So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- WEB It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- NKJV It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- NASB And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- NLT For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God determines to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. It matters because it affirms God's resolve to judge those who attack His people.
Overview
This verse states plainly the divine intention behind the preceding scenes of deliverance: God will seek to destroy every nation arrayed against His city. It frames the conflict not as mere geopolitics but as God's defense of His covenant purposes. The judgment of God's enemies and the salvation of His people are two sides of His redemptive work, fully revealed at Christ's return (Rev. 19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Isa 54:17No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
- Zech 14:2–3For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
- Hag 2:22I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overturn chariots and their riders; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
- Zech 12:2“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 12:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.