Zechariah 9:8-17

New Living Translation

⁸I will guard my Temple
and protect it from invading armies.
I am watching closely to ensure
that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.

Zion’s Coming King

⁹Rejoice, O people of Zion!^[a]
    Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
    He is righteous and victorious,^[b]
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
    riding on a donkey’s colt.
¹⁰I will remove the battle chariots from Israel^[c]
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem.
I will destroy all the weapons used in battle,
    and your king will bring peace to the nations.
His realm will stretch from sea to sea
    and from the Euphrates River^[d] to the ends of the earth.^[e]
¹¹Because of the covenant I made with you,
    sealed with blood,
I will free your prisoners
    from death in a waterless dungeon.
¹²Come back to the place of safety,
    all you prisoners who still have hope!
I promise this very day
    that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.
¹³Judah is my bow,
    and Israel is my arrow.
Jerusalem^[f] is my sword,
    and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.^[g]

¹⁴The Lord will appear above his people;
    his arrows will fly like lightning!
The Sovereign Lord will sound the ram’s horn
    and attack like a whirlwind from the southern desert.
¹⁵The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people,
    and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones.
They will shout in battle as though drunk with wine.
    They will be filled with blood like a bowl,
    drenched with blood like the corners of the altar.
¹⁶On that day the Lord their God will rescue his people,
    just as a shepherd rescues his sheep.
They will sparkle in his land
    like jewels in a crown.
¹⁷How wonderful and beautiful they will be!
    The young men will thrive on abundant grain,
    and the young women will flourish on new wine.

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Footnotes

9:9a Hebrew O daughter of Zion!
9:9b Hebrew and is being vindicated.
9:10a Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 9:13.
9:10b Hebrew the river.
9:10c Or the end of the land.
9:13a Hebrew Zion.
9:13b Hebrew the sons of Javan.