Passage
And the governors of Juda shall say in their heart: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened for me in the Lord of hosts, their God.
Zechariah 12:5 (DRB)
Nearby Context
Zechariah 12:3 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all people: all that shall lift it up shall be rent and torn, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall be gathered together against her.
Zechariah 12:4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open my eyes upon the house of Juda, and will strike every horse of the nations with blindness.
Zechariah 12:5 And the governors of Juda shall say in their heart: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened for me in the Lord of hosts, their God.
Zechariah 12:6 In that day I will make the governors of Juda like a furnace of fire amongst wood, and as a firebrand amongst hay: and they shall devour all the people round about, to the right hand, and to the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:7 And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Juda, as in the beginning: that the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, may not boast and magnify themselves against Juda.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "governors", "juda", "shall", "heart", "inhabitants", "jerusalem", "strengthened", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "governors" and "juda", 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 the Lord I..." into verse 6's "In that day I will make the...", so "governors" and "juda" 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 "governors" and "juda" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.