Limitless Word
The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
Zechariah 12:13 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
  • BSB the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,
  • NKJV the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves;
  • NASB the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;
  • NLT the clan of Levi, and the clan of Shimei.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The mourning continues family by family, naming the house of Levi and the Shimeites, each grieving apart. It matters because it confirms that repentance reaches every segment of the people, including the priestly line.

Overview

Alongside the royal families, the priestly house of Levi and the family of Shimei mourn separately, showing that no group—rulers or priests—is exempt from the need to repent. The repeated 'apart' stresses the individual, unfeigned character of the grief. The inclusion of the priesthood underscores that even religious leaders must mourn over sin and the pierced One.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • 1 Chr 3:19And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister:
  • 2 Chr 29:14And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.
  • Num 3:1–4These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
  • 1 Chr 4:27And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah.
  • 2 Sam 16:5And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
  • Exod 6:16–26And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.
  • 1 Kgs 1:8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
  • 1 Chr 23:10And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.
  • Mal 2:4–9And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
  • 1 Chr 23:7Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Zechariah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Zechariah 12:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ZechariahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.

How Zechariah 12:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.