Zechariah 10–12

The Lord Will Take Care of Judah

10People of Judah, ask the Lord

to send rain in the spring.

He is the one who makes the storm clouds.

He sends down showers of rain on all people.

He gives everyone the plants in the fields.

²Other gods tell lies.

Those who practice magic

see visions that aren’t true.

They tell dreams that fool people.

They give comfort that doesn’t do any good.

So the people wander around like sheep.

They are crushed because they don’t have a shepherd.

³The Lord who rules over all says,

“My anger burns against the shepherds.

I will punish the leaders.

I will take care of my flock.

They are the people of Judah.

I will make them like a proud horse in battle.

⁴The most important building stone

will come from the tribe of Judah.

The tent stake will also come from it.

And the bow that is used in battle will come from it.

In fact, every ruler will come from it.

⁵Together they will be like soldiers in battle.

They will fight their way

through the muddy streets.

I will be with them.

So they will fight against the horsemen

and destroy them.

⁶“I will make the family of Judah strong.

I will save the people of Joseph.

I will bring them back

because I have tender love for them.

It will be as if

I had not sent them away.

I am the Lord their God.

I will help them.

⁷The people of Ephraim will become like mighty men.

Their hearts will be glad

as if they were drinking wine.

Their children will see it

and be filled with joy.

I will make their hearts glad.

⁸I will whistle for my people

and gather them in.

I will set them free.

There will be as many of them as before.

⁹I have scattered them among the nations.

But in lands far away they will remember me.

They and their children will be kept alive.

And they will return.

¹⁰I will bring them back from Egypt.

I will gather them from Assyria.

I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon.

There will not be enough room for them.

¹¹They will pass through a sea of trouble.

The stormy sea will calm down.

All of the deep places in the Nile River will dry up.

Assyria’s pride will be brought down.

Egypt’s right to rule will disappear.

¹²I will make my people strong.

They will worship and obey me,”

announces the Lord.

11Lebanon, open your doors!

Then fire can burn up your cedar trees.

²Pine trees, cry out!

The cedar trees have fallen down.

The majestic trees are destroyed.

Cry out, you oak trees of Bashan!

The thick forest has been cut down.

³Listen to the shepherds cry out!

Their rich grasslands are destroyed.

Listen to the lions roar!

The trees and bushes along the Jordan River are gone.

The Two Shepherds

⁴The Lord my God says, “Take care of the sheep that are set apart to be sacrificed. ⁵Those who buy them kill them. And they are not punished for it. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord! We’re rich!’ And their own shepherds do not spare them.

⁶“I will no longer have pity on the people in the land,” announces the Lord. “I will hand all of them over to their neighbors and their king. They will crush the people in the land. And I will not save them from their powerful hands.”

⁷So I took care of the sheep set apart to be sacrificed. I took special care of those that had been crushed. Then I got two shepherd’s staffs. I called one of them Favor. I called the other one Union. And I took care of the flock. ⁸In one month I got rid of three worthless shepherds.

The sheep hated me. And I got tired of them. ⁹So I said, “I won’t be your shepherd anymore. Let those of you who are dying die. Let those who are passing away pass away. Let those who are left eat one another up.”

¹⁰Then I got my staff called Favor. I broke it. That meant the covenant the Lord had made with all of the nations was broken. ¹¹It happened that very day. The sheep that had been crushed were watching me. They knew it was the Lord’s message.

¹²I told them, “If you think it is best, give me my pay. But if you don’t think so, you keep it.” So they paid me 30 silver coins.

¹³The Lord said to me, “Throw the coins to the potter.” What a good price they had set for me! So I threw the 30 silver coins to the potter in the Lord’s temple.

¹⁴Then I broke my second staff called Union. That broke the union between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵The Lord said to me, “Now pretend to be a foolish shepherd. Get the things you need. ¹⁶I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land. He will not take care of those that are wounded. He will not look for the young ones. He will not heal those that are hurt. He will not feed the healthy ones. Instead, he will eat the best sheep. He will even tear their hoofs off.

¹⁷“How terrible it will be for that worthless shepherd!

He deserts the flock.

May a sword strike his arm and his right eye!

May his powerful arm become weak!

May his right eye be totally blinded!”

The Lord Will Destroy Jerusalem’s Enemies

12This is the Lord’s message about Israel. The Lord spread out the heavens. He laid the foundation of the earth. He created the spirits of all men. He says, ²“Jerusalem will be like a cup in my hand. It will make all of the surrounding nations drunk from the wine of my anger. Judah will be attacked by its enemies. So will Jerusalem.

³“At that time all of the nations on earth will gather together against Jerusalem. Then it will become like a rock that can’t be moved. All of the nations that try to move it will only hurt themselves. ⁴On that day I will fill every horse with panic. I will make every rider crazy,” announces the Lord. “I will watch over the people of Judah. But I will make all of the horses of the nations blind.

⁵“Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong. That’s because the Lord who rules over all is their God.’

⁶“At that time Judah’s leaders will be like a fire pot in a pile of wood. They will be like a burning torch among bundles of grain. They will destroy all of the surrounding nations on every side. But Jerusalem will remain unharmed in its place.

⁷“I will save the houses in Judah first. The honor of David’s family line is great. So is the honor of those who live in Jerusalem. But their honor will not be greater than the honor of the rest of Judah.

⁸“At that time I will be like a shield to those who live in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest among them will be great warriors like David. And David’s family line will be like the Angel of the Lord who leads them. ⁹On that day I will begin to destroy all of the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Israel’s People Will Sob Over the One They Pierced

¹⁰“I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on David’s family line. I will also send it on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look to me. I am the one they have pierced. They will sob over me as someone sobs over an only child who has died. They will be full of sorrow over me, just like someone who is full of sorrow over an oldest son.

¹¹“At that time there will be a lot of crying in Jerusalem. It will sound like the sobs of the people at Hadad Rimmon over Josiah’s death in the Valley of Megiddo. ¹²Everyone in the land will sob. Each family will cry by themselves and their wives by themselves. That will include the family lines of David, Nathan, ¹³Levi, Shimei and ¹⁴all of the others.