Zechariah 12:10

12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship ¹  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ²  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ³ 

Luke 7:12

7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man ⁴  who had died was being carried out, ⁵  the only son of his mother (who ⁶  was a widow ⁷ ), and a large crowd from the town ⁸  was with her.

Luke 8:42

8:42 because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. ⁹ 

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds pressed ¹⁰  around him.

Luke 9:38

9:38 Then ¹¹  a man from the crowd cried out, ¹²  “Teacher, I beg you to look at ¹³  my son – he is my only child!

[12:10]  ¹ tn Or “dynasty”; Heb “house.”

[12:10]  ² tc Because of the difficulty of the concept of the mortal piercing of God, the subject of this clause, and the shift of pronoun from “me” to “him” in the next, many mss read אַלֵי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ale ’et ’asher, “to the one whom,” a reading followed by NAB, NRSV) rather than the MT’s אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ela ’et ’asher, “to me whom”). The reasons for such alternatives, however, are clear – they are motivated by scribes who found such statements theologically objectionable – and they should be rejected in favor of the more difficult reading (lectio difficilior) of the MT.

[12:10]  ³ tn The Hebrew term בְּכוֹר (bÿkhor, “firstborn”), translated usually in the LXX by πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos), has unmistakable messianic overtones as the use of the Greek term in the NT to describe Jesus makes clear (cf. Col 1:15, 18). Thus, the idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. John 19:37; Rev 1:7). Note that some English translations supply “son” from the context (e.g., NIV, TEV, NLT).

[7:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[7:12]  ⁵ tn That is, carried out for burial. This was a funeral procession.

[7:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “and she.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) has been translated as a relative clause for the sake of English style.

[7:12]  ⁷ sn The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.

[7:12]  ⁸ tn Or “city.”

[8:42]  ⁹ tn This imperfect verb could be understood ingressively: “she was beginning to die” or “was approaching death.”

[8:42]  ¹⁰ sn Pressed is a very emphatic term – the crowds were pressing in so hard that one could hardly breathe (L&N 19.48).

[9:38]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the somewhat unexpected appearance of the man. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[9:38]  ¹² tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:38]  ¹³ tn This verb means “to have regard for”; see Luke 1:48.