Zechariah12
New Living Translation
1This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: “This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit.
2I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.
3On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.
4“On that day,” says the Lord, “I will cause every horse to panic and every rider to lose his nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of their enemies.
5And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, their God.’
6“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a flame that sets a woodpile ablaze or like a burning torch among sheaves of grain. They will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while the people living in Jerusalem remain secure.
7“The Lord will give victory to the rest of Judah first, before Jerusalem, so that the people of Jerusalem and the royal line of David will not have greater honor than the rest of Judah.
8On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who goes before them!
9For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
11The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the great mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
12“All Israel will mourn, each clan by itself, and with the husbands separate from their wives. The clan of David will mourn alone, as will the clan of Nathan,
13the clan of Levi, and the clan of Shimei.
14Each of the surviving clans from Judah will mourn separately, and with the husbands separate from their wives.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Zechariah 12.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Punishment of the enemies of Judah. (1–8). Repentance and sorrow of the Jews. (9–14).
vv1-8
Here is a Divine prediction, which will be a heavy burden to all the enemies of the church. But it is for Israel; for their comfort and benefit. It is promised that God will make foolish the counsels, and weaken the courage of the enemies of the church. The exact meaning is not clear; but God often begins by calling the poor and despised; and in that day even the feeblest will resemble David, and be as eminent in courage and every thing good. Desirable indeed is it that the examples and labours of Christians should render them as fire among wood, as a torch in a sheaf, to kindle the flame of Divine love, to spread religion on the right hand and on the left.
vv9-14
The day here spoken of, is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people. In Christ's first coming he bruised the serpent's head, and broke all the powers of darkness that fought against God's kingdom among men. In his second coming he will complete their destruction, when he shall put down all opposing rule, principality, and power; and death itself shall be swallowed up in that victory. The Holy Spirit is gracious and merciful, and is the Author of all grace or holiness. He, also, is the Spirit of supplications, and shows men their ignorance, want, guilt, misery, and danger. At the time here foretold, the Jews will know who the crucified Jesus was; then they shall look by faith to him, and mourn with the deepest sorrow, not only in public, but in private, even each one separately. There is a holy mourning, the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit; a mourning for sin, which quickens faith in Christ, and qualifies for joy in God. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, a proof of a work of grace in the soul, and of the Spirit of supplications. It is fulfilled in all who sorrow for sin after a godly sort; they look to Christ crucified, and mourn for him. Looking by faith upon the cross of Christ will cause us to mourn for sin after a godly sort.
Key Words
מַשָּׂא: a burden; specifically, tribute, or (abstractly) porterage; figuratively, an utterance, chiefly adoom, especially singing; mental, desire
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
נְאֻם: an oracle
נָטָה: to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application
שָׁמַיִם: the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)
יָסַד: to set (literally or figuratively); intensively, to found; reflexively, to sit down together, i.e. settle, consult
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
יָצַר: to mould into a form; especially as apotter; figuratively, to determine (i.e. form a resolution)
Cross References
Zechariah 12Explicitly cited in John's Gospel as fulfilled when the soldier pierced Jesus' side.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Christ as the stone of stumbling that grinds to powder those who oppose Him.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Eschatological vision of Christ returning, where those who pierced Him will mourn.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Similar preface declaring God's creative power over heavens and earth to assure His promises.
Supported by JFB
Addresses God as the Father/former of spirits, matching Zechariah's description of the human soul.
Supported by JFB
God removes the cup of trembling from Jerusalem and gives it to her oppressors.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The dramatic strengthening of the weak, echoing 'let the weak say, I am strong.'
Supported by JFB
The divine Angel of the Lord who goes before Israel to defend them.
Supported by JFB
The tragic national mourning for King Josiah who was slain at Megiddo.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Nathan, son of David, traceably listed in the messianic genealogy of Jesus.
Supported by Matthew Poole