And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon 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 firstborn.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace. The And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace. The future conversion of the Jews is to flow from an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:9; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 39:29).
The spirit of grace and of supplications. "Spirit" is here, not the spirit produced, but THE HOLY SPIRIT, producing a "gracious" disposition, and inclination for "supplication." Calvin explains "spirit of grace" as 'the grace of God Himself (whereby He "pours" out his bowels of mercy), conjoined with the sense of it in man's heart.' The "spirit of supplication" is the mercury whose rise of fall is an unerring test of the state of the Church (Moore). In the Hebrew х cheen (H2580) wªtachanuwniym (H8469)] "grace" and "supplications" are kindred terms; translate, therefore, 'gracious supplications' The plural implies suppliant prayers "without ceasing." Herein not merely external help against the foe, as before, but internal grace, is promised subsequently.
They shall look upon me - with profoundly-earnest regard, as the Messiah whom they so long denied.
Whom they have pierced - implying, Messiah's humanity: as "I will pour the spirit" implies His divinity.
They shall look ... and they shall mourn. True repentance arises from the sight by faith of the crucified Saviour. It is the tear that drop from the eye of faith looking on Him. Terror only produces remorse. The true penitent weeps over his sins in love to Him who in love has suffered for them.
They shall look upon me ... and they shall mourn for him. The change of person is due to Yahweh-Messiah speaking in His own person first, then the prophet speaking of Him. The Jews, to avoid the conclusion that He whom they have "pierced" is Yahweh-Messiah, who says, "I will pour out the spirit," altered "me" х 'eelay (H413)] into "him" х 'eelayw (H413)], and represent the "pierced" One to be Messiah-Ben (son of) Joseph, who was to suffer in battle with Gog, before Messiah-Ben David should come to reign. But the Hebrew, Chaldaic, Syriac, and Arabic oppose this: and the ancient Jews interpreted it as of Messiah. Psalms 22:16 also refers to His being "pierced." "They pierced my hands and my feet." So John 19:37; Revelation 1:7 The actual piercing of His side was the culminating point of all their insulting treatment of Him. The act of the Roman soldier who pierced Him was their act, and is so accounted here in Zechariah, inasmuch as they took upon themselves the responsibility of the deed, saying, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matthew 27:25). The Hebrew word х daaqaaruw (H1856)] is always used of a literal piercing (so Zechariah 13:3, the same Hebrew verb is translated "shall thrust him through"), not of metaphorical piercing, 'insulted,' as Maurer and other Rationalists [from the Septuagint, katoorcheesanto] represent.
As one mourneth for his only son - (Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10). A proverbial phrase, peculiarly forcible among the Jews, who felt childlessness as a curse and dishonour. Applied with special propriety to mourning for Messiah, "the first-born among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).