5 The chieftains of Judah will say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Yahweh of Hosts their God.'
I will strengthen them in Yahweh; And they will walk up and down in his name," says Yahweh.
and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
Don't you be afraid, for I am with you; don't be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all those who are incensed against you shall be disappointed and confounded: those who strive with you shall be as nothing, and shall perish. You shall seek them, and shall not find them, even those who contend with you: those who war against you shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nothing. For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Don't be afraid; I will help you. Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you, says Yahweh, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made you [to be] a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff. You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and you shall rejoice in Yahweh, you shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.
He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
In that day I will make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and 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.
"I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back; For I have mercy on them; And they will be as though I had not cast them off: For I am Yahweh their God, and I will hear them.
Yahweh will roar from Zion, And thunder from Jerusalem; And the heavens and the earth will shake; But Yahweh will be a refuge to his people, And a stronghold to the children of Israel.
In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; dispossessing my people, says the Lord Yahweh.
then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.
Their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me: for who is he who has had boldness to approach to me? says Yahweh.
My heart is toward the governors of Israel, Who offered themselves willingly among the people: Bless you Yahweh.
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.
I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called 'The city of righteousness, A faithful town.'
Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don't judge the fatherless, Neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
> Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, Who teaches my hands to war, And my fingers to battle:
All the nations surrounded me, But in the name of Yahweh, I cut them off. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In the name of Yahweh I indeed cut them off. They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In the name of Yahweh I cut them off. You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, But Yahweh helped me. Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation.
> God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven, With the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, But we trust the name of Yahweh our God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Zechariah 12
Commentary on Zechariah 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
The apostle (Gal. 4:25, 26) distinguishes between "Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children'-the remaining carcase of the Jewish church that rejected Christ, and "Jerusalem that is from above, that is free, and is the mother of us all'-the Christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem, which God has chosen to put his name there; in the foregoing chapter we read the doom of the former, and left that carcase to be a prey to the eagles that should be gathered to it. Now, in this chapter, we have the blessings of the latter, many precious promises made to the gospel-Jerusalem by him who (v. 1) declares his power to make them good. It is promised,
These promises were of use then to the pious Jews that lived in the troublous times under Antiochus, and other persecutors and oppressors; and they are still to be improved in every age for the directing of our prayers and the encouraging of our hopes with reference to the gospel-church.
Zec 12:1-8
Here is,
Zec 12:9-14
The day here spoken of is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people, which, if it do refer to the successes which the Jews had against their enemies in the time of the Maccabees, yet certainly looks further, to the gospel-day, to Christ's victories over the powers of darkness and the great salvation he has wrought for his chosen. Now we have here an account of two remarkable works designed in that day.