CHAPTER 12
An oracle
of the word
of the LORD
concerning
Israel.
Thus declares
the LORD,
who stretches out
the heavens
and lays the foundation
of the earth,
who forms
the spirit
of man
within him:
“Behold,
I
will make
Jerusalem
a cup
of drunkenness
to all
the surrounding
peoples.
Judah
will be
besieged,
as well as
Jerusalem.
On that
day,
when all
the nations
of the earth
gather
against her,
I will make
Jerusalem
a heavy
stone
for all
the peoples;
all
who would heave it away
will be severely
injured.
On that
day,”
declares
the LORD,
“I will strike
every
horse
with panic,
and every rider
with madness.
I will keep a watchful
eye
on
the house
of Judah,
but I will strike
all
the horses
of the nations
with blindness.
Then the leaders
of Judah
will say
in their hearts:
‘The people
of Jerusalem
are my strength,
for the LORD
of Hosts
is their God.’
On that
day
I will make
the clans
of Judah
like a firepot
in a woodpile,
like a flaming
torch
among the sheaves;
they will consume
all
the peoples
around them
on
the right
and on
the left,
while the residents
of Jerusalem
remain
secure
in Jerusalem.
The LORD
will save
the tents
of Judah
first,
so that
the glory
of the house
of David
and
of the residents
of Jerusalem
may not
be greater
than
that of Judah.
On that
day
the LORD
will defend
the residents
of Jerusalem,
so that
the weakest
among them
will be
like David,
and the house
of David
will be like God,
like the Angel
of the LORD
going before them.
Then I will pour out
on
the house
of David
and on
the residents
of Jerusalem
a spirit
of grace
and prayer,
and they will look
on Me,
the One
they have pierced.
They will mourn
for Him
as one mourns
an only child,
and weep bitterly
for Him
as one grieves
a firstborn son.
On that
day
the mourning
in Jerusalem
will be as great
as the mourning
of Hadad-rimmon
in the plain
of Megiddo.
The land
will mourn,
each
clan
on its own:
the clan
of the house
of David
and their wives,
the clan
of the house
of Nathan
and their wives,