Zechariah 12:11
in Zechariah 12On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
KJV
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
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This verse in Zechariah 12
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Verse 11, 12.) On that day there will be great lamentation in Jerusalem, like the lamentation of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land will mourn, family by family: the families of the house of David separately, and their women separately (for the Hebrew word Nese, that is, γυναῖκες, signifies both). The families of the house of Nathan separately, and their women separately. The families of the house of Levi separately, and their women separately. The families of the house of Shimei separately, and their women separately. All the remaining families, each family separately, and their women separately.
This site's exposition
the mourning of Hadadrimmon
on Zechariah 12:11-14
The mourning to come is measured against the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, which the commentators tie to the national grief over King Josiah's death there (2 Chronicles 35:22-25), a known depth of sorrow used to measure an even greater one. The land mourns family by family and apart, David's house, Nathan's house, Levi's house, and Shimei's house each named on its own, with every remaining family following the same pattern. Henry and Pusey read the private, household grief, husbands and wives mourning apart from each other, as marking a repentance too deep and too personal for a single public ceremony to hold.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem,.... Great numbers being awakened, convinced, and converted, and brought to true repentance: as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. Lightfoot (i) thinks the prophet alludes to the two great and general lamentations of Israel; the one about the rock Rimmon, where a whole tribe was come to four hundred (it should be six hundred) men, Jdg 20:47 and may be rendered, "the sad shout of Rimmon"; and the other in the valley of Megiddo, for the death of Josiah.
), and perhaps the greater because they were told that it was their sin that provoked God to deprive them of so great a blessing; therefore they cried out, The crown has fallen from our head. Woe unto us, for we have sinned! Christ is our King; our sins were his death, and, for that reason, ought to be our grief.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
In that day - When the Jews shall mourn for their sins, and for that great sin, crucifying the Lord of glory. A great mourning - A mourning exprest by the greatest the Jews ever were acquainted with, and which for its greatness grew into a proverb.
These promises were of use then to the pious Jews that lived in the troublous times under Antiochus, and other persecutors and oppressors; and they are still to be improved in every age for the directing of our prayers and the encouraging of our hopes with reference to the gospel-church.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon - This was the greatest sorrow, which had fallen on Judah. Josiah was the last hope of its declining kingdom. His sons probably showed already their unlikeness to their father, whereby they precipitated their country’s fall. in Josiah’s death the last gleam of the sunset of Judah faded into night.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Hadad-rimmon--a place or city in the great plain of Esdraelon, the battlefield of many a conflict, near Megiddo; called so from the Syrian idol Rimmon. Hadad also was the name of the sun, a chief god of the Syrians [MACROBIUS, Saturnalia, 1.23].
HARDNESS of heart is a great and grievous evil. It exists not only in the outside world, but in many who frequent the courts of the Lord's House. Beneath the robes of religion many carry a heart of stone. It is more than possible to come to Baptism and the sacred Supper, to come constantly to the hearing of the Word and even, as a matter of form, to attend to private religious duties—and yet still have an unrenewed heart—a heart within which no spiritual life palpitates and no spiritual feeling exists. Nothing good can come out of a stony heart—it is barren as a rock. To be unfeeling is to be unfruitful. Prayer without desire; praise without emotion; preaching without earnestness—what are all these? Like the marble images of life, they are cold and dead! Insensibility is a deadly sign. Frequently it is the next stage to destruction. Pharaoh's hard heart was a prophecy that his pride would meet a terrible overthrow. The hammer of vengeance is not far off when the heart becomes harder than an adamant stone. Many and great are the advantages connected with softness of spirit. Tenderness of heart is one of the marks of a gracious person. Spiritual sensibility puts life and feeling into all Christian duties. He that prays feelingly, prays, indeed. He that praises God with humble gratitude, praises Him most acceptably and he that preaches with a loving heart has the essentials of true eloquence. An inward, living tenderness, which trembles at God's Word, is of great price in the sight of God. You are in this matter agreed with me—at least I know that some of you are thoroughly thus minded, for you are longing to be made tender and contrite. Certain of you who are truly softened by Divine Grace are very prone to accuse yourselves of being stony-hearted. We are poor judges of our own condition and in this matter many make mistakes.
HARDNESS of heart is a great and grievous evil. It exists not only in the outside world, but in many who frequent the courts of the Lord's House. Beneath the robes of religion many carry a heart of stone. It is more than possible to come to Baptism and the sacred Supper, to come constantly to the hearing of the Word and even, as a matter of form, to attend to private religious duties—and yet still have an unrenewed heart—a heart within which no spiritual life palpitates and no spiritual feeling exists.
A great mourning - A universal repentance. As the mourning of Hadadrimmon - They shall mourn as deeply for the crucified Christ as their forefathers did for the death of Josiah, who was slain at Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. See 2Ch 35:24, 2Ch 35:25.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon Hadadrimmon has no connection to the Valley of Megiddon. These are, rather, two cases of mourning.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
a spirit of grace and supplications That it should come into their mind to supplicate Me, and they will be in My good graces.
the house of Nathan the prophet. Some say that it refers to Nathan the son of David, as it is said (II Sam.:14): “Shammua and Shobab, and Nathan and Solomon.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִגְדַּ֤ל | yigdal | it will be great | H1431 → | |
| הַמִּסְפֵּד֙ | hamisped | the mourning | H4553 → | 16 times |
| בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| כְּמִסְפַּ֥ד | kemispad | like [the] mourning of | H4553 → | 16 times |
| הֲדַדְ־ | hadad- | Hadad- | H1910 → | |
| רִמּ֖וֹן | rimon | Rimmon | H1910 → | |
| בְּבִקְעַ֥ת | bevikat | in [the] plain of | H1237 → | |
| מְגִדּֽוֹן׃ | megidon | Megiddo | H4023 → |
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יִגְדַּ֤לit will be great
yigdalH1431 →
הַמִּסְפֵּד֙the mourning
hamispedH4553 →16 times
בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
כְּמִסְפַּ֥דlike [the] mourning of
kemispadH4553 →16 times
הֲדַדְ־Hadad-
hadad-H1910 →
רִמּ֖וֹןRimmon
rimonH1910 →
בְּבִקְעַ֥תin [the] plain of
bevikatH1237 →
מְגִדּֽוֹן׃Megiddo
megidonH4023 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 23:29At the end of Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:2
concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of…
- 2 Chronicles 35:20–24
After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.
- Judges 5:19
Kings came and fought; then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no plunder of silver.
- Judges 1:27
At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
- 1 Kings 4:12
Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
- Jeremiah 46:2
Through
2 Chronicles 35:24So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:30
From Megiddo his servants carried his body in a chariot, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him,…
- Ecclesiastes 8:14
There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of…
- Ecclesiastes 9:1–2
So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or…
- 2 Kings 23:30
Where this verse is studied
About Zechariah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1983: “How Hearts Are Softened” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.