1 T he Word of the Lord about Israel: The Lord, Who spread out the heavens, who put the earth in its place, and made the spirit of man within him says this about Israel:

The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

2 “ I am going to make Jerusalem like a cup that makes all the people around it seem to be drunk. Judah will be shut in by armies as well as Jerusalem.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 O n that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the people. All who lift it will be hurt. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

4 O n that day,” says the Lord, “I will put fear in every horse, and make the horsemen crazy. But I will watch over the people of Judah, while I make every horse of the nations blind.

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 T hen the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong because of the Lord of All, their God.’

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.

6 O n that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a pot of fire among pieces of wood, like fire among cut grain. They will destroy all the people around them, on the right and on the left. And the people of Jerusalem will again live on their own land in Jerusalem.

In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a 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 T he Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the shining-greatness of the family of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.

The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 O n that day the Lord will fight for the people of Jerusalem. The one who is weak among them on that day will be like David. And the family of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord leading them.

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

9 O n that day I will destroy every nation that comes against Jerusalem. Sorrow in 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 will pour out the Spirit of loving-favor and prayer on the family of David and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look on Him Whose side they cut. They will cry in sorrow for Him, as one cries for an only son. They will cry much over Him, like those who have lost their first-born son.

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

11 O n that day there will be much crying in Jerusalem, like the cries of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

12 T he land will be filled with sorrow, each family by itself. The families of David and their wives, and the family of Nathan and their wives, will each be filled with sorrow.

And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

13 T he family of Levi and their wives will cry in sorrow, and the family of the Shimeites and their wives,

the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;

14 a nd all the families that are left, and their wives.

all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.