THE JPS TANAKH-1917 (Hebrew Bible) is recognized as the most authoritative and preferred English translation of the Hebrew Bible according to The Jewish Publication Society. For almost a century this has been the prominent English version of the Hebrew Bible. In it Zechariah 13:6 reads, ” And one shall say unto him: ‘What are these wounds between thy hands?’ Then he shall answer: ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’”
- The King James reads:
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
- The Holman Christian Standard Bible reads:
If someone asks him: What are these wounds on your chest?—then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.
- The American Standard Bible reads:
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds between thine arms? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
- English Standard Version
And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
- Contemporary English Version
And if any of them are asked why they are wounded, they will answer, “It happened at the house of some friends.”
This verse and the context which comes with it, is a clear prophecy to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In fact the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus refers to Zechariah 13:7 when he says, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” (Matthew 26:31). This pointing to the crucifixion is clearly indicated in the Hebrew Tanakh (1917) and in the King James Version. However, as we can see with these few samples above, almost every modern translation fails to show the piercing of the hands. This is an important part of the gospel. So important that God mentions it more than in just this passage.
- “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” (Psalm 22:16).
- My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. (Job 30:17)
- 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. (Zechariah 12:10)
Is this not how the serpent beguiled Eve? By taking what God said and twisting it into something similar; but not the truth? Tell me again how it doesn’t matter what translation you are using. How they all say the same thing. Because these do not say the same thing. Were his wounds on his hands, his chest, somewhere between the arms, on his back, or just some unmentioned location (as in the CEV)? This removes one of the most important prophecies concerning the method in which the messiah would suffer.
I will stick with the King James Version.
The Way of Christ Ministries 