Bible

 

Zechariah 12

Studie

   

1 The burden of the word of Jehovah against Israel, says Jehovah, who stretches·​·out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man in his midst.

2 Behold, I will set Jerusalem as a bowl of trepidation to all the people all around, and also they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 And it will be in that day that I will set Jerusalem as a stone, a load for all the peoples to bear; all who bear·​·the·​·load lacerating shall be lacerated, and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered·​·together to her.

4 In that day, says Jehovah, I will smite every horse with amazement, and his rider with madness; and I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.

5 And the leaders of Judah shall say in their heart, They who dwell in Jerusalem shall be an encouragement to me, in Jehovah of Armies their God.

6 In that day I will set the leaders of Judah like a laver* of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people all around, on the right and on the left; and Jerusalem shall still dwell in her own place* in Jerusalem.

7 And Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first, so·​·that the splendor of the house of David and the splendor of those who dwell in Jerusalem may not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall Jehovah defend those who dwell in Jerusalem; and he who stumbles among them in that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them.

9 And it shall be in that day, that I will seek to blot·​·out all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 And I will spill·​·out on the house of David, and on those who dwell in Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look to Me whom they have thrust·​·through, and they shall wail over Him, as one wailing over an only child, and shall be·​·bitter over Him, as one is·​·bitter over his firstborn.

11 In that day there shall be a great wailing in Jerusalem, as the wailing of Hadadrimmon in the vale of Megiddo.

12 And the land shall wail, families, families apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

13 the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Simeon apart, and their wives apart;

14 all the families that are left, families, families apart, and their wives apart.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

Komentář

 

People (nation)

  

The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the desire for good as its ultimate underlying motivation; when it uses the term “people” it is talking about a group whose deep motivation is to seek true ideas and concepts. As with all symbolism in the Bible, this can be also used in a negative sense, to describe groups with the lust for evil or those driven by false concepts. It can also be used in the abstract, with “nation” representing desires for good themselves and “people” representing true ideas themselves. In a way, these meanings make sense if we look at the two words themselves. “People” brings to mind a collection of individuals, and that is somewhat how it is with ideas -- you can have many of them that inter-relate, but also stand somewhat on their own, individually. “Nation” is a more unified term, reflecting the way that a desire for good tends to unify other feelings.