Zechariah 12:5

5 The chieftains of Yehudah will say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Yerushalayim are my strength in the LORD of Hosts their God.'

Zechariah 12:5 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 12:5

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart
The governors of the rest of the cities in Judea, besides Jerusalem, when they shall observe the armies of the people, their horses and their riders, smitten by the Lord, as above, shall take heart, and be of good courage: and secretly say within themselves,

The inhabitants of Jerusalem [shall be] my strength in the Lord of
hosts their God;
that is, they, in the strength of the Lord, shall overcome their enemies, and so be the means of preserving and securing the other cities of Judah from destruction: the governors do not place their strength and confidence in the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but as they are strengthened in and by the Lord their God, from whom all strength, safety, and salvation come. In this and the following verse ( Zechariah 12:6 ) , by "the governors of Judah" are not meant Judas Maccabeus, and his brethren, as some think; for though there are some things in the context that seem to agree with them, and they may be an emblem of the governors in the times referred to, for their courage, bravery, and success; yet the thread of history, and series of prophecy, will not admit such a sense.

Zechariah 12:5 In-Context

3 It will happen in that day, that I will make Yerushalayim a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the eretz will be gathered together against it.

4 In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes on the house of Yehudah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

5 The chieftains of Yehudah will say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Yerushalayim are my strength in the LORD of Hosts their God.'

6 In that day I will make the chieftains of Yehudah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they will devour all the surrounding peoples, on the right hand and on the left; and Yerushalayim will yet again dwell in their own place, even in Yerushalayim.

7 The LORD also will save the tents of Yehudah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim not be magnified above Yehudah.