Zechariah 12:3

Zechariah 12:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
• New International Version (NIV)On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
• English Standard Version (ESV)On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

Context of Zechariah 12:3

1This is the Lord's message about Israel. The Lord made the skies and the whole wide earth. He makes men and women. 2‘I will frighten the enemies that live round Jerusalem. I will frighten them so much that they will run. They will run as fast as they can from Jerusalem and from Judah. There will be a time when all the countries of the earth will be ready to attack Jerusalem. Then I will make Jerusalem like a heavy rock that nobody can move. All those who try to lift it will hurt themselves very badly. 4On that day,’ says the Lord, ‘I will make every horse very afraid. I will make all the men that ride them crazy. I want to help Judah's people. And so, I will not let the horses of the enemy see any longer. 5Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, “The Lord Almighty, their God, makes the people in Jerusalem strong. And they will help us.”

Zechariah 12:3 word by word

וְהָיָ֣ה בַיּוֹם־הַ֠הוּא אָשִׂ֨ים אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם אֶ֤בֶן מַֽעֲמָסָה֙ לְכָל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים כָּל־עֹמְסֶ֖יהָ שָׂר֣וֹט יִשָּׂרֵ֑טוּ וְנֶאֶסְפ֣וּ עָלֶ֔יהָ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֥י הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And in that dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• will I makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• a burdensomeמַעֲמָסָהma‛ămâsâh · burdenH4614
• stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• for all peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• all that burdenעָמַס‛âmas ‛âmaώ · loadH6006
• themselves with it shall be cut in piecesשָׂרַטώâraţ · to inciseH8295
• though all the peopleגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• be gathered togetherאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622

Cross-references for Zechariah 12:3

• Zechariah 12:4On that day,’ says the Lord, ‘I will make every horse very afraid. I will make all the men that ride them crazy. I want to help Judah's people. And so, I will not let the horses of the enemy see any longer.
• Zechariah 2:8Return because the Lord says, ‘Anyone that attacks you is attacking the Lord's people. He is attacking the people that the Lord loves.’ So the Lord Almighty sent me, Zechariah, with this message about the countries that have robbed his people.
• Zechariah 10:3‘I am angry with the leaders. I will cause them to be sorry. Judah's people are mine,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I will watch over them. I will make them as strong as horses that are ready for war.
• Zechariah 13:1‘On that day, water will start to pour from a fountain for King David's descendants and Jerusalem's people. It will make them clean from their sins and the dirty things that they have done.’
• Zechariah 14:2I will bring soldiers from all countries to fight against Jerusalem. They will go into the city and they will rob the houses. They will have sex with the women. They will lead away half the people to other countries. They will let the other half stay in Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 60:12Any nation or kingdom that refuses to serve you will come to an end. Enemies will completely destroy those nations.
• Isaiah 66:14And when you see these things happen, you will feel very happy! You will become strong and healthy, like fresh grass. The Lord's servants will know that he is there to bless them. But his enemies will see that he is angry with them.
• Ezekiel 38:1The Lord gave this message to me:
• Joel 3:8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people in Judah. And they will sell them to the people called Sabeans, who live far away. I, the Lord, have spoken.’
• Obadiah 1:18The people in Jacob's and Joseph's family will kill all the people that belong to Esau's family.’ This is what the Lord said.
• Micah 5:8Jacob's people who are still alive will be living among people in many other countries. They will become like a dangerous lion among the other animals in the forest. They will become like a young lion among people's sheep. The lion attacks other animals. It knocks them down and it tears them in pieces. Nobody can save them.
• Micah 7:15Lord, you did great things long ago, when you brought us out of the land of Egypt. Do great things like that again.
• Habakkuk 2:17You have done cruel things to the people in Lebanon. You destroyed their animals. The Lord will punish you for the things that you have done, and you will be very afraid. You have murdered people. You have destroyed the land and the towns and the people who live in them.
• Zephaniah 3:19Look! At that time, I will punish all those people who hurt you. I will save those who cannot walk well. I will bring back the people that the enemy has sent away. I will cause people in every country to know about you. I will cause them to praise you.
• Haggai 2:22Tell him that I will destroy the power of foreign kings. I will destroy their armies. Their horses and chariots will fall down. Their soldiers will fight against each other. They will kill each other with their swords.
• Daniel 2:34While you looked, someone cut out a large stone from a mountain. But no human hand did this. The stone hit the statue on its iron and clay feet. The stone broke them into pieces.

Commentaries on Zechariah 12:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3A burdensome stone - Probably referring to that stone which was thrown on the breast of a culprit adjudged to lose his life by stoning, by which the whole region of the thorax, heart, lungs, liver, etc., was broken to pieces.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all nations - What is “a stone to all nations?” It is not a rock or anything in its own nature immovable, but a “stone,” a thing rolled up and down, moved, lifted, displaced, piled on others, in every way at the service and command of people, to do with it what they willed. So they thought of that “stone cut out without hands” Daniel 2:45; that “tried stone and sure foundation, laid in Zion” Isaiah 28:16; that…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Jerusalem will be like a heavy stone that no one can move. Anyone who tries to conquer or control the city will be injured by it. This is because the Lord founded Jerusalem and loves it more than any other city in Israel (Psalm 87:1–2). In the book of Zechariah, stone imagery is often connected to the temple. These stones point to God’s work of building, restoring, and protecting his holy place (Zechariah 3:9; 4:7; 10:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. (Zec 14:4, 6-9, 13). Jerome states it was a custom in Palestine to test the strength of youths by their lifting up a massive stone; the phrase, "burden themselves with it," refers to this custom. Compare Mt 21:44: The Jews "fell" on the rock of offense, Messiah, and were "broken"; but the rock shall fall on Antichrist, who "burdens himself with it" by his assault on the restored Jews, and "grind him to powder." all ... people of ... earth--The…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 12:3

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• That Day
• Bible, the
• Burden
• Cut; Cutting
• Ezekiel
• Games
• Salvation
• Stone, Stones
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Zechariah 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings