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
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judgment of Zion’s Enemies
9 An Oracle
The word of the Lord
is against the land of Hadrach,
and Damascus(A) is its resting place—
for the eyes of men
and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord[a]—
2 and also against Hamath,(B) which borders it,
as well as Tyre(C) and Sidon,(D)
though they are very shrewd.
3 Tyre has built herself a fortress;
she has heaped up silver like dust
and gold like the dirt of the streets.
4 Listen! The Lord will impoverish her
and cast her wealth into the sea;
she herself will be consumed by fire.(E)
5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid;
Gaza too, and will writhe in great pain,
as will Ekron, for her hope will fail.
There will cease to be a king in Gaza,
and Ashkelon will become uninhabited.
6 A mongrel people will live in Ashdod,
and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.(F)
7 I will remove the blood from their mouths
and the detestable things(G)
from between their teeth.
Then they too will become a remnant for our God;
they will become like a clan in Judah
and Ekron like the Jebusites.(H)
8 I will set up camp at My house against an army,[b]
against those who march back and forth,
and no oppressor will march against them again,
for now I have seen with My own eyes.
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem!
Look, your King is coming to you;
He is righteous and victorious,[c]
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(I)
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the horse from Jerusalem.
The bow of war will be removed,
and He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion will extend from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
to the ends of the earth.(J)
11 As for you,
because of the blood of your covenant,(K)
I will release your prisoners
from the waterless cistern.(L)
12 Return to a stronghold,
you prisoners who have hope;
today I declare that I will restore double to you.(M)
13 For I will bend Judah as My bow;
I will fill that bow with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece.[d](N)
I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and His arrow will fly like lightning.
The Lord God will sound the trumpet
and advance with the southern storms.(O)
15 The Lord of Hosts will defend them.
They will consume and conquer with slingstones;
they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine.(P)
They will be as full as the sprinkling basin,(Q)
like those at the corners of the altar.(R)
16 The Lord their God will save them on that day
as the flock of His people;(S)
for they are like jewels in a crown,(T)
sparkling over His land.
17 How lovely and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men flourish,
and new wine, the young women.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:1 Or eyes of the Lord are on mankind—
- Zechariah 9:8 Or house as a guard
- Zechariah 9:9 Or and has salvation
- Zechariah 9:13 Lit Javan
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