1Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4¶ And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.14.5 the mountains: or, my mountains14.5 for the…: or, when he shall touch the valley of the mountains to the place he separated 6And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:14.6 that the…: that is, it shall not be clear in some places, and dark in other places of the world14.6 clear: Heb. precious14.6 dark: Heb. thickness 7But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.14.7 it shall be…: or, the day shall be one
8And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.14.8 former: or, eastern 9And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 10All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.14.10 turned: or, compassed14.10 inhabited: or, shall abide 11And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.14.11 shall be: or, shall abide
12¶ And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. 14And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.14.14 Judah…: or, thou also, O Judah shalt14.14 at: or, against 15And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16¶ And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.14.18 that have no: Heb. upon whom there is not 19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.14.19 punishment: or, sin
20¶ In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.14.20 bells: or, bridles 21Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
Herren skal herske
1-2Der vil komme en tid,14,1-2 Mange fortolkere mener, at der her er tale om den 7-årige trængselstid for det jødiske folk, jf. Åb. 4–18. hvor Herren vil samle nationerne til en sidste kamp mod Jerusalem. Byen vil blive indtaget, husene plyndret, kvinderne voldtaget og halvdelen af befolkningen sendt i eksil, mens den anden halvdel bliver i byen.
3Men da vil Herren skride til handling og nedkæmpe de fjendtlige nationer, sådan som han gjorde i gamle dage. 4Når han sætter sine fødder på Olivenbjerget øst for Jerusalem, vil det kløves midt igennem fra øst til vest. Bjergets ene halvdel vil bevæge sig mod nord og den anden halvdel mod syd, så der dannes en stor dal imellem dem. 5Gennem den dal skal I undslippe, for den når hele vejen til Atzal.14,5 Sandsynligvis det samme som Bet-Etzel i Mika 1,11, et sted tæt ved Jerusalem. I skal flygte, som man flygtede for jordskælvet på kong Uzzija af Judas tid. Da skal Herren, vores Gud, komme, og han har sine hellige med.14,5 Se Jud. 14, Åb. 14,1.
6Til den tid skal det naturlige lys forsvinde, for de mægtige lysgivere på himlen skal smelte. 7Det bliver helt enestående, og kun Herren ved, hvornår det vil ske. Der skal ikke længere være dag og nat, for om aftenen vil det være lige så lyst som midt på dagen.
8Til den tid skal der strømme livgivende vand ud fra Jerusalem, dels i retning af Dødehavet, dels i retning af Middelhavet, og vandet skal strømme både sommer og vinter.
9Da skal Herren være konge over hele jorden, og alle skal erkende, at der ikke er nogen anden Gud. 10Hele landet fra Geba i nord til Rimmon i syd skal sænkes, så det bliver en mægtig slette, men Jerusalem skal ligge hævet derover og dække arealet fra Benjamins Port over til den gamle port og videre til Hjørneporten og Hananeltårnet og til de kongelige vinperser. 11Da kan de bo trygt i byen, for den vil aldrig igen opleve Guds straf og blive ødelagt.
12Herren vil sende en plage over de folk, som drog i krig mod Jerusalem. De bliver som omvandrende lig. Deres krop begynder at rådne, mens de endnu er i live, øjnene rådner i øjenhulerne, og tungen rådner i munden på dem. 13De bliver så panikslagne, at de griber fat i hinanden og hugger hinanden ned. 14Hele Judas befolkning skal gå ind i kampen for at forsvare Jerusalem. De skal tage rigt bytte fra deres fjender, mængder af guld, sølv og fornemt tøj. 15Fjendernes heste, muldyr, kameler, æsler og alt deres kvæg skal rammes af den samme frygtelige plage.
16Men de overlevende fra de nationer, der angreb Jerusalem, skal nu hvert år tage derhen for at tilbede Kongen, den almægtige Herre, og fejre løvhyttefesten. 17Hvis nogen nægter at komme til Jerusalem for at tilbede Kongen, den almægtige Herre, vil de blive nægtet regn i deres land. 18Og hvis Egypten nægter at komme, vil Gud straffe landet med en ny plage. 19Sådan vil Herren straffe både Egypten og alle andre nationer, som ikke vil drage op for at fejre løvhyttefesten.
20Til den tid skal hestenes bjælder have følgende indskrift: „Indviet til Herren!” Kødgryderne i Herrens tempel skal være lige så hellige som alterets offerskåle. 21Ja, hver eneste gryde i hele Jerusalem og Juda skal være indviet til Herren og til fri disposition for enhver, som kommer for at ofre til Herren. Og der skal ikke mere være nogen, der driver handel i Herrens tempel.
