Zechariah 12:2

2 "I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. They will come and attack Jerusalem and Judah.

Zechariah 12:2 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 12:2

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all
the people round about
The Targum renders it,

``a vessel full of inebriating liquor;''

which intoxicates and makes giddy, and causes to tremble, stagger, and fall like a drunken man. The phrase denotes the punishment inflicted by the Lord upon the enemies of his church and people; see ( Isaiah 51:22 Isaiah 51:23 ) :

when they shall be in the siege both against Judah [and] against
Jerusalem;
not by Antiochus Epiphanes; nor by Titus Vespasian; nor by Gog and Magog, as Kimchi; but by the antichristian powers, especially the Mahometan nations, the Turks, which shall come against Jerusalem, when the Jews are returned thither, and resettled in their own land; see ( Ezekiel 38:5 Ezekiel 38:6 ) . The words should be rendered, "and upon Judah shall it be" F25, i.e. the cup of trembling, "in the siege against Jerusalem"; according to the Targum, and the Jewish commentators, the nations of the earth shall bring the men of Judah by force to join with them in the siege of Jerusalem; as, in the times of Antiochus, many of the Jews were drawn in to fight against their brethren; but the meaning is, that not only the wrath of God will come upon the Mahometan nations that shall besiege Jerusalem; but also on those who bear the Christian name, who are Jews outwardly, but not inwardly; and shall join with the Turks in distressing the people of the Jews upon their return to their own land: to besiege Judah, or a country, is not proper and pertinent: Jerusalem, when again in the hands of the Jews, according to this prophecy, only is to be besieged, as it will, by the Turks; and it should be observed, that it never was besieged by Antiochus, and therefore the prophecy can not be applied to his times, as it is by many.


FOOTNOTES:

F25 (hyhy hdwhy le Mgw) "et etiam super Jehudah erit", Pagninus, Montanus, Burkius.

Zechariah 12:2 In-Context

1 This message is the word of the Lord to Israel. This is what the Lord says, who stretched out the skies, and laid the foundations of the earth, and put the human spirit within:
2 "I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. They will come and attack Jerusalem and Judah.
3 One day all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem, but I will make it like a heavy rock; anyone who tries to move it will get hurt.
4 At that time I will confuse every horse and cause its rider to go crazy," says the Lord. "I will watch over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the enemies.
5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord All-Powerful is their God.'
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.