At Zechariah 12:10 the Masoretic Hebrew reads אֵלַי (’elay), “to me”, but the New World Translation renders “they will look to the one whom they pierced”. The New Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible also avoid “me” here, so the rendering is not peculiar to the New World Translation.
Claim ID claim-bible-zech-12-10-meConcerns 2013Context
The organisation’s position or later explanation: No study note or footnote on this rendering was found in either the 2013 or the 1984 edition on the Watchtower Online Library.
2013 · Zechariah 12:10 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“and they will look to the one whom they pierced, and they will wail over him as they would wail over an only son”
The speaker throughout the verse is Jehovah ('I will pour out'), but the object of 'look to' is rendered 'the one', not 'me'. The 1984 Reference Bible read 'they will certainly look to the One whom they pierced through'.
“וְהִבִּ֥יטוּ wə-hib-bî-ṭū | and they will look | Conj-w | V-Hifil-ConjPerf-3cp; אֵלַ֖י ’ê-lay | on Me | Prep | 1cs; אֵ֣ת ’êṯ | - | DirObjM; אֲשֶׁר־ ’ă-šer- | whom | Pro-r; דָּקָ֑רוּ dā-qā-rū | they have pierced | V-Qal-Perf-3cp”
The Masoretic Text reads אֵלַי ('elay), 'to me' — a preposition with a first-person singular suffix. A number of Hebrew manuscripts read אֵלָיו ('elav), 'to him', and translations differ accordingly.
Provenance and verification note for Bible Hub Hebrew text analysis, Zechariah 12:10, word-by-word Hebrew with morphology
Confidence note. Word-by-word Hebrew analysis page opened on 19 September 2026 and the morphology read directly. The existence of the 'elav variant in some Hebrew manuscripts is inferred from the divergence among the translations listed on the parallel page and from the wording of the New Revised Standard Version and New American Bible; I did not consult a Hebrew critical apparatus, so that point is recorded as unverified in the claim.
19 September 2026 · Bible Hub (reproducing the named copyright translations)
“'Me': New International Version “They will look on me, the one they have pierced”; King James Bible “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced”; New American Standard Bible “they will look at Me whom they pierced”; JPS Tanakh 1917 “And they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through”. 'Him' or 'the one': New Revised Standard Version “when they look on the one whom they have pierced”; New American Bible “when they look on him whom they have thrust through”.”
The New World Translation's 'the one' matches the New Revised Standard Version almost word for word; the New American Bible reads 'him'. This is a textual crux in the Hebrew, not a rendering peculiar to the NWT.
Notes. This quote field compiles renderings quoted separately from one Bible Hub parallel page; it is not a continuous passage. Each rendering was checked word for word against the page, which carries over forty versions.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-nwtv-bh-zech-12-10
2013 · John 19:37 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“And again, a different scripture says: “They will look to the one whom they pierced.””
John's quotation of Zechariah 12:10, rendered consistently with the NWT's Zechariah. The Kingdom Interlinear's line for the same verse reads: 'Ὄψονται They will see εἰς into ὃν whom ἐξεκέντησαν. they pierced.' — the Greek of John does not contain a word for 'me' either.
Provenance and verification note for New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), John 19:37
Confidence note. Both the nwtsty John 19 page and the Kingdom Interlinear John 19 page opened on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026 and the verse read in each.
Notes. Because the Greek of John 19:37 itself has no 'me', the NWT's rendering here is uncontroversial; the question is confined to the Hebrew of Zechariah.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-nwtv-nwt2013-john-19-37
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