12 Of the destruction and building again of Jerusalem.
1 The burden of the word of the Lord upon [a]Israel, saith the Lord, which spread the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a[b]cup of poison unto all the people round about: and also with Judah will he be in the siege against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem an heavy stone for all people: all that lift it up, shall be torn, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness, and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the princes of Judah shall say in their hearts, The [c]inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.
6 In that day will I make the princes of Judah like coals of fire among the wood, and like a firebrand in the sheaf, and they shall devour all the people round about on the right hand, and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
7 The Lord also shall preserve the [d]tents of Judah, as afore time: therefore the glory of the house of David shall not boast, nor the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem against Judah.
8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he that is feeble among them, in that day shall be as David: and the house of David shall be as God’s house, and as the Angel of the Lord before them.
9 And in that day will I seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of [e]grace and of compassion, and they shall look upon me, whom they have [f]pierced, and they shall lament for [g]him, as one mourneth for his only son, and be sorry for him as one is sorry for his firstborn.
11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the [h]mourning of [i]Hadad Rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
12 And the [j]land shall bewail every family [k]apart, the family of the [l]house of David apart, and their wives apart: the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart:
13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart: the family of [m]Shemei apart, and their wives apart:
14 All the families that [n]remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 12:1 That is, the ten tribes, which neglected God’s benefit in delivering their brethren, and had rather remain in captivity, than to return home when God called them.
- Zechariah 12:2 Jerusalem shall be defended against all her enemies: so shall God defend all Judah also, and shall destroy the enemies.
- Zechariah 12:5 Every captain, that had many under him afore, shall now think that the small power of Jerusalem shall be sufficient to defend them against all enemies, because the Lord is among them.
- Zechariah 12:7 The people which are now as it were dispersed by the fields, and lie open to their enemies, shall be no less preserved by my power, than if they were under their kings (which is meant by the house of David) or in their defensed cities.
- Zechariah 12:10 They shall have the feeling of my grace by faith, and know that I have compassion on them.
- Zechariah 12:10 That is, whom they have continually vexed with their obstinacy, and grieved my Spirit, John 19:37, where it is referred to Christ’s body, which here is referred to the Spirit of God.
- Zechariah 12:10 They shall turn to God by true repentance, whom before they had so grievously offended by their ingratitude.
- Zechariah 12:11 They shall lament and repent exceedingly for their offences against God.
- Zechariah 12:11 Which was the name of a town and place near to Megiddo where Josiah was slain, 2 Chron. 35:22.
- Zechariah 12:12 That is, in all places where the Jews shall remain.
- Zechariah 12:12 Signifying, that this mourning or repentance should not be a vain ceremony: but everyone touched with his own griefs, shall lament.
- Zechariah 12:12 Under these certain families he containeth all the tribes, and showeth that both the Kings and the Priests had by their sins pierced Christ.
- Zechariah 12:13 Called also Simeon.
- Zechariah 12:14 To wit, which were elected by grace, and preserved from the common destruction.