In his book Messianic Jewish Manifesto, David Stern points out a change in Matthew 24: 30 from Zechariah 12: 11, 12, of which it is a quote. This change appears in most versions. He blames the change on replacement theology, which states that the Jewish claim to the Land of Israel is no longer valid because the Mosaic Covenant was abolished with the coming of Yashua. I propose to examine this claim with reference to passages from various versions of the Bible.
A letter from Emperor Constantine to the churches of the Catholic Church at the time of the Council of Nice in A.D. 325 was very critical of the Jews and their faith. One sentence reads as follows: “Let us then have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews.” Although the specific point of interest was the celebration of Easter instead of Passover, Constantine seemed to oppose anything Jewish.
I shall quote nine versions in regard to Matthew 24: 30, as well as to Revelation 1: 7, both of which refer back to Zechariah 12: 10 and 12. The passage in Zechariah is quoted from those versions which include the Old Testament. The point for which to watch is who, in each passage, will mourn on the return of Yashua.
Versions Compared
- CJB – Complete Jewish Bible
- CLNT – Concordant Literal New Testament
- EBR – The Emphasized Bible
- IB – Interlinear Bible
- MSNT – The Modern Speech New Testament
- NET – New Evangelical Translation
- NIV – New International Version
- RSV – Revised Standard Version
- YLR – Young’s Literal Translation, Revised Edition
Zechariah 12: 11, 12
EBR – In that day will the wailing be great in Jerusalem,
As the wailing of Hadadrimmon, in the valley of Megiddon;
So shall the land wail,
Family by family, apart, – … .
IB – In that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be great, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, each family apart: … .
NIV – On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, … .
RSV – On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each clan by itself, … .
YLR – In that day, great is the mourning in Jerusalem,
As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon,
And mourned hath the land – every family … .
Matthew 24: 30
CJB – Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the Land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power and glory.
CLNT – And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Mankind in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land shall grieve, and they shall see the Son of Mankind on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory.
EBR – And then shall be displayed —
The sign of the Son of Man in heaven
And then will smite their breasts —
All the tribes of the earth;
And they will see the Son of Man —
Coming upon the clouds of heaven, with great power and glory.
IB – And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heavens. And then all of the land will wail. And they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory.
MSNT – Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in the sky; and THEN WILL ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH LAMENT (Zechariah xii. 12), when they see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY (Daniel vii. 13) with great power and glory.
Footnote: Nations of the earth] Or “tribes of the land.” Cp. Revelation i.7.
NET – Then the miraculous sign announcing the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the groups of people on earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky with power and great glory.
NIV – At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
RSV – …; then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; … .
YLR – …; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth smite the breast, and they shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of the heaven, with power and much glory; … .
Revelation 1: 7
CJB – Look! He is coming with the clouds!
Every eye will see him,
including those who pierced him;
and all the tribes of the Land will mourn him.
Footnote: Zechariah 12: 10, 12, 14.
CLNT – Lo! He is coming with clouds, and every eye shall be seeing Him – those, also, who stab Him – and all the tribes of the land shall be grieving over Him.
EBR – Lo! he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, such also as pierced him;
and all the tribes of the land shall smite themselves for him.
IB – Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and the ones who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him.
MSNT – He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and so will those who pierced Him; and all nations of the earth will gaze on Him and mourn.
Footnote: Nations of the earth] Or “the tribes of the land.” Cp. Matthew xxiv. 30.
NET – Look, He is coming in the clouds,
and every eye will see Him,
even the men who pierced Him,
and all the groups of people on earth will mourn because of Him.
Footnote: Literally, “all the tribes of the land.” Compare Mattthew 24: 30.
NIV – Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.
RSV – Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, everyone who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
YLR – Lo, he doth come with the clouds, and see him shall every eye, even those who did pierce him, and wail because of him shall all the tribes of the land.
