“In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a fiery laver among pieces of wood and a fiery torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its own place—in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:4 In that day,” declares Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will open my eyes to watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
Zechariah 12:5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through Yahweh of hosts, their God.’
Zechariah 12:6 “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a fiery laver among pieces of wood and a fiery torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its own place—in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:7 Yahweh also will save the tents of Judah first so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah.
Zechariah 12:8 In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh before them.
The verse centers on "make", "clans", "judah", "like", "fiery", "laver", "pieces", and "wood". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "make" and "clans", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Then the clans of Judah will say..." into verse 7's "Yahweh also will save the tents of...", so "make" and "clans" 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 "make" and "clans" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.