Zechariah 12:5

5 And the dukes of Judah shall say in their hearts, Be the dwellers of Jerusalem strengthened to me in the Lord of hosts, the God of them. (And the leaders of Judah shall say in their hearts, Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem find their 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 And it shall be, in that day I shall set Jerusalem a stone of burden to all peoples; all that shall lift it shall be drawn with cutting down, and all realms of earth shall be gathered against it. (And it shall be, on that day I shall make Jerusalem like a burdensome stone to all the nations; yea, all who shall try to lift it shall be drawn, or shall be cut, down, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall be gathered against it.)

4 In that day, saith the Lord, I shall smite each horse in[to] dread, either losing of mind, and the rider of him in[to] madness; and on the house of Judah I shall open mine eyes, and shall smite with blindness each horse of (the) peoples. (On that day, saith the Lord, I shall strike each horse with fear, that is, unto the losing of its mind, and his rider with madness; and I shall open my eyes upon the house of Judah, and I shall strike each horse of the nations with blindness.)

5 And the dukes of Judah shall say in their hearts, Be the dwellers of Jerusalem strengthened to me in the Lord of hosts, the God of them. (And the leaders of Judah shall say in their hearts, Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem find their strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.)

6 In that day I shall set the dukes of Judah as a chimney of fire in wood, and as a brand of fire in hay; and they shall devour at the right side and left side all peoples in compass. And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in his place, in Jerusalem. (On that day I shall make the leaders of Judah like a chimney of fire in the woods, and like a firebrand in the hay; and they shall devour on the right side and on the left side all the nations around them. And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in its place, yea, in Jerusalem.)

7 And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Judah, as in the beginning, that the house of David glory not greatly, and the glory of men dwelling in Jerusalem be not against Judah. (And the Lord shall save the tents, or the armies, of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of those who live in Jerusalem, be not greater than that of Judah.)