Zechariah 12:5

Zechariah 12:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’

Context of Zechariah 12:5

3There 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. Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, “The Lord Almighty, their God, makes the people in Jerusalem strong. And they will help us.” 6On that day, I will make the leaders of Judah like fire in a forest. I will make them like fire among wheat that the farmer has cut. They will kill all the people from round Jerusalem, but the people in Jerusalem will be safe. 7The Lord will save the homes of the people from Judah first. So David's family and the people who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the people from Judah.

Zechariah 12:5 word by word

וְאָֽמְר֛וּ אַלֻּפֵ֥י יְהוּדָ֖ה בְּלִבָּ֑ם אַמְצָ֥ה לִי֙ יֹשְׁבֵ֣י יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם בַּיהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the governorsאַלּוּף'alûph 'allûph · chiefH441
• of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• in their heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• The inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• of Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• my strengthאַמְצָה'amtsâh · strengthH556
• in the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Zechariah 12:5

• Zechariah 12:6On that day, I will make the leaders of Judah like fire in a forest. I will make them like fire among wheat that the farmer has cut. They will kill all the people from round Jerusalem, but the people in Jerusalem will be safe.
• Judges 5:9I thank God for Israel's leaders, and the people who are ready to fight our enemies. Praise the Lord!
• Isaiah 1:10Yes, you are like the rulers of Sodom, so listen to the Lord's message! You are no better than the people in Gomorrah! So listen to what our God is saying to you.
• Isaiah 29:10It is the Lord who has caused you to be like that. He has caused you to be completely asleep. He has shut the eyes of your prophets and he has covered the heads of your seers.
• Isaiah 32:1Look! A king is coming who will rule in a right and fair way. Honest leaders will rule under his authority.
• Isaiah 60:17I will bring you gold instead of bronze. I will bring you silver instead of iron. I will give you bronze to use, instead of wood. I will give you iron instead of stones. I will cause peace to be your city's leader. Righteousness will rule over you.
• Jeremiah 30:21One of their own people will rule them as king. I will ask him to come near to me, and he will come near. Nobody would be brave enough to come near to me, unless I asked him to come.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Jeremiah 33:26In the same way, I will never change my promise to the descendants of Jacob and to my servant David. I will always choose one of David's descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will bring them back to their own land. I will be kind to them and forgive them.’
• Ezekiel 45:8This will be the part of Israel's land that belongs to the ruler. Because my rulers will have their own land, they will no longer need to make my people suffer. They will give to each tribe a part of the land that will belong to them.
• Zechariah 10:6I will make Judah's people strong, and I will make Israel's people become free. I will bring them back to me, because I am sorry for them. I am their God, and I will answer them. It will be as if I had never turned away from them.
• Psalms 18:32It is God who makes me strong. He shows me the safe way through my life.
• Psalms 20:6Now I know that the Lord will save the king that he has chosen. God will agree to help him from his holy place in heaven. God will use his great power to make his king safe.
• Psalms 46:1God is a strong place for us, where he will keep us safe. He will always help us when troubles come.
• Psalms 68:34Agree that God is very powerful! He is the King who rules over Israel. He shows his power in the skies.
• Psalms 118:10All the nations were ready to attack me, but I turned them away by the power of the Lord.
• Psalms 144:1Lord, I praise you! You are my strong Rock! You teach me how to fight well. You show me how to use my weapons.

Commentaries on Zechariah 12:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The governors of Judah - This supposes a union between the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And the princes of Judah - He pictures the onemindedness of the Church. No one shall assume anything to himself; each shall exalt the strength which the other was to him; but all, “in the Lord. The princes of Judah” shall say “in their heart,” not outwardly or politically, but in inward conviction, “strength to me” (all speak as one) “are the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord of hosts their God.” The highest in human estimation acknowledge that their…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5LORD of Hosts: This title emphasizes God's unstoppable power (see study note on Zechariah 1:3). The repeated use of this title in Zechariah’s second oracle (Zechariah 12–14) assured his audience that God would definitely fulfill the promises about Judah’s victory (12:7).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. shall say--when they see the foe divinely smitten with "madness." Judah ... Jerusalem--here distinguished as the country and the metropolis. Judah recognizes her "strength" to be "Jerusalem and its inhabitants" as the instrument, and "Jehovah of hosts their God" (dwelling especially there) as the author of all power (Joe 3:16). My strength is the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have the Lord their God as their help. The repulse of the foe by the…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 12:5

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• God
• Jerusalem
• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• In the Lord
• Lord of Hosts
• Bible, the
• Burden

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