Zechariah 12 (WK) - Bible Truth Library

they shall look.That this relates to the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, and to his being pierced by the soldier's spear, we have the authority of the inspired apostle John for affirming; and this application agrees with the opinion of some of the ancient Jews, who interpret it of Messiah the son of David, as Moses Hadarson, on Ge ch. 28, though Jarchi and Abarbanel refer it to the death of Messiah the son of Joseph, whom they say was to be the suffering Messiah, while the former is to be the triumphant Messiah.

Psa. 22:16‑17• ¹⁶For dogs have surrounded me,{HR}The congregation of evil-doers have encompassed me,{HR}Piercing my hands and my feet.
¹⁷I number all my bones;{HR}They behold, they look upon me. (Psa. 22:16‑17)

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John 1:29• ²⁹On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

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John 19:34‑37• ³⁴but one of the soldiers with a spear thrust his side, and there came out immediately blood and water.
³⁵And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe.
³⁶For these things came to pass that the scripture might be fulfilled, Not a bone of him shall be crushed;
³⁷and again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced. (John 19:34‑37)

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Heb. 12:2• ²looking off unto Jesus the leader and completer of faith; who for the joy set before him endured cross, despising shame, and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2)

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Rev. 1:7• ⁷Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and those which pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall wail on account of him. Yea, Amen. (Rev. 1:7)

they shall mourn.

Jer. 6:26• ²⁶O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. (Jer. 6:26)

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Amos 8:10• ¹⁰{i}And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.{/i} (Amos 8:10)

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Matt. 26:75• ⁷⁵And Peter remembered the word of Jesus as having said, Before a cock crow, thou wilt thrice deny me. And going forth without he wept bitterly. (Matt. 26:75)

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Acts 2:37• ³⁷And when they heard, they were pricked in heart and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, What shall we do, brethren? (Acts 2:37)

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2 Cor. 7:9‑11• ⁹Now I rejoice, not that ye were grieved but that ye were grieved unto repentance, for ye were grieved according to God that in nothing ye might suffer damage from us.
¹⁰For grief according to God worketh repentance to salvation not to be regretted: but the grief of the world worketh out death.
¹¹For, behold, this very thing that ye were grieved according to God, how much diligence it wrought out in you, nay self-clearing, nay indignation, nay fear, nay longing desire, nay zeal, nay avenging! In everything did ye prove yourselves to be pure in the matter. (2 Cor. 7:9‑11)

• It was in Jerusalem that our Lord was rejected and condemned to be crucified (He suffered without the gate); it was in Jerusalem the gospel was first preached, and the first work of grace commenced; and now we find that it is in Jerusalem Jehovah will first commence the work of grace when he returns to Zion. Nothing could more magnify His grace and unchanging love. (“Zechariah 12” by E. Dennett)

• “They shall look upon Me* whom they have pierced.” This is ever the divine order; first, conviction of sin, and then, the presentation of Christ. (“Zechariah 12” by E. Dennett)

• What a moment this will be for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem when, as they see their Messiah come in glory for their deliverance, the conviction is begotten in their hearts that it is Jesus whom they had nailed to the bitter tree. (“Zechariah 12” by E. Dennett)

• He comes for their deliverance, and, when their eyes are opened, they behold their Deliverer, and recognize that He is Jesus of Nazareth! Then for the first time they will understand by the very magnitude of the grace, the turpitude of their sin, and, transfixed with the arrows of conviction, will be bowed in the dust before their God in true penitence and sorrow for their guilt. (“Zechariah 12” by E. Dennett)

• “They shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son.” It is a comparison to illustrate the intensity of their grief, even as Amos also speaks (Amos 8:10). (“Zechariah 12” by E. Dennett)

J. N. Darby Translation

And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look on me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

W. Kelly Translation

And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon mea whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

WK Translation Notes

The reading of the Keri "on him" instead of the textual "on me," seems evidently to bear the stamp of a correction designed to remove an apparent anomaly from the construction as well as to get rid of the plain truth, as the text stands that the pierced One is Jehovah. Hence the correction has even crept into the text of not a few MSS. of both Kennicott and of De Rossi. The truth is that these tamperings with the reading and the efforts of others to enfeeble the translation only show the deep moment of what is here written by the Holy Spirit. It was to escape from this text in particular that some of the Rabbis invented the absurdity of two Messiahs, Ben-Joseph and Ben-David, but even so with singular inconsistency as Mc’Caul has well shown.