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
New King James Version
Israel Defended Against Enemies
9 The [a]burden of the word of the Lord
Against the land of Hadrach,
And (A)Damascus its resting place
(For (B)the eyes of men
And all the tribes of Israel
Are on the Lord);
2 Also against (C)Hamath, which borders on it,
And against (D)Tyre and (E)Sidon, though they are very (F)wise.
3 For Tyre built herself a tower,
Heaped up silver like the dust,
And gold like the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, (G)the Lord will cast her out;
He will destroy (H)her power in the sea,
And she will be devoured by fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it and fear;
Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;
And (I)Ekron, for He dried up her expectation.
The king shall perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 “A[b] mixed race shall settle (J)in Ashdod,
And I will cut off the pride of the (K)Philistines.
7 I will take away the blood from his mouth,
And the abominations from between his teeth.
But he who remains, even he shall be for our God,
And shall be like a leader in Judah,
And Ekron like a Jebusite.
8 (L)I will camp around My house
Because of the army,
Because of him who passes by and him who returns.
No more shall an oppressor pass through them,
For now I have seen with My eyes.
The Coming King(M)
9 “Rejoice (N)greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, (O)your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I (P)will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The (Q)battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be (R)‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’
God Will Save His People
11 “As for you also,
Because of the blood of your covenant,
I will set your (S)prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to the stronghold,
(T)You prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore (U)double to you.
13 For I have bent Judah, My bow,
Fitted the bow with Ephraim,
And raised up your sons, O Zion,
Against your sons, O Greece,
And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”
14 Then the Lord will be seen over them,
And (V)His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And go (W)with whirlwinds from the south.
15 The Lord of hosts will (X)defend them;
They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine;
They shall be filled with blood like [c]basins,
Like the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will (Y)save them in that day,
As the flock of His people.
For (Z)they shall be like the [d]jewels of a crown,
(AA)Lifted like a banner over His land—
17 For (AB)how great is [e]its goodness
And how great its (AC)beauty!
(AD)Grain shall make the young men thrive,
And new wine the young women.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:1 oracle, prophecy
- Zechariah 9:6 Lit. An illegitimate one
- Zechariah 9:15 Sacrificial basins
- Zechariah 9:16 Lit. stones
- Zechariah 9:17 Lit. His
Zechariah 9
New American Standard Bible
Prophecies against Neighboring Nations
9 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach, with (A)Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord),
2 And (B)Hamath also, which borders on it;
(C)Tyre and (D)Sidon, [a]though [b]they are (E)very wise.
3 For Tyre built herself a (F)fortress,
And (G)piled up silver like dust,
And (H)gold like the mud of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will (I)dispossess her
And throw her wealth into the sea;
And she will be (J)consumed with fire.
5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
Gaza too will writhe in great pain;
Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined.
Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
6 And a people of mixed origins will live in (K)Ashdod,
And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will remove their blood from their mouth
And their detestable things from between their teeth.
Then they also will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a [c]clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
8 But I will camp around My house [d]because of an army,
Because of (L)him who passes by and returns;
And (M)no oppressor will pass over them anymore,
For now I have seen with My eyes.
9 (N)Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your (O)king is coming to you;
He is [e](P)righteous and (Q)endowed with salvation,
(R)Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a (S)colt, the [f]foal of a donkey.
10 And I will (T)eliminate the chariot from Ephraim
And the (U)horse from Jerusalem;
And the (V)bow of war will be eliminated.
And He will speak (W)peace to the nations;
And His (X)dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
Restoration of Judah and Ephraim
11 As for you also, because of the (Y)blood of My covenant with you,
I have set your (Z)prisoners free from the [g]waterless pit.
12 Return to the [h](AA)stronghold, you prisoners [i]who have the (AB)hope;
This very day I am declaring that I will restore (AC)double to you.
13 For I will (AD)bend Judah [j]as My bow,
I will fill the bow with Ephraim.
And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, (AE)Greece;
And I will make you like a (AF)warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear (AG)over them,
And His (AH)arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the Lord [k]God will blow the (AI)trumpet,
And march in the (AJ)storm winds of the south.
15 (AK)The Lord of armies will protect them.
And they will (AL)devour and trample on the (AM)slingstones;
And they will drink and be (AN)boisterous as with wine;
And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin,
Drenched like the (AO)corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God will (AP)save them on that day
As the flock of His people;
For they are like the precious stones of a (AQ)crown,
Sparkling on His land.
17 For how great will [l]their (AR)loveliness and (AS)beauty be!
Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:2 Or because
- Zechariah 9:2 I.e., they think they are
- Zechariah 9:7 Or chief
- Zechariah 9:8 Or as a garrison, so that none will go back and forth
- Zechariah 9:9 Or vindicated and victorious
- Zechariah 9:9 Lit son of a female donkey
- Zechariah 9:11 Lit cistern in which there is no water
- Zechariah 9:12 Or Stronghold
- Zechariah 9:12 Lit of the hope
- Zechariah 9:13 Lit for Me as a bow
- Zechariah 9:14 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Zechariah 9:17 Lit his
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
Zechariah 9
Modern English Version
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
9 An oracle of the word of the Lord that is against the land of Hadrak,
and Damascus is the place where it will rest.
For the eyes of men and the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord.
2 Also Hamath borders it,
even Tyre and Sidon, cities that are very wise.
3 Tyre has built a rampart for herself
and stored up silver like it were dust,
and even gold like it were mud in the streets.
4 The Lord will dispossess her of her possessions
and strike down her power in the sea,
and she will be devoured with fire.
5 Ashkelon will observe this and fear;
Gaza as well and will writhe in anguish;
even Ekron, her hope will be confounded.
The king of Gaza will perish,
and no one will inhabit Ashkelon.
6 A mongrel people will dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut down the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away the bloodshed from its mouth,
and the abominations from between its teeth.
Even it will be a remnant for our God.
It will be like a tribe of a clan in Judah,
and Ekron like the Jebusites.
8 Then I will make camp at My house with a garrison,
so that no one can pass back and forth.
And no oppressor will pass through them,
for now I see with My eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
And cry aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king is coming to you;
he is righteous and able to deliver,
he is humble and riding on a donkey,
a colt, the offspring of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the horse from Jerusalem;
and the bow for battle will be cut off.
He will speak peace to the nations;
and his dominion will be from one sea to another,
and from the Great River to the ends of the earth.
11 And as for you, because of the blood of your covenant,
I will send your prisoners from the empty, waterless pits.
12 Return to your stronghold, prisoners who now have hope.
Today I declare that I will return to you a double portion.
13 Because I have bent Judah as My bow
and fitted the bow with Ephraim.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Greece,
and will set you like the sword of a warrior.
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and His arrow will go out like lightning.
The Lord God will sound His trumpet,
and will march forth like storm winds of southern Teman.
15 The Lord of Hosts will protect them.
They will devour up
and subdue them with stone slingers.
And they will drink and make noise as with wine;
they will be filled with blood as a bowl,
saturated like the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will deliver them that day
like the flock of His people.
For like jewels embedded in a crown,
they will shine in His land.
17 For how great is His goodness, and how great His beauty!
There will be grain for the young men
and new wine to prosper the young women.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.