Zechariah 14
Living Bible
14 1-2 Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming soon! On that day the Lord will gather together the nations to fight Jerusalem; the city will be taken, the houses rifled, the loot divided, the women raped; half the population will be taken away as slaves, and half will be left in what remains of the city.
3 Then the Lord will go out fully armed for war, to fight against those nations. 4 That day his feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a very wide valley running from east to west, for half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. 5 You will escape through that valley, for it will reach across to the city gate.[a] Yes, you will escape as your people did long centuries ago from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the Lord my God shall come, and all his saints and angels with him.
6 The sun and moon and stars will no longer shine,[b] 7 yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how! There will be no normal day and night—at evening time it will still be light. 8 Life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in winter and in summer.
9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped. 10 All the land from Geba (the northern border of Judah) to Rimmon (the southern border) will become one vast plain, but Jerusalem will be on an elevated site, covering the area all the way from the Gate of Benjamin over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And Jerusalem shall be inhabited, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed.
12 And the Lord will send a plague on all the people who fought Jerusalem. They will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away; their eyes will shrivel in their sockets, and their tongues will decay in their mouths.
13 They will be seized with terror, panic-stricken from the Lord, and will fight against each other in hand-to-hand combat. 14 All Judah will be fighting at Jerusalem.[c] The wealth of all the neighboring nations will be confiscated—great quantities of gold and silver and fine clothing. 15 (This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camp.)
16 In the end, those who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, to celebrate a time of thanksgiving.[d] 17 And any nation anywhere in all the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, will have no rain. 18 But if Egypt refuses to come, God will punish her with some other plague. 19 And so Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they refuse to come.
20 In that day the bells on the horses will have written on them, “These Are Holy Property”;[e] and the trash cans in the Temple of the Lord will be as sacred as the bowls beside the altar. 21 In fact, every container in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord Almighty; all who come to worship may use any of them free of charge to boil their sacrifices in; there will be no more grasping traders in the Temple of the Lord Almighty!
Footnotes
- Zechariah 14:5 for it will reach across to the city gate, literally, “for the valley of my mountain shall touch Azel”—apparently a hamlet on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem. all his saints and angels, literally, “his holy ones.”
- Zechariah 14:6 The sun and moon and stars will no longer shine. The Hebrew is uncertain.
- Zechariah 14:14 at Jerusalem, or “against Jerusalem.”
- Zechariah 14:16 to celebrate a time of thanksgiving, literally, “to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles,” or “Booths.”
- Zechariah 14:20 These Are Holy Property, literally, “Holy to the Lord.”
Zechariah 14
King James Version
14 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness Unto The Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 14
New King James Version
The Day of the Lord(A)
14 Behold, (B)the day of the Lord is coming,
And your [a]spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For (C)I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses [b]rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand (D)on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
(E)Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the (F)earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
6 It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The [d]lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day
(I)Which is known to the Lord—
Neither day nor night.
But at (J)evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.
8 And in that day it shall be
That living (K)waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward [e]the eastern sea
And half of them toward [f]the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the Lord shall be (L)King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
(M)“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.
10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. [g]Jerusalem shall be raised up and (N)inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, (O)and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.
11 The people shall dwell in it;
And (P)no longer shall there be utter destruction,
(Q)But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem:
Their flesh shall [h]dissolve while they stand on their feet,
Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets,
And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
13 It shall come to pass in that day
That (R)a great panic from the Lord will be among them.
Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,
And raise (S)his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.
(T)And the wealth of all the surrounding nations
Shall be gathered together:
Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.
15 (U)Such also shall be the plague
On the horse and the mule,
On the camel and the donkey,
And on all the cattle that will be in those camps.
So shall this plague be.
The Nations Worship the King
16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall (V)go up from year to year to (W)worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep (X)the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 (Y)And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of (Z)Egypt will not come up and enter in, (AA)they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the [i]punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
20 In that day (AB)“HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The (AC)pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, [j]every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a (AD)Canaanite (AE)in the house of the Lord of hosts.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 14:1 plunder or booty
- Zechariah 14:2 Or plundered
- Zechariah 14:5 Or you; LXX, Tg., Vg. Him
- Zechariah 14:6 Lit. glorious ones
- Zechariah 14:8 The Dead Sea
- Zechariah 14:8 The Mediterranean Sea
- Zechariah 14:10 Lit. She
- Zechariah 14:12 Lit. decay
- Zechariah 14:19 Lit. sin
- Zechariah 14:21 Or on every pot . . . shall be engraved “HOLINESS TO THE LORD OF HOSTS”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
