Zechariah · 14 verses
Zechariah 12
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
Jerusalem is made a heavy stone: every nation that tries to heave it away is severely injured.
The stone, the fire, and the startled horsesvv. 1–9
The LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, sets Jerusalem among the surrounding peoples as a cup of drunkenness and a stone too heavy to shift. Judah is besieged with Jerusalem, yet the clans of Judah become a firepot in a woodpile and a flaming torch among the sheaves, while the horses panic, the riders go mad, and the nations' horses are struck blind. The weakest among the people of Jerusalem is raised to David's level, and the house of David rises higher still: like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them. It is a remarkably crowded arrangement of fire, blindness, masonry, and upward promotion.
The mourning named and not explainedvv. 10–14
Then the LORD pours out on the house of David and the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer. They look on the One they have pierced and mourn for Him as for an only child, grieving as for a firstborn son. Jerusalem's wailing is compared with the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo; Hadad-rimmon is named, and the chapter leaves the comparison standing. The land mourns by clans, with David, Nathan, Levi, Shimei, and all the remaining clans each mourning with their wives.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Zech 12:1This is the burden 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:
Zech 12:2“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem.
Zech 12:3On 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.
Zech 12:4On 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 with blindness all the horses of the nations.
Zech 12:5Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: ‘The people of Jerusalem are my strength, for the LORD of Hosts is their God.’
Zech 12:6On 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 people of Jerusalem remain secure there.
Zech 12:7The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.
Zech 12:8On that day the LORD will defend the people 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.
Zech 12:9So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Zech 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people 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 for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Zech 12:11On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
Zech 12:12The 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,
Zech 12:13the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,
Zech 12:14and all the remaining clans and their wives.’’
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 272 passages were voted onto 14 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 10Revelation 1:7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
- 10Ezekiel 39:29And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
- 10John 19:34–37Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
- 10Joel 2:28–29And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
- 3Matthew 21:44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
- 1Isaiah 42:5This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:
- 10Jeremiah 6:26O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- 3Zechariah 14:2–4For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
- 10Romans 8:26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.
- 10Acts 2:33Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
- 1Jeremiah 51:15The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- 3Daniel 2:34–35As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
- 1Isaiah 57:16For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me—the breath of life I have made.
- 10Amos 8:10I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.
- 10Matthew 24:30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- 10Ephesians 6:18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
Onward