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Zechariah 12

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Jerusalem Protected from All Nations 1–9

1
The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus saith Jehovah, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him: ​
2
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem. ​
3
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it. ​
4
In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness. ​
5
And the chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Jehovah of hosts their God.
6
In that day will I make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and they of Jerusalem shall yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem. ​
7
Jehovah also 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 above Judah. ​
8
In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. ​
9
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

The Spirit of Grace and National Repentance 10–14

10
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me 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 first-born. ​
11
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. ​
12
And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; ​
13
the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart; ​
14
all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Zechariah 12

Verse 1

The burden of the word of the LORD — Massa, a load, the word the KJV renders 'burden' for a weighty oracle, as at 9:1 and Mal 1:1. The LORD is named by what he does: he 'stretched' out the heavens (Isa 42:5), lays the earth's foundation, and 'formeth' the spirit of man within him. Yatsar, to form, is the potter's verb of 11:13 and of man formed from the dust (Gen 2:7).

Verse 2

a cup of trembling — Jerusalem had drunk 'the cup of trembling' at the LORD's hand (Isa 51:17), which he took from her and 'put… into the hand of them that afflict thee' (Isa 51:22–23). Here Jerusalem herself is the cup (saph, a basin) that sets those around her reeling. The siege is 'both against Judah and against Jerusalem'.

Verse 3

a burdensome stone — The stone (eben) is 'burdensome' (maamasah), from the verb to load, and those who 'burden themselves' with it are the nations. 'Cut in pieces' is sarat, to gash, the verb of the 'cuttings in their flesh' forbidden in Lev 21:5, here doubled. The gathering of 'all the people of the earth' is that of 14:2, 'I will gather all nations against Jerusalem'.

Verse 4

astonishment… madness… blindness — These are the covenant curses of Deut 28:28, 'madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart', now laid on the horse and rider of the attackers. 'Open mine eyes' is paqach, the verb of 'open, LORD, thine eyes, and see' (2 Kgs 19:16): the LORD turns his sight on the house of Judah.

Verse 6

like an hearth of fire among the wood — The governors (alluph, chiefs, the word rendered 'dukes' of Edom in Gen 36:15) become a pan of fire among wood and a torch among sheaves. It is the picture of Obad 1:18, 'the house of Jacob shall be a fire… and the house of Esau for stubble'.

Verse 7

the tents of Judah first — Ohel, a tent, the dwelling of the open country as against the walled city. The LORD saves these first, 'that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah', the principle of 'that no flesh should glory in his presence' (1 Cor 1:29).

Verse 8

as David… as God — 'Defend' is ganan, to cover, as in 'so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem' (Isa 31:5). The one who stumbles (kashal) 'shall be as David', and the house of David 'as God, as the angel of the LORD before them', recalling the promise 'I send an Angel before thee' (Ex 23:20).

Verse 10

they shall look upon me whom they have pierced — 'Pierced' is daqar, to thrust through. John records the spear (John 19:34) and cites 'They shall look on him whom they pierced' (John 19:37); Rev 1:7 has 'they also which pierced him'. The 'me' becomes 'him' within the verse. The Spirit of 'grace' (chen) and 'supplications' (tachanunim) is 'poured', as in Joel 2:28.

Verse 11

the mourning of Hadadrimmon — In 'the valley of Megiddo' Josiah was wounded in battle with Necho (2 Chr 35:22–23); he died and 'all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah' (2 Chr 35:24), and Jeremiah's lament for him was kept by the singers (2 Chr 35:25). The verse names Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon as the pattern of mourning.

Verse 12

the family of the house of Nathan apart — Each family mourns by itself, 'and their wives apart'. 'Mourn' is saphad, the verb of 7:5. Nathan is a son of David born in Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:14), and Luke's genealogy passes through him (Luke 3:31).

Verse 13

the family of the house of Levi… Shimei — Beside the house of David, the throne, stands Levi, the priesthood, the two offices of 6:13. Shimei is a son of Gershon (Num 3:18), one of Levi's three sons (Num 3:17), so the family named belongs within Levi.