Jerusalem Will Be an Immovable Rock
Study note
God, who created the heavens, the earth, and the human spirit, makes a stunning declaration. Jerusalem will be like a cup of poison to any nation that attacks it, and like an immovable rock that injures anyone who tries to move it. God will strike the enemy armies with confusion and blindness. The leaders of Judah will realize their strength comes from the Lord. God will destroy every nation that comes against Jerusalem.
1 This is the LORD's declaration about Israel. The LORD — who stretched out the sky, laid the foundation of the earth, and shaped the human spirit inside every person — says: 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 turn Jerusalem into a cup of poison for all the nations around it. When they come to attack Judah and Jerusalem, they will stagger and collapse." 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 "On that day, I will make Jerusalem like an immovable boulder for every nation. Anyone who tries to lift it will hurt themselves badly. Every nation on earth will gang up 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 "On that day," the LORD says, "I will make every enemy horse panic and every rider lose his mind. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will strike every horse of the opposing nations with blindness." 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 "Then Judah's leaders will say to themselves, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong. The LORD of Armies is 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 "On that day, I will turn the leaders of Judah into a blazing fire among woodpiles — like a torch thrown into stacks of dry grain. They will burn up all the surrounding nations left and right. But Jerusalem will remain standing, safe in its own place." 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 "The LORD will save Judah's countryside first. That way David's royal family and Jerusalem's people will not outshine the rest 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 "On that day, the LORD will protect the people of Jerusalem. Even the weakest among them will fight like David, and David's royal family will be like God himself — like the angel of the LORD marching ahead of 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 "On that day, I will set out to destroy every nation that attacks Jerusalem." And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
They Will Look on the One They Pierced
Study note
This is one of the most remarkable Messianic prophecies in the Bible. God says He will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on His people. Then He says, 'They will look on me, the one they have pierced.' The people will mourn for Him as one mourns the death of an only child. The Gospel of John quotes this verse as being fulfilled when a soldier pierced Jesus' side on the cross. The mourning will be so great that every family will grieve privately.
10 "I will pour out a spirit of grace and heartfelt prayer on David's family and the people of Jerusalem. They will look at me — the one they pierced — and they will mourn for him with the deep grief of someone mourning their only child. Their sorrow will be as sharp as the pain of losing a firstborn 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 "On that day, the crying in Jerusalem will be very great. It will match the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the valley of Megiddo." In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12 "The whole land will grieve, each family by itself. David's family will grieve by itself — men and women separately. Nathan's family will grieve by itself — men and women separately." 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 "Levi's family will grieve by itself — men and women separately. Shimei's family will grieve by itself — men and women separately." The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14 "Every other family will grieve the same way. Each one will weep on its own. Men and women will mourn apart." All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.