Zechariah 12:2

2 "I will make Jerusalem like a cup of wine; the nations around her will drink and stagger like drunks. And when they besiege Jerusalem, the cities of the rest of Judah will also be besieged.

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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Zechariah 12:2 In-Context

1 This is a message about Israel from the Lord, the Lord who spread out the skies, created the earth, and gave life to man. He says,

2 "I will make Jerusalem like a cup of wine; the nations around her will drink and stagger like drunks. And when they besiege Jerusalem, the cities of the rest of Judah will also be besieged.

3 But when that time comes, I will make Jerusalem like a heavy stone - any nation that tries to lift it will be hurt. All the nations of the world will join forces to attack her.

4 At that time I will terrify all their horses and make all their riders go crazy. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will make the horses of their enemies blind.

5 Then the clans of Judah will say to themselves, "The Lord God Almighty gives strength to his people who live in Jerusalem.'