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Zechariah 9-11
English Standard Version
Zechariah 9-11
English Standard Version
Judgment on Israel's Enemies
9 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
and (A)Damascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
and on all the tribes of Israel,[a]
2 (B)and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
(C)Tyre and (D)Sidon, though (E)they are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself (F)a rampart
and (G)heaped up silver like dust,
and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
and strike down (H)her power on the sea,
and (I)she shall be devoured by fire.
5 (J)Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 (K)a mixed people[b] shall dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away (L)its blood from its mouth,
and (M)its abominations from between its teeth;
(N)it too shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like (O)a clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then (P)I will encamp at my house as a guard,
(Q)so that none shall march to and fro;
(R)no oppressor shall again march over them,
(S)for now I see with my own eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 (T)Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
(U)Behold, (V)your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
(W)humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 (X)I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and (Y)the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and (Z)he shall speak peace to the nations;
(AA)his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from (AB)the River[c] to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of (AC)the blood of my covenant with you,
(AD)I will set your prisoners free from (AE)the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O (AF)prisoners of hope;
today I declare that (AG)I will restore to you double.
13 For (AH)I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, (AI)O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior's sword.
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and (AJ)his arrow will go forth like lightning;
(AK)the Lord God will sound the trumpet
and will march forth in (AL)the whirlwinds (AM)of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts (AN)will protect them,
and (AO)they shall devour, (AP)and tread down the sling stones,
and (AQ)they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
and be full like a bowl,
drenched (AR)like the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as (AS)the flock of his people;
for (AT)like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
17 (AU)For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
(AV)Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.
The Restoration for Judah and Israel
10 Ask rain (AW)from the Lord
in the season of (AX)the spring rain,
from the Lord (AY)who makes the storm clouds,
and (AZ)he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For (BA)the household gods (BB)utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
(BC)they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore (BD)the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
3 (BE)“My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and (BF)I will punish the leaders;[d]
for (BG)the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come (BH)the cornerstone,
from him (BI)the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—(BJ)all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
(BK)trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame (BL)the riders on horses.
6 (BM)“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and (BN)I will save the house of Joseph.
(BO)I will bring them back (BP)because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for (BQ)I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and (BR)their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 (BS)“I will whistle for them and (BT)gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and (BU)they shall be as many as they were before.
9 (BV)Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries (BW)they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
10 (BX)I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and (BY)I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
(BZ)till there is no room for them.
11 (CA)He shall pass through the sea of troubles
and strike down the waves of the sea,
(CB)and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and (CC)the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 (CD)I will make them strong in the Lord,
and (CE)they shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord.
The Flock Doomed to Slaughter
11 Open your doors, (CF)O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, (CG)oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!
3 The sound of (CH)the wail of (CI)the shepherds,
for their glory is ruined!
The sound of the roar of (CJ)the lions,
(CK)for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
4 Thus said the Lord my God: (CL)“Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 (CM)Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, (CN)I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For (CO)I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.”
7 (CP)So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named (CQ)Favor, the other I named (CR)Union. (CS)And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month (CT)I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. (CU)What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took (CV)my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages (CW)thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—(CX)the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the (CY)thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. 14 Then I broke (CZ)my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the equipment of (DA)a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd (DB)who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but (DC)devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
17 (DD)“Woe to my worthless shepherd,
(DE)who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and (DF)his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:1 Or For the eye of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, is toward the Lord
- Zechariah 9:6 Or a foreign people; Hebrew a bastard
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 10:3 Hebrew the male goats
Zechariah 9-11
New International Version
Zechariah 9-11
New International Version
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 A prophecy:(A)
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus(B)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord—[a]
2 and on Hamath(C) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(D) and Sidon,(E) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(F)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(G) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(H)
5 Ashkelon(I) will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end(J) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(K)
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(L)
8 But I will encamp(M) at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.(N)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.(O)
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!(P)
Shout,(Q) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,(R)
righteous and victorious,(S)
lowly and riding on a donkey,(T)
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(U)
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.(V)
He will proclaim peace(W) to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth.(X)
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant(Y) with you,
I will free your prisoners(Z) from the waterless pit.(AA)
12 Return to your fortress,(AB) you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice(AC) as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow(AD)
and fill it with Ephraim.(AE)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,(AF)
and make you like a warrior’s sword.(AG)
The Lord Will Appear
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;(AH)
his arrow will flash like lightning.(AI)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;(AJ)
he will march in the storms(AK) of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield(AL) them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.(AM)
They will drink and roar as with wine;(AN)
they will be full like a bowl(AO)
used for sprinkling[c] the corners(AP) of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day(AQ)
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.(AR)
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
The Lord Will Care for Judah
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(AS) to all people,
and plants of the field(AT) to everyone.
2 The idols(AU) speak deceitfully,
diviners(AV) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(AW) that are false,
they give comfort in vain.(AX)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(AY)
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;(AZ)
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.(BA)
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,(BB)
from him the tent peg,(BC)
from him the battle bow,(BD)
from him every ruler.
5 Together they[d] will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(BE)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(BF)
6 “I will strengthen(BG) Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion(BH) on them.(BI)
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer(BJ) them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(BK)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice(BL) in the Lord.
8 I will signal(BM) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous(BN) as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.(BO)
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.(BP)
I will bring them to Gilead(BQ) and Lebanon,
and there will not be room(BR) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(BS)
Assyria’s pride(BT) will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter(BU) will pass away.(BV)
12 I will strengthen(BW) them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,(BX)”
declares the Lord.
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,(BY)
so that fire(BZ) may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(CA) of Bashan;
the dense forest(CB) has been cut down!(CC)
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;(CD)
the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!(CE)
Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(CF) 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.(CG) 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors(CH) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(CI)
7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(CJ) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.
The flock detested(CK) me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(CL) Let those who are left eat(CM) one another’s flesh.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor(CN) and broke it, revoking(CO) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.
12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.(CP)
13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver(CQ) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(CR)
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:1 Or Damascus. / For the eye of the Lord is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 9:15 Or bowl, / like
- Zechariah 10:5 Or ruler, all of them together. / 5 They
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.