Zechariah 12:14
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. | and all the remaining clans and their wives. | all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedThis verse ends a list of mourners in Jerusalem and the land. After God pours out "the spirit of grace and of supplications," the people look on the one they pierced and mourn as for an only son (12:10). The houses of David, Nathan and Levi and the family of Shimei mourn, and this verse widens it to every remaining family, each one apart, with their wives apart. Zechariah 12:10Zechariah 12:11Zechariah 12:12Zechariah 12:13Zechariah 12:14
SpeakingThe LORD speaks through the prophet. The chapter opens as "the burden of the word of the LORD for Israel." The book names the prophet as Zechariah son of Berechiah. Zechariah 12:1Zechariah overview
ToThe message is for Israel. The book was first given to the people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon. Zechariah 12:1Zechariah overview
Also involvedThe ones who mourn are all the families of the land that remain. The list before them names the house of David, the house of Nathan, the house of Levi and the family of Shimei. Zechariah 12:12Zechariah 12:13Zechariah 12:14
The verse tells how complete the mourning will be. No family is left out, and each grieves on its own. Men and women grieve apart as well, so the sorrow is personal and not only a crowd's. Zechariah 12:12Zechariah 12:14Strong's H0905HStrong's H3605
The mourning is in Jerusalem and throughout the land. It is compared to "the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon." Zechariah 12:11Zechariah 12:12
The eventsThe mourning happens "in that day," the day when God defends Jerusalem and pours out his spirit of grace (12:8-11). The text does not give a calendar date for that day. Zechariah 12:8Zechariah 12:9Zechariah 12:10Zechariah 12:11
WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote the whole book, with dated messages from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most agree that chapters 1-8 come from Zechariah then, but chapters 9-14, which include this verse, carry no dates, and many assign them to a later writer or writers. Zechariah overview
HereThe verse closes the mourning of 12:10-14. After the houses of David, Nathan, Levi and Shimei, every remaining family mourns, each apart, so the grief over the pierced one reaches the whole people. Zechariah 12:10Zechariah 12:12Zechariah 12:13Zechariah 12:14
In the whole of ScriptureThe mourning leads straight into 13:1, where a fountain is opened to the house of David and Jerusalem "for sin and for uncleanness." John 19:37 quotes 12:10 at the cross. Zechariah 13:1Zechariah 12:10John 19:37
For readersRepentance here is personal: each family mourns apart, and the wives by themselves, not only the nation as a crowd. God answers that mourning with cleansing (13:1). Zechariah 12:12Zechariah 12:14Zechariah 13:1
Takeaway
Zechariah 12:14 shows the mourning over the pierced one reaching every family that remains, each apart. Grief over sin is met by the fountain God opens for cleansing (13:1). Zechariah 12:10Zechariah 12:14Zechariah 13:1
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
Behind this verse
- The mourning at Megiddo
- King Josiah was killed in battle in the valley of Megiddo, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned him; Jeremiah wrote laments for him. Zechariah compares the coming mourning to "the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon." Zechariah 12:112 Chronicles 35:22-25
About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.
Who ruled
- King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC
Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription
- Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC
A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8
- High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC
Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2
- Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC
The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13
What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
- 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleThe first return
Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops
The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24
- 525 BCWarPersia conquers Egypt
Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16
- 522-521 BCWarDarius crushes the revolts
When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11
- 520 BCGod's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build
In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1
- c. 520-519 BCRulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree
Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12
- 515 BCBuildingThe second temple is finished
The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9
- 490-479 BCWarPersia's wars with Greece
Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13
- 445 BCBuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls
Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15
- 332 BCWarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza
Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| all | כֹּ֗ל | Kol | H3605 | allכֹּל (kol) 1) all, the whole 1a) all, the whole of 1b) any, each, every, anything 1c) totality, everything Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606) |
| the clans | הַמִּשְׁפָּחוֹת֙ | ha-mish-pa-chOt | H4940 | familyמִשְׁפָּחָה (mish.pa.chah) 1) clan, family 1a) clan 1a1) family 1a2) tribe 1a3) people, nation 1b) guild 1c) species, kind 1d) aristocrats |
| which remain | הַנִּשְׁאָר֔וֹת | ha-nish-'a-ROT | H7604 | to remainשָׁאַר (sha.ar) 1) to remain, be left over, be left behind 1a) (Qal) to remain 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be left over, be left alive, survive 1b1a) remainder, remnant (participle) 1b2) to be left behind 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to leave over, spare 1c2) to leave or keep over 1c3) to have left 1c4) to leave (as a gift) |
| clans | מִשְׁפָּחֹ֥ת | mish-pa-CHOT | H4940 | familyמִשְׁפָּחָה (mish.pa.chah) 1) clan, family 1a) clan 1a1) family 1a2) tribe 1a3) people, nation 1b) guild 1c) species, kind 1d) aristocrats |
| clans | מִשְׁפָּחֹ֖ת | mish-pa-CHOT | H4940 | familyמִשְׁפָּחָה (mish.pa.chah) 1) clan, family 1a) clan 1a1) family 1a2) tribe 1a3) people, nation 1b) guild 1c) species, kind 1d) aristocrats |
| to alone | לְבָ֑ד | le-VAD | H0905H | alone: poleבַּד (bad) : pole 1) alone, by itself, besides, a part, separation, being alone 1a) separation, alone, by itself 1a1) only (adv) 1a2) apart from, besides (prep) 1b) part 1c) parts (eg limbs, shoots), bars |
| and wives their | וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖ם | u-ne-shei-HEM | H0802H | womanאִשָּׁה (ish.shah) : woman 1) woman, wife, female 1a) woman (opposite of man) 1b) wife (woman married to a man) 1c) female (of animals) 1d) each, every (pronoun) |
| to alone | לְבָֽד׃ ס | le-VAD | H0905H | alone: poleבַּד (bad) : pole 1) alone, by itself, besides, a part, separation, being alone 1a) separation, alone, by itself 1a1) only (adv) 1a2) apart from, besides (prep) 1b) part 1c) parts (eg limbs, shoots), bars |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.