Zacarias 12

ARC · Chapter 12/14

1Carga da palavra do Senhor sobre Israel: Falla o Senhor, o que estende o céu, e que funda a terra, e que forma o espirito do homem dentro n'elle.

2Eis que eu porei a Jerusalem como um copo de tremor para todos os povos em redor, e tambem para Judah, o qual será no cerco contra Jerusalem.

3E será n'aquelle dia que porei a Jerusalem por pedra pesada a todos os povos; todos os que carregarem com ella certamente serão despedaçados, e ajuntar-se-hão contra elle todas as nações da terra

4N'aquelle dia, diz o Senhor, ferirei de espanto a todos os cavallos, e de loucura os que montam n'elles; mas sobre a casa de Judah abrirei os meus olhos, e ferirei de cegueira a todos os cavallos dos povos.

5Então os chefes de Judah dirão no seu coração: A minha força são os habitantes de Jerusalem e o Senhor dos Exercitos, seu Deus.

6N'aquelle dia porei os chefes de Judah como um brazeiro de fogo debaixo da lenha, e como um tição de fogo entre gavelas; e á banda direita e esquerda consumirão a todos os povos em redor, e Jerusalem será habitada outra vez no seu logar, em Jerusalem.

7E o Senhor primeiramente salvará as tendas de Judah, para que a gloria da casa de David e a gloria dos habitantes de Jerusalem não se engrandeça sobre Judah.

8N'aquelle dia o Senhor amparará os habitantes de Jerusalem; e o que tropeçar entre elles n'aquelle dia será como David, e a casa de David será como Deus, como o anjo do Senhor diante d'elles.

9E será, n'aquelle dia, que procurarei destruir todas as nações que vierem contra Jerusalem;

10Porém sobre a casa de David, e sobre os habitantes de Jerusalem, derramarei o Espirito de graça e de supplicações; e olharão para mim, a quem traspassaram: e farão pranto sobre elle, como o pranto sobre o unigenito; e chorarão amargosamente sobre elle, como se chora amargosamente sobre o primogenito.

11N'aquelle dia será grande o pranto em Jerusalem, como o pranto de Hadadrimmon no valle de Meggiddon.

12E a terra pranteará, cada linhagem á parte: a linhagem da casa de David, á parte, e suas mulheres, á parte, e a linhagem da casa de Nathan, á parte, e suas mulheres, á parte

13A linhagem da casa de Levi, a parte, e suas mulheres, á parte; a linhagem de Simei, á parte, e suas mulheres á parte.

14Todas as mais linhagens, cada linhagem á parte, e suas mulheres á parte.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God promises to make Jerusalem a 'cup of trembling' for the nations that attack it, defending Judah with supernatural strength, and will pour out a spirit of grace and supplication on the house of David, who will look on 'him whom they have pierced' with great mourning.

Explanation

The image of the 'cup of trembling' describes Jerusalem as something that, when 'drunk' (attacked) by enemy nations, causes dizziness and ruin to whoever tries to consume it, a symbol of supernatural divine protection against any coalition of armies. The most striking and theologically rich point of the chapter is the promise that God will pour out 'the spirit of grace and of supplications' on the house of David, leading the people to look 'upon me whom they have pierced' with deep mourning, compared to grieving for an only son. This passage is intriguing because it seems to identify God Himself speaking in the first person as the one who would be pierced. The application for today: true national or personal repentance often comes accompanied by a deep and painful recognition of how we have rejected or wounded the one who truly loves us.

Fun facts

  • John 19:37 directly quotes Zechariah 12:10 ('they shall look on him whom they pierced') referring to the crucifixion of Jesus and the moment His side was pierced by a Roman spear, one of the most direct prophetic connections between the Old and New Testaments.
  • 'Hadadrimmon' (v.11), cited as a reference point for great mourning, was a place associated with the death of King Josiah in battle (2 Chronicles 35:22-25), one of the most intense national mournings in Judah's history, used here as a standard of comparison.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Zacarias 12:1A new section of the book opens with a solemn declaration of God's power: He stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him — the basis for everything that follows.
  2. Zacarias 12:2Jerusalem is compared to 'a cup of trembling' that will leave dizzy anyone who tries to drink it — the nations that surround her for war will hurt themselves in the attempt.
  3. Zacarias 12:3Comparing Jerusalem to 'a burdensome stone' that injures anyone who tries to lift it describes the city becoming too great a problem for any nation that tried to attack it.
  4. Zacarias 12:4On the day of battle, God promises to strike the enemy's horses and riders with astonishment and blindness, while specifically protecting Judah.
  5. Zacarias 12:5Judah's own leaders acknowledge that their real strength lies in the people of Jerusalem sustained by God, not in weapons or political alliances.
  6. Zacarias 12:6The leaders of Judah are compared to a hearth of fire that consumes everything around it — the defense will be so effective that Jerusalem will be inhabited again, safely, in the very same place.
  7. Zacarias 12:7God decides to save the rural areas of Judah first, so that the capital, with its fame and the line of David, will not glory over the rest of the land.
  8. Zacarias 12:8At the moment of defense, even the weakest among Jerusalem's inhabitants will fight like David himself — and the house of David will act with an almost divine strength.
  9. Zacarias 12:9God's declared purpose on that day is to destroy all the nations that gather to attack Jerusalem.
  10. Zacarias 12:10'They shall look upon me whom they have pierced' is one of the book's most debated verses, with scholars disagreeing on whom it originally refers to — either way, it describes a deep national mourning, compared to grieving an only son.
  11. Zacarias 12:11'The mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon' recalls the death of King Josiah in battle in that same valley (2 Chronicles 35), a well-known national mourning used as a comparison for the intensity of the future weeping.
  12. Zacarias 12:12The deep mourning announced in the previous verse is spelled out family by family: the line of David, the line of Nathan, each weeping separately, men and women apart.
  13. Zacarias 12:13The list continues with the priestly line of Levi and the family of Shimei, showing that the mourning reaches both the royalty and the priesthood of the nation.
  14. Zacarias 12:14Listing each family weeping 'apart' shows that this mourning would touch every group in society, not just one specific class or lineage.

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