Zacarías 12

VBL · Chapter 12/14

1Una profecía: Este mensaje vino del Señor, respecto a Israel, una declaración del Señor que extendió los cielos, y quien estableció los cimientos de la tierra y puso aliento de vida en os seres humanos.

2¡Miren! Yo haré de Jerusalén una copa con bebida alcohólica que hará tambalear a todas las naciones vecinas como borrachos cuando se acerquen a atacar a Judá y a Jerusalén.

3Ese día haré que Jerusalén sea como una roca pesada para todas las personas. Y cualquiera que trate de levantar la roca quedará muy lastimado. Todas las naciones se unirán entonces para atacar a Jerusalén.

4Ese día haré que los caballos se atemoricen y que los jinetes se vuelvan locos, declara el Señor, pero yo cuidaré del pueblo de Judá mientas dejo ciegos a los caballos de sus enemigos.

5Entonces las familias de Judá se dirán para sí mismos: el pueblo de Jerusalén es fuerte gracias a su Dios, el Señor Todopoderoso.

6Ese día haré que las familias de Judá sean como carbones encendidos en el bosque, o como antorchas ardientes en un campo de pasto seco. Ellos destruirán con fuego todo lo que encuentren a su paso a diestra y siniestra, a todos los pueblos vecinos, mientras que el pueblo de Jerusalén estará seguro en su ciudad.

7El Señor le dará la victoria primero a los soldados de Judá, para que la Gloria de la casa de David y la Gloria de los habitantes de Jerusalén no sea mayor que la de Judá.

8Ese día el Señor pondrá un escudo protector alrededor del pueblo de Jerusalén para que hasta el más torpe sea un guerrero hábil como David, y la casa de Davod será como Dios, como el ángel del Señor que los guía.

9Ese día comenzaré a destruir a todas las naciones que atacan a Jerusalén.

10Yo enviaré un espíritu de gracia y oración en la casa de David y sobe los habitantes de Jerusalén. Ellos mirarán al que han atravesado, y se lamentarán sobre él, como quien guarda luto por su único hijo, llorando amargamente por su romogénito.

11Ese día el lamento de Jerusalén será tan grande como el lamento en Hadad Rimón en el Valle de Meguido.

12La tierra lamentará, cada familia por separado: la casa de la familia de David sola y sus mujeres, así como las familias de Natán,

13Leví, y Simeí,

14además las familias sobrevivientes y sus mujeres, cada grupo llorando amargamente, todos por separado.

📖 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 12:9God's declared purpose on that day is to destroy all the nations that gather to attack Jerusalem.
  10. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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. Zacarías 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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