---
title: Zechariah 12:10
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/zechariah-12-10/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/zechariah-12-10.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Zechariah 12:10
testament: OT
section: Prophets
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Zechariah 12:10

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (1984 edition): ""they will certainly look to the One whom they pierced through""
- NWT (2013 revision): "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of favor and supplication, and they will look to the one whom they pierced, and they will wail over him as they would wail over an only son"

## JW Usage

JWs read the pierced one as Jesus, sent by Jehovah — relying on the NWT's "the one whom they pierced" to keep Jehovah and the pierced one as separate persons. The verse is rarely opened in Kingdom Hall study, and the cross-reference to John 19:37 is treated as Christological application without the deity implication.

## Protestant Usage

The Hebrew reads 'elai et-asher daqaru — "to me, the one whom they pierced". Jehovah, who has been speaking in the first person throughout chapter 12 (verse 1: "I stretched out the heavens"; verse 9: "I will annihilate the nations"), now says THEY will look to ME, the pierced one. The pronoun shift to "him" later in the verse ("they will wail over him") shows distinction within the same divine identity — the pattern Trinitarian theology calls personal distinction within unity. John 19:37 quotes this verse and applies it to the moment a Roman soldier pierced Jesus' side. Either Jehovah was pierced in his Son at Calvary, or John misapplied the prophecy. Revelation 1:7 confirms John's reading: "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him".

## NWT Issue

The Hebrew first-person 'elai ("to me") is rendered in the NWT 2013 as "the one whom they pierced" — shifting the grammatical object from first person to third person. The Masoretic Text says Jehovah is the one pierced; the NWT's rendering preserves the JW theology that Jehovah cannot suffer. Older NWT footnotes acknowledged the Hebrew "me" reading. Standard translations (BSB, NASB, ESV, KJV) all read "they will look on me whom they pierced".

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [When Was Jehovah Pierced?](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/zechariah12-pierced-yahweh.md) — Zechariah 12:10 / John 19:37 / Revelation 1:7 [Deity of Christ]
- ['The Trinity Is Pagan' — Genetic Fallacy And The Wrong Question](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-pagan-deflection.md) — Matthew 28:19 / 2 Corinthians 13:14 [Deity of Christ]
- [Every Title For Yahweh Is Given To Jesus](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/yahweh-titles-applied-to-jesus.md) — Isaiah 44:6 / Acts 4:12 / Romans 10:9 / Hosea 13:4 / Revelation 22:13 [Deity of Christ]