Zechariah 12:5 (DBY)

Passage

And the leaders of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength through Jehovah of hosts their God.

Nearby Context

Zechariah 12:3 And it shall come to pass in that day [that] I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone unto all peoples: all that burden themselves with it shall certainly be wounded, and all the nations of the earth shall be assembled together against it.

Zechariah 12:4 In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; but I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.

Zechariah 12:5 And the leaders of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength through Jehovah of hosts their God.

Zechariah 12:6 In that day will I make the leaders of Judah like a hearth of fire among wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall dwell again in her own place, in Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:7 And Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified over Judah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "leaders", "judah", "shall", "heart", "inhabitants", "jerusalem", and "strength". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "leaders" and "judah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "In that day saith Jehovah I will..." into verse 6's "In that day will I make the...", so "leaders" and "judah" belong inside that flow. In Zechariah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "leaders" and "judah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.