Zechariah 8-14

New International Version

The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem

8 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

²This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous^(A) for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

³This is what the Lord says: “I will return^(B) to Zion^(C) and dwell in Jerusalem.^(D) Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,^(E) and the mountain^(F) of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.^(G)”

⁴This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem,^(H) each of them with cane in hand because of their age. ⁵The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.^(I)”

⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time,^(J) but will it seem marvelous to me?^(K)” declares the Lord Almighty.

⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.^(L) ⁸I will bring them back^(M) to live^(N) in Jerusalem; they will be my people,^(O) and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.^(P)”

⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong^(Q) so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets^(R) said who were present when the foundation^(S) was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁰Before that time there were no wages^(T) for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely^(U) because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. ¹¹But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,”^(V) declares the Lord Almighty.

¹²“The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,^(W) the ground will produce its crops,^(X) and the heavens will drop their dew.^(Y) I will give all these things as an inheritance^(Z) to the remnant of this people.^(AA) ¹³Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse^[a]^(AB) among the nations, so I will save^(AC) you, and you will be a blessing.^[b]^(AD) Do not be afraid,^(AE) but let your hands be strong.^(AF)”

¹⁴This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster^(AG) on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, ¹⁵“so now I have determined to do good^(AH) again to Jerusalem and Judah.^(AI) Do not be afraid. ¹⁶These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth^(AJ) to each other, and render true and sound judgment^(AK) in your courts;^(AL) ¹⁷do not plot evil^(AM) against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.^(AN) I hate all this,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

¹⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth,^(AO) fifth,^(AP) seventh^(AQ) and tenth^(AR) months will become joyful^(AS) and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth^(AT) and peace.”

²⁰This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, ²¹and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat^(AU) the Lord and seek^(AV) the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ ²²And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”^(AW)

²³This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”^(AX)

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9 A prophecy:^(AY)

The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
    and will come to rest on Damascus^(AZ)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
    are on the Lord—^[c]
²and on Hamath^(BA) too, which borders on it,
    and on Tyre^(BB) and Sidon,^(BC) though they are very skillful.
³Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
    she has heaped up silver like dust,
    and gold like the dirt of the streets.^(BD)
⁴But the Lord will take away her possessions
    and destroy^(BE) her power on the sea,
    and she will be consumed by fire.^(BF)
⁵Ashkelon^(BG) 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.
⁶A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
    and I will put an end^(BH) to the pride of the Philistines.
⁷I will take the blood from their mouths,
    the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God^(BI)
    and become a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.^(BJ)
⁸But I will encamp^(BK) at my temple
    to guard it against marauding forces.^(BL)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
    for now I am keeping watch.^(BM)

The Coming of Zion’s King

⁹Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!^(BN)
    Shout,^(BO) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,^(BP)
    righteous and victorious,^(BQ)
lowly and riding on a donkey,^(BR)
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.^(BS)
¹⁰I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
    and the battle bow will be broken.^(BT)
He will proclaim peace^(BU) to the nations.
    His rule will extend from sea to sea
    and from the River^[d] to the ends of the earth.^(BV)
¹¹As for you, because of the blood of my covenant^(BW) with you,
    I will free your prisoners^(BX) from the waterless pit.^(BY)
¹²Return to your fortress,^(BZ) you prisoners of hope;
    even now I announce that I will restore twice^(CA) as much to you.
¹³I will bend Judah as I bend my bow^(CB)
    and fill it with Ephraim.^(CC)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
    against your sons, Greece,^(CD)
    and make you like a warrior’s sword.^(CE)

The Lord Will Appear

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them;^(CF)
    his arrow will flash like lightning.^(CG)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;^(CH)
    he will march in the storms^(CI) of the south,
¹⁵    and the Lord Almighty will shield^(CJ) them.
They will destroy
    and overcome with slingstones.^(CK)
They will drink and roar as with wine;^(CL)
    they will be full like a bowl^(CM)
    used for sprinkling^[e] the corners^(CN) of the altar.
¹⁶The Lord their God will save his people on that day^(CO)
    as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
    like jewels in a crown.^(CP)
¹⁷How 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^(CQ) to all people,
    and plants of the field^(CR) to everyone.
²The idols^(CS) speak deceitfully,
    diviners^(CT) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams^(CU) that are false,
    they give comfort in vain.^(CV)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
    oppressed for lack of a shepherd.^(CW)

³“My anger burns against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders;^(CX)
for the Lord Almighty will care
    for his flock, the people of Judah,
    and make them like a proud horse in battle.^(CY)
⁴From Judah will come the cornerstone,^(CZ)
    from him the tent peg,^(DA)
from him the battle bow,^(DB)
    from him every ruler.
⁵Together they^[f] will be like warriors in battle
    trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.^(DC)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.^(DD)

⁶“I will strengthen^(DE) Judah
    and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
    because I have compassion^(DF) on them.^(DG)
They will be as though
    I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
    and I will answer^(DH) them.
⁷The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
    and their hearts will be glad as with wine.^(DI)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
    their hearts will rejoice^(DJ) in the Lord.
⁸I will signal^(DK) for them
    and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
    they will be as numerous^(DL) as before.
⁹Though I scatter them among the peoples,
    yet in distant lands they will remember me.^(DM)
They and their children will survive,
    and they will return.
¹⁰I will bring them back from Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.^(DN)
I will bring them to Gilead^(DO) and Lebanon,
    and there will not be room^(DP) enough for them.
¹¹They will pass through the sea of trouble;
    the surging sea will be subdued
    and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.^(DQ)
Assyria’s pride^(DR) will be brought down
    and Egypt’s scepter^(DS) will pass away.^(DT)
¹²I will strengthen^(DU) them in the Lord
    and in his name they will live securely,^(DV)”
declares the Lord.

11 Open your doors, Lebanon,^(DW)
    so that fire^(DX) may devour your cedars!
²Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
    the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks^(DY) of Bashan;
    the dense forest^(DZ) has been cut down!^(EA)
³Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
    their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;^(EB)
    the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!^(EC)

Two Shepherds

⁴This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.^(ED) ⁵Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.^(EE) ⁶For 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^(EF) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”^(EG)

⁷So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,^(EH) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. ⁸In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested^(EI) me, and I grew weary of them ⁹and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.^(EJ) Let those who are left eat^(EK) one another’s flesh.”

¹⁰Then I took my staff called Favor^(EL) and broke it, revoking^(EM) the covenant I had made with all the nations. ¹¹It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

¹²I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.^(EN)

¹³And 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^(EO) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.^(EP)

¹⁴Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶For 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,^(EQ)
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm^(ER) and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!”^(ES)

Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

12 A prophecy:^(ET) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,^(EU) who lays the foundation of the earth,^(EV) and who forms the human spirit within a person,^(EW) declares: ²“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup^(EX) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.^(EY) Judah^(EZ) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³On that day, when all the nations^(FA) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock^(FB) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure^(FC) themselves. ⁴On 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.^(FD) ⁵Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,^(FE) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

⁶“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot^(FF) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume^(FG) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact^(FH) 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.^(FI) ⁸On that day the Lord will shield^(FJ) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest^(FK) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,^(FL) like the angel of the Lord going before^(FM) them. ⁹On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations^(FN) that attack Jerusalem.^(FO)

Mourning for the One They Pierced

¹⁰“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit^[g]^(FP) of grace and supplication.^(FQ) They will look on^[h] me, the one they have pierced,^(FR) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,^(FS) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.^(FT) ¹¹On that day the weeping^(FU) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.^(FV) ¹²The land will mourn,^(FW) 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, ¹³the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴and all the rest of the clans and their wives.^(FX)

Cleansing From Sin

13 “On that day a fountain^(FY) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse^(FZ) them from sin and impurity.

²“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols^(GA) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”^(GB) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets^(GC) and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³And 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^(GD) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.^(GE)

⁴“On that day every prophet will be ashamed^(GF) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment^(GG) of hair^(GH) in order to deceive.^(GI) ⁵Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.^[i]’^(GJ) ⁶If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body^[j]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

⁷“Awake, sword,^(GK) against my shepherd,^(GL)
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,^(GM)
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
⁸In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.^(GN)
⁹This third I will put into the fire;^(GO)
    I will refine them like silver^(GP)
    and test them like gold.^(GQ)
They will call^(GR) on my name^(GS)
    and I will answer^(GT) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’^(GU)
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.^(GV)’”

The Lord Comes and Reigns

14 A day of the Lord^(GW) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions^(GX) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

²I will gather all the nations^(GY) to Jerusalem to fight against it;^(GZ) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.^(HA) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.^(HB) ³Then the Lord will go out and fight^(HC) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.^(HD) ⁴On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,^(HE) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split^(HF) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. ⁵You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake^[k]^(HG) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,^(HH) and all the holy ones with him.^(HI)

⁶On that day there will be neither sunlight^(HJ) nor cold, frosty darkness. ⁷It will be a unique^(HK) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.^(HL) When evening comes, there will be light.^(HM)

⁸On that day living water^(HN) will flow^(HO) out from Jerusalem, half of it east^(HP) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.^(HQ)

⁹The Lord will be king^(HR) over the whole earth.^(HS) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.^(HT)

¹⁰The whole land, from Geba^(HU) to Rimmon,^(HV) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up^(HW) high from the Benjamin Gate^(HX) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,^(HY) and from the Tower of Hananel^(HZ) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.^(IA) ¹¹It will be inhabited;^(IB) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.^(IC)

¹²This is the plague with which the Lord will strike^(ID) 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.^(IE) ¹³On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.^(IF) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.^(IG) ¹⁴Judah^(IH) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected^(II)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. ¹⁵A similar plague^(IJ) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

¹⁶Then the survivors^(IK) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship^(IL) the King,^(IM) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(IN) ¹⁷If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship^(IO) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.^(IP) ¹⁸If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord^[l] will bring on them the plague^(IQ) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(IR) ¹⁹This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(IS)

²⁰On that day holy to the Lord^(IT) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots^(IU) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls^(IV) in front of the altar. ²¹Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy^(IW) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day^(IX) there will no longer be a Canaanite^[m]^(IY) in the house^(IZ) of the Lord Almighty.^(JA)

Footnotes

Zechariah 8:13 That is, your name has been used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, you have been regarded as under a curse.
Zechariah 8:13 Or and your name will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or and you will be seen as blessed
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. / ⁵They
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 ⁵My 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