THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH

 

Zechariah Chapter 12

1 ¶ The word of the LORD concerning Israel, Thus says the LORD, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.

2 Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup of trembling for all the people who surround them, the siege will be against both Judah and Jerusalem.

3 And at that time I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all people: all who try to lift it will be badly injured, though all the people of the earth are gathered together against it.

4 At that time, says the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness: and I will be watching over the house of Judah, but will strike every horse of the other people with blindness.

5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their heart, The LORD of hosts, the God of Jerusalem is the strength of the people of Jerusalem.

6 At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in straw; and they will consume all the people around them, on the right hand and on the left: and the people of Jerusalem will again be living in their own place, at Jerusalem.

7 The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the people of Jerusalem does not outshine that of Judah.

8 At that time the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem; so that the weakest among them at that time will be like David; and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD who leads them.

9 ¶ And it will come to pass at that time, that I will undertake to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 And I will pour out on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayer: and they will look upon me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn over him, as one mourns for his only son, and will weep bitterly for him, as one weeps bitterly for his firstborn.

11 At that time there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo.

12 And the land will mourn, each family by itself; the family of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;

13 The family of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves;

14 All the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.