Zechariah 9
King James Version
9 The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord.
2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
14 And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
Zechariah 9
Lexham English Bible
9 An oracle. The word of Yahweh is against the land of Hadrach,
and Damascus is its resting place.
For to Yahweh belongs the eye of humankind,[a]
and all the tribes of Israel,
2 and also Hamath, which borders on it;
Tyre and Sidon—yes, they are very wise![b]
3 Tyre has built a fortification for itself,[c]
and it heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the mud of the streets.
4 Look! The Lord will drive it[d] out
and will hurl its[e] outer ramparts into the sea,
and it[f] will be consumed by fire.
5 Ashkelon will see and will be afraid,
and Gaza will writhe exceedingly,
and Ekron also, because its hope is ruined.[g]
And the king from Gaza will perish,
and Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
6 A mongrel people[h] will dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut down the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will remove its[i] blood from its[j] mouth,
and its[k] abominations from between its[l] teeth.
And it[m] too will be a remnant for our God;
and it[n] will be like a tribal chief[o] in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusite.
8 But I will encamp at my temple[p] like a guard,
against those crossing through and returning;
no oppressor will cross through them again,
for now I have seen with my own eyes.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Look! Your king comes to you;
he is righteous and victorious,
humble and riding on a donkey,
and on a male donkey, the foal of[q] a female donkey!
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the battle bow will be cut down,
and he will announce peace to the nations.
His dominion will be from sea to sea,
and from the River[r] to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant,
I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.[s]
12 Return to the fortress,
O prisoners of hope;
today I am declaring that I will repay you double.
13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have set Ephraim as an arrow.
I will set in motion your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Javan.[t]
I will wield you like the sword of a warrior.
14 Then Yahweh will appear over them,
and his arrow will go forth like lightning;
and my Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet,
and he shall go out in the storm winds of the south.
15 Yahweh of hosts will defend them,
and they will devour and subdue the slingstones;[u]
they will drink, they will make noise[v] like wine,
and they will be full like the sacrificial basin,[w]
drenched like the corners of an altar.
16 And Yahweh their God will save them on that day,
as the flock of his people;
for they are like the stones of a diadem,
glittering on his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:1 “Eye of humankind” is difficult to understand in this context; some scholars emend the phrase to “cities of Aram” or “capital of Aram”
- Zechariah 9:2 That is, wise in their own eyes (ironic)
- Zechariah 9:3 Hebrew “her”
- Zechariah 9:4 Hebrew “her”
- Zechariah 9:4 Hebrew “her”
- Zechariah 9:4 Hebrew “she”
- Zechariah 9:5 Traditionally “ashamed”; some presuppose a different Hebrew form and translate “withered”
- Zechariah 9:6 That is, a people of mixed marriage; “half-breeds”
- Zechariah 9:7 Hebrew “his”
- Zechariah 9:7 Hebrew “his”
- Zechariah 9:7 Hebrew “his”
- Zechariah 9:7 Hebrew “his”
- Zechariah 9:7 Hebrew “he”
- Zechariah 9:7 Hebrew “he”
- Zechariah 9:7 This word is sometimes interpreted as “clan”
- Zechariah 9:8 Or “house”
- Zechariah 9:9 Literally “the son of ”
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 9:11 Literally “the cistern there is not water in him”
- Zechariah 9:13 That is, Greece
- Zechariah 9:15 Perhaps metonymy for the slingers of stones
- Zechariah 9:15 LXX reads “they will drink blood like wine”
- Zechariah 9:15 That is, the ceremonial bowl used by the priest for sprinkling blood
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