The word of the Lord
    is against the land of Hadrach,
    and it will come to rest upon Damascus.
For the cities of Aaron belong to the Lord,
    as do all the tribes of Israel,
² as well as Hamath also,
    which borders on it,
and on Tyre and Sidon,
    even though they are very wise.
³ Tyre has built a stronghold for itself
    and heaped up silver like dust
    and gold like the dirt of the streets.
⁴ But the Lord will strip it of its possessions
    and destroy its power on the sea,
    and the city itself will be consumed by fire.
⁵ Ashkelon will witness this and be terrified,
    as will Gaza who will writhe in anguish;
the same will be true of Ekron
    whose hopes will come to naught.
The king will vanish from Gaza,
    and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
⁶ Foreigners will settle in Ashdod,
    and I will demolish the pride of the Philistines.
⁷ I will snatch the bloody meat from their mouths
    and their abominations from between their teeth.
They, too, will be a remnant belonging to our God;
    they will be like a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron will become like the Jebusites.^[d]
8 I will stand guard at my house
    so that no one may pass by unchallenged.
No oppressor will ever again overrun them,
    for now I am determined to protect them.

⁹ Rejoice with all your heart, O daughter Zion.
    Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem.
See, your king is coming to you,
    triumphant and victorious,
humble and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰ He will banish the chariot from Ephraim
    and the horses of war from Jerusalem.
The warrior’s bow will be banished,
    and he will proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion will be from sea to sea,
    and from the river to the ends of the earth.

¹¹ As for you,
    because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set free your prisoners
    from the waterless dungeon.
¹² Return to the fortress,
    you prisoners who have waited in hope.
This very day I promise
    that I will reward you twofold.
¹³ For I have strung Judah as my bow
    and made Ephraim its arrow.
I have roused your sons, O Zion,
    and have made you like a warrior’s sword
    against your sons, O Javan.
¹⁴ Then the Lord will appear over them,
    and his arrow will flash forth like lightning.
The Lord God will sound the trumpet
    and march forth in the stormwinds of the south.
¹⁵ The Lord of hosts will protect them,
    and they will overcome
    as they trample underfoot the slingstones.
They will drink blood like wine,
    filled to the brim like a bowl,
    drenched like the corners of the altar.
¹⁶ The Lord, their God, will save them on that day,
    for they are his flock, his own people.
Like the precious stones of a crown
    they will sparkle throughout his land.
¹⁷ What wealth and what beauty will be theirs,
    with grain to make the young men flourish
    and with new wine for the maidens!