. Once you are safe, the Eternal my God will come to you with all His holy ones.
6 On that day, there will be no light, no cold or biting frost. 7 There will be a single, continuous day—a unique kind of day known only to the Eternal One—when night does not eclipse the day and when light shines through the evening. 8 On that day, living waters will stream out of Jerusalem. Half of them will flow to the eastern Dead Sea; the other half will descend the hills and cross the plains to join the western Mediterranean Sea. These waters will flow throughout the dry summer as they do in the wet winter. 9 And the Eternal will be crowned as King over all the earth. On that day, the Eternal will be one and His name will be one. 10 The mountainous land around Jerusalem will be turned into plains from Geba to Rimmon, south of the city. Jerusalem itself will then sit prominently in her place between Benjamin’s gate, the location of the first gate, and the corner gate; she’ll sit between Hananel’s Tower and the royal winepresses. 11 And Jerusalem will remain secure, bustling with residents, because she will never again be destined for destruction.
12 Every nation that attempts to wage war against Jerusalem will be struck with a plague. The Eternal will infect them with a disease making their flesh decay even as they stand, their eyes decay in their sockets, and their tongues decay in their mouths. 13 When that horrible day arrives, the Eternal will provoke them to panic, so that in their confusion they will grab each other for safety and then turn and attack each other. 14 Even Judah will be forced to fight in Jerusalem. And the riches of all the surrounding enemy nations will be gathered together—gold, silver, and costly clothing piled deep. 15 Then the same disease that plagues the enemy forces will infect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys—whatever domesticated animals are in their battle camps.
The day of the Eternal One is coming. It is a day of judgment when a great final battle is fought. Jerusalem and her people are under attack; and the city, it seems, falls to her enemies. But ultimately, God’s people do not fight alone. The Lord comes—commanding the army of heaven—to rescue and defend His people. Ultimately, He is crowned King over all the earth. In that day, Jerusalem is transformed and reinstated as God’s holy city; it becomes the center of the world, the source of life-giving waters. Even her enemies make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to worship and adore the one True God.
16 In days to come, all people who took up arms against Jerusalem and survived will make a choice: they will either journey to Jerusalem every year to keep the Feast of Booths and to worship the King—the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies— 17 or the families of nations will refuse the journey to Jerusalem to adore the King, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. The rains will never come to those who refuse the journey. 18 Even the family of people known as Egypt, if they do not come up to and travel through the gates of Jerusalem to present themselves to God, the Eternal will afflict them with the same plague of drought He’ll use to crush those nations who won’t keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This is the punishment Egypt and the enemy nations can expect if they refuse the journey to keep the Feast of Booths.
20 On that day, every aspect of the land will be ritually pure. Engraved on the bells worn by horses will be the same phrase on the high priest’s turban: “Sacred to the Eternal One.” The cooking pots used in the house of the Eternal will be as sacred as those collection bowls used at the altar. 21 In fact every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be treated as sacred to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, so that anyone who offers a sacrifice may borrow them and use them to boil the meat of the sacrifice. In that day, no merchant[j] will be found in the temple of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
Footnotes
- 9:7 Hebrew manuscripts read, “clan leader.”
- 9:9 Matthew 21:5; John 12:15
- 10:2 Hebrew, teraphim
- 11:11 Hebrew manuscripts read, “poorest sheep.”
- 11:13 Matthew 27:9–10
- 12:2 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 12:5 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 12:10 John 19:37
- 13:7 Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27
- 14:21 Literally, Canaanite
Zechariah 9-14
New International Version
Zechariah 9-14
New International Version
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 A prophecy:(A)
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus(B)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord—[a]
2 and on Hamath(C) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(D) and Sidon,(E) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(F)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(G) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(H)
5 Ashkelon(I) will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end(J) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(K)
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(L)
8 But I will encamp(M) at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.(N)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.(O)
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!(P)
Shout,(Q) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,(R)
righteous and victorious,(S)
lowly and riding on a donkey,(T)
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(U)
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.(V)
He will proclaim peace(W) to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth.(X)
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant(Y) with you,
I will free your prisoners(Z) from the waterless pit.(AA)
12 Return to your fortress,(AB) you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice(AC) as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow(AD)
and fill it with Ephraim.(AE)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,(AF)
and make you like a warrior’s sword.(AG)
The Lord Will Appear
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;(AH)
his arrow will flash like lightning.(AI)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;(AJ)
he will march in the storms(AK) of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield(AL) them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.(AM)
They will drink and roar as with wine;(AN)
they will be full like a bowl(AO)
used for sprinkling[c] the corners(AP) of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day(AQ)
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.(AR)
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
The Lord Will Care for Judah
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(AS) to all people,
and plants of the field(AT) to everyone.
2 The idols(AU) speak deceitfully,
diviners(AV) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(AW) that are false,
they give comfort in vain.(AX)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(AY)
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;(AZ)
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.(BA)
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,(BB)
from him the tent peg,(BC)
from him the battle bow,(BD)
from him every ruler.
5 Together they[d] will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(BE)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(BF)
6 “I will strengthen(BG) Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion(BH) on them.(BI)
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer(BJ) them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(BK)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice(BL) in the Lord.
8 I will signal(BM) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous(BN) as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.(BO)
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.(BP)
I will bring them to Gilead(BQ) and Lebanon,
and there will not be room(BR) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(BS)
Assyria’s pride(BT) will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter(BU) will pass away.(BV)
12 I will strengthen(BW) them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,(BX)”
declares the Lord.
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,(BY)
so that fire(BZ) may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(CA) of Bashan;
the dense forest(CB) has been cut down!(CC)
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;(CD)
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!(CE)
Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(CF) 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.(CG) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors(CH) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(CI)
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(CJ) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detested(CK) me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(CL) Let those who are left eat(CM) one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor(CN) and broke it, revoking(CO) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.(CP)
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver(CQ) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(CR)
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,(CS)
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm(CT) and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!”(CU)
Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed
12 A prophecy:(CV) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,(CW) who lays the foundation of the earth,(CX) and who forms the human spirit within a person,(CY) declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup(CZ) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.(DA) Judah(DB) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations(DC) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock(DD) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure(DE) themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.(DF) 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,(DG) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot(DH) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume(DI) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact(DJ) in her place.
7 “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.(DK) 8 On that day the Lord will shield(DL) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest(DM) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,(DN) like the angel of the Lord going before(DO) them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations(DP) that attack Jerusalem.(DQ)
Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[e](DR) of grace and supplication.(DS) They will look on[f] me, the one they have pierced,(DT) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,(DU) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.(DV) 11 On that day the weeping(DW) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.(DX) 12 The land will mourn,(DY) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.(DZ)
Cleansing From Sin
13 “On that day a fountain(EA) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse(EB) them from sin and impurity.
2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols(EC) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”(ED) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets(EE) and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies(EF) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.(EG)
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed(EH) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment(EI) of hair(EJ) in order to deceive.(EK) 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[g]’(EL) 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[h]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’
The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered
7 “Awake, sword,(EM) against my shepherd,(EN)
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,(EO)
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.(EP)
9 This third I will put into the fire;(EQ)
I will refine them like silver(ER)
and test them like gold.(ES)
They will call(ET) on my name(EU)
and I will answer(EV) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’(EW)
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.(EX)’”
The Lord Comes and Reigns
14 A day of the Lord(EY) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions(EZ) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.
2 I will gather all the nations(FA) to Jerusalem to fight against it;(FB) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.(FC) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.(FD) 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight(FE) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.(FF) 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(FG) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split(FH) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake[i](FI) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,(FJ) and all the holy ones with him.(FK)
6 On that day there will be neither sunlight(FL) nor cold, frosty darkness. 7 It will be a unique(FM) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.(FN) When evening comes, there will be light.(FO)
8 On that day living water(FP) will flow(FQ) out from Jerusalem, half of it east(FR) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.(FS)
9 The Lord will be king(FT) over the whole earth.(FU) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.(FV)
10 The whole land, from Geba(FW) to Rimmon,(FX) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up(FY) high from the Benjamin Gate(FZ) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,(GA) and from the Tower of Hananel(GB) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.(GC) 11 It will be inhabited;(GD) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.(GE)
12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike(GF) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.(GG) 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.(GH) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.(GI) 14 Judah(GJ) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected(GK)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague(GL) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
16 Then the survivors(GM) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship(GN) the King,(GO) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(GP) 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship(GQ) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.(GR) 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[j] will bring on them the plague(GS) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(GT) 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.(GU)
20 On that day holy to the Lord(GV) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots(GW) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls(GX) in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy(GY) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day(GZ) there will no longer be a Canaanite[k](HA) in the house(HB) of the Lord Almighty.(HC)
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:1 Or Damascus. / For the eye of the Lord is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 9:15 Or bowl, / like
- Zechariah 10:5 Or ruler, all of them together. / 5 They
- Zechariah 12:10 Or the Spirit
- Zechariah 12:10 Or to
- Zechariah 13:5 Or farmer; a man sold me in my youth
- Zechariah 13:6 Or wounds between your hands
- Zechariah 14:5 Or 5 My mountain valley will be blocked and will extend to Azel. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake
- Zechariah 14:18 Or part, then the Lord
- Zechariah 14:21 Or merchant
The Voice (VOICE)
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