Zechariah Chapter 12
King James Version (KJV)
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
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they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; yea, their children shall see it, and rejoice; their heart shall be glad in Jehovah.
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I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them; and they shall increase as they have increased.
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And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and shall return.
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I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and
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place shall not be found for them.
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And he will pass through the sea of affliction, and will smite the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart.
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And I will strengthen them in Jehovah; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith Jehovah.
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Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
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Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.
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A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.
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Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter;
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whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.
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For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
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So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. [Thus] saith Jehovah, who stretcheth out the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him:
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Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of bewilderment unto all the peoples round about, and also against Judah shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem.
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And it shall come to pass in that day [that] I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone unto all peoples: all that burden themselves with it shall certainly be wounded, and all the nations of the earth shall be assembled together against it.
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In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; but I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.
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And the leaders of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength through Jehovah of hosts theirGod.
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In that day will I make the leaders of Judah like a hearth of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall dwell again in her own place, in Jerusalem.
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And Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified over Judah.
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In that day will Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that stumbleth among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David asGod, as the Angel of Jehovah before them.
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And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
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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 on me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.
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In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
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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;
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the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
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all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
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The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel; saith the Lord, that stretches out the sky, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.
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Behold, I [will] make Jerusalem as trembling door-posts to all the nations round about, and in Judea there shall be a siege against Jerusalem.
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And it shall come to pass in that day [that] I will make Jerusalem a trodden stone to all the nations: every one that tramples on it shall utterly mock at [it], and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it.
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In that day, saith the Lord Almighty, I will smite every horse with amazement, and his rider with madness: but I will open mine eyes upon the house of Juda, and I will smite all the horses of the nations with blindness.
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And the captains of thousands of Juda shall say in their hearts, We shall find for ourselves the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord Almighty their God.
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In that day I will make the captains of thousands of Juda as a firebrand among wood, and as a torch of fire in stubble; and they shall devour on the right hand and on the left all the nations round about: and Jerusalem shall dwell again by herself, [even] in Jerusalem.
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And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Juda as at the beginning, that the boast of the house of David, and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, may not magnify themselves against Juda.
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And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the weak one among them in that day shall be as David, and the house of David as the house of God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
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And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
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And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked [me], and they shall make lamentation for him, as for a beloved [friend], and they shall grieve intensely, as for a first-born [son].
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In that day the lamentation in Jerusalem shall be very great, as the mourning for the pomegranate grove cut down in the plain.
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And the land shall lament in separate families, the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;
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the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Symeon by itself, and their wives by themselves;
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all the families that are left, each family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
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Onus verbi Domini super Israel. Dicit Dominus extendens cælum, et fundans terram, et fingens spiritum hominis in eo:
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Ecce ego ponam Ierusalem superliminare crapulæ omnibus populis in circuitu: sed et Iuda erit in obsidione contra Ierusalem.
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Et erit: In die illa ponam Ierusalem lapidem oneris cunctis populis: omnes, qui levabunt eam, concisione lacerabuntur: et colligentur adversus eam omnia regna terræ.
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In die illa, dicit Dominus, percutiam omnem equum in stuporem, et ascensorem eius in amentiam: et super domum Iuda aperiam oculos meos, et omnem equum populorum percutiam cæcitate.
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Et dicent duces Iuda in corde suo: Confortentur mihi habitatores Ierusalem in Domino exercituum Deo eorum.
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In die illa ponam duces Iuda sicut caminum ignis in lignis, et sicut facem ignis in fœno: et devorabunt ad dexteram, et ad sinistram omnes populos in circuitu: et habitabitur Ierusalem rursus in loco suo in Ierusalem.
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Et salvabit Dominus tabernacula Iuda, sicut in principio: ut non magnifice glorietur domus David, et gloria habitantium Ierusalem contra Iudam.
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In die illa proteget Dominus habitatores Ierusalem, et erit qui offenderit ex eis in die illa, quasi David: et domus David quasi Dei, sicut angelus Domini in conspectu eorum.
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Et erit in die illa: quæram conterere omnes Gentes, quæ veniunt contra Ierusalem.
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Et effundam super domum David, et super habitatores Ierusalem spiritum gratiæ, et precum: et aspicient ad me, quem confixerunt: et plangent eum planctu quasi super unigenitum, et dolebunt super eum, ut doleri solet in morte primogeniti.
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In die illa magnus erit planctus in Ierusalem, sicut planctus Adadremmon in campo Mageddon.
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Et planget terra: familiæ et familiæ seorsum: familiæ domus David seorsum, et mulieres eorum seorsum:
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familiæ domus Nathan seorsum, et mulieres eorum seorsum: familiæ domus Levi seorsum, et mulieres eorum seorsum: familiæ Semei seorsum, et mulieres eorum seorsum.
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Omnes familiæ reliquæ, familiæ et familiæ seorsum, et mulieres eorum seorsum.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
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A revelation of the LORD’s word concerning Israel: The LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says:
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“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and it will also be on Judah in the siege against Jerusalem.
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It will happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
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In that day,” says the LORD, “I will strike every horse with terror and his rider with madness. I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
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The chieftains of Judah will say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of Armies their God.’
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In that day I will make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem will yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem.
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The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of David’s house and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem not be magnified above Judah.
8
In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He who is feeble among them at that day will be like David, and David’s house will be like God, like the LORD’s angel before them.
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It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10
I will pour on David’s house and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication. They will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for his firstborn.
11
In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
12
The land will mourn, every family apart; the family of David’s house 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 the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
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all the families who remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
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The burden of a word of Jehovah on Israel. An affirmation of Jehovah, Stretching out heaven, and founding earth, And forming the spirit of man in his midst.
2
Lo, I am making Jerusalem a cup of reeling To all the peoples round about, And also against Judah it is, In the siege against Jerusalem.
3
And it hath come to pass, in that day, I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all the peoples, All loading it are completely pressed down, And gathered against it have been all nations of the earth.
4
In that day--an affirmation of Jehovah, I do smite every horse with astonishment, And its rider with madness, And on the house of Judah I open My eyes, And every horse of the peoples I smite with blindness.
5
And leaders of Judah have said in their heart, `Strength to me <FI>are<Fi> the inhabitants of Jerusalem, In Jehovah of Hosts their God.'
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In that day I make the leaders of Judah As a hearth of fire among trees, And as a torch of fire in a sheaf, And they have consumed--on the right and on the left--all the peoples round about, And Jerusalem hath inhabited again her place in Jerusalem.
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And saved hath Jehovah the tents of Judah first, So that become not great against Judah Doth the beauty of the house of David, And the beauty of the inhabitant of Jerusalem.
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In that day cover over doth Jehovah the inhabitant of Jerusalem, And the stumbling among them hath been in that day as David, And the house of David as God--As a messenger of Jehovah--before them.
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And it hath come to pass, in that day, I seek to destroy all the nations Who are coming in against Jerusalem,
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And I have poured on the house of David, And on the inhabitant of Jerusalem, A spirit of grace and supplications, And they have looked unto Me whom they pierced, And they have mourned over it, Like a mourning over the only one, And they have been in bitterness for it, Like a bitterness over the first-born.
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In that day, great is the mourning of Jerusalem, As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon,
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And mourned hath the land--every family apart, The family of the house of David apart, And their women apart; The family of the house of Nathan apart, And their women apart;
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The family of the house of Levi apart, And their women apart; The family of Shimei apart, And their women apart,
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All the families that are left, Every family apart, and their women apart!
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).