The final battle
1An oracle. This is the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. Word of Yahweh, who spread out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth and formed humans with inner spirit:
2“See, I am making of Jerusalem a cup that will send the nations reeling; it will happen when Jerusalem is besieged.
3On that day I shall make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations around her. All the nations will be united against her and all who try to lift the rock will be badly injured.”
4Yahweh says: “On that day I will make every horse wild with fright, every rider demented. All the horses of the nations will be blinded but I will watch over Judah 5and the leaders of the clans of Judah will say to themselves: ‘The strength of the inhabitants of Jerusalem comes from Yahweh their God.’
6On that day I will make the leaders of the clans of Judah like a fire in a woodland and a flaming torch among the sheaves. They will devour right and left all the nations around them, while Jerusalem will continue to hold its site.
7Yahweh will first save the towns and villages of Judah so that David’s people and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not feel more important than the rest of Judah.
8On that day Yahweh will strengthen the inhabitants of Jerusalem in such a way that the weaklings among them shall be like David and David’s people who lead them, will be like God, like an angel of Yahweh.
9On that day I will see to the de stroying of all the nations that came against Jerusalem.
10I will pour out on the family of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of love and supplication. They will look at the one who was pierced and mourn for him as for an only child, weeping bitterly as for a first born. 11The mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Haddadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12Each family will mourn individually: the family of David by themselves and their wives separately; the family of Nathan by themselves and their wives separately, 13the family of Levi by themselves and their wives separately, the family of Shimei by themselves and their wives separately 14and the same with the other families, each family by themselves and their wives separately.
