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Mourning the One They Pierced
Zechariah 12:10-14 speaks about a future pouring out from God that leads to prayer, looking, and deep mourning. The passage is prophecy and teaching, showing a changed response in Jerusalem and across the land.
Understanding the passage
The setting of this message
In these verses, the speaker says, “I will pour” and describes what will happen to David’s house, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and then the families of the land. The passage moves from God’s gift of “the spirit of grace and of supplication” to widespread, personal mourning. It stays focused on that response and how extensive it will be.
Zechariah 12:10–14Main takeaway
This prophecy teaches that God brings a deep, prayerful response to the one who was pierced, and that mourning reaches both the city and the families of the land.
Explore the message
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01A spirit of grace and supplicationThe passage begins with God’s action: “I will pour” on David’s house and the inhabitants of Jerusalem “the spirit of grace and of supplication”.
Explanation
The passage begins with God’s action: “I will pour” on David’s house and the inhabitants of Jerusalem “the spirit of grace and of supplication”. The result is not merely sadness. It includes grace and supplication, which points to a response of seeking and pleading directed toward God. The change starts with what God gives.
02Looking to the one they piercedAfter this pouring out, “They will look to me whom they have pierced”. The verse then says, “they shall mourn for him”, using the grief of an only son and a firstborn as comparisons.
Explanation
After this pouring out, “They will look to me whom they have pierced”. The verse then says, “they shall mourn for him”, using the grief of an only son and a firstborn as comparisons. The language is intense and personal. The passage does not explain every detail here, but it clearly joins looking with bitter mourning.
03A great mourning in JerusalemVerse 11 widens the picture: “In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem”. It compares that mourning to “the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo”.
Explanation
Verse 11 widens the picture: “In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem”. It compares that mourning to “the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo”. The point made in the verse is the greatness of the mourning. Jerusalem is not described as lightly sorry, but as openly and deeply grieving.
04Every family apartVerses 12-14 stress how widespread and personal this mourning is. David’s house, Nathan’s house, Levi’s house, the Shimeites, and then “all the families who remain” mourn.
Explanation
Verses 12-14 stress how widespread and personal this mourning is. David’s house, Nathan’s house, Levi’s house, the Shimeites, and then “all the families who remain” mourn. Repeating “every family apart, and their wives apart” shows that this is not only public grief. It reaches households individually across the land.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What does God say he will pour out, and on whom?
Look for the exact gift named at the start of the passage and the two groups who receive it.
02How does verse 10 describe the mourning that follows looking to the pierced one?
Notice the two family comparisons used to show how deep the grief is.
03How do verses 12-14 show that the mourning is both widespread and personal?
Pay attention to the repeated phrase about families mourning apart and the named houses listed one by one.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Zechariah 12:10–14
10I will pour on David’s house and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication. They will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for his firstborn.
11In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
12The land will mourn, every family apart; the family of David’s house apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
14all the families who remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.