Zechariah 12:2

Zechariah 12:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.
• New Living Translation (NLT)I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.

Context of Zechariah 12:2

1A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3On 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. 4On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.

Zechariah 12:2 word by word

הִנֵּ֣ה אָ֠נֹכִי שָׂ֣ם אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֧ם סַף־רַ֛עַל לְכָל־הָעַמִּ֖ים סָבִ֑יב וְגַ֧ם עַל־יְהוּדָ֛ה יִֽהְיֶ֥ה בַמָּצ֖וֹר עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold, I will makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• a cupסַףsaph · basinH5592
• of tremblingרַ֫עַלra‛al · reelingH7478
• unto all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
• when they shall be in the siegeמָצוֹרmâtsôr mâtsûr · siegeH4692
• both against Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063

Cross-references for Zechariah 12:2

• Psalms 75:8In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.
• Isaiah 51:17Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.
• Jeremiah 25:15This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
• Jeremiah 49:12This is what the Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it.
• Jeremiah 51:7Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.
• Habakkuk 2:16You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
• Revelation 14:10they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
• Revelation 16:19The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.
• Revelation 18:6Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
• Jeremiah 51:57I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake,” declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
• Jeremiah 8:14Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.
• Zechariah 14:14Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing.

Commentaries on Zechariah 12:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Jerusalem a cup of trembling - The Babylonians, who captivated and ruined the Jews, shall in their turn be ruined. I incline to think that what is spoken in this chapter about the Jews and Jerusalem, belongs to the "glory of the latter times." Shall be in the siege - This may refer to some war against the Church of Christ, such as that mentioned Revelation 20:9.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling - For encouragement, He promises the victory, and at first mentions the attack incidentally. Jerusalem is as a cup or basin, which its enemies take into their hands; a stone, which they put forth their strength to lift; but they themselves reel with the draught of God‘s judgments which they would give to others, they are torn by the stone which they would lift to fling. The image of the “cup” is mostly of God‘s…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2cup of drunkeness: The cup of alcoholic drink is a metaphor for God’s judgment (Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15; Habakkuk 2:16; Matthew 26:39, 42; Revelation 14:10; 16:1). Jerusalem would play a key role in God’s judgment on nearby nations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. cup of trembling--a cup causing those who drink it to reel (from a Hebrew root "to reel"). Jerusalem, who drank the "cup of trembling" herself, shall be so to her foes (Is 51:17, 22; Jr 13:13). Calvin with the Septuagint translates, "threshold of destruction," on which they shall stumble and be crushed when they attempt to cross it. English Version is better. both against Judah--The Hebrew order of words is literally, "And also against Judah shall he…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 12:2

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Bible, the
• Burden
• Ezekiel
• Poison
• Salvation
• 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