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
EasyEnglish Bible
God speaks against Israel's enemies
9 The Lord speaks against the land of Hadrach, and against the city of Damascus.
The Lord watches all men and all the groups of people in Israel.
2 The Lord speaks against the country called Hamath. (It is next to the country called Hadrach.) The people in Tyre and Sidon cities are very wise. But the Lord also speaks against them.
3 Tyre's people have built strong walls to keep enemies out.
They have swept up rich metals like dirt.
They have swept up gold like dirt in the streets.
4 The Lord will take away all the things that Tyre's people have.
And he will remove their ships from the sea.
Fire will burn every part of the city.
5 The people in Ashkelon city will see it and they will be afraid.
The people in Gaza city will see it and they will be afraid.
The things that the people in Ekron city hope for will not happen.
The king of Gaza will die
and there will be no people in Ashkelon any longer.
6 Foreign people will live in Ashdod city.
I will show the Philistines that they are not clever. They are not as clever as they believe.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths.
I will take the food from their teeth, because it is bad food.
Those that remain will still be my people.
They will become leaders in Judah.
Ekron will be like a part of Judah, as the Jebusites were.
8 Then I will keep my house safe against my enemies.
No army will ever again beat my people,
because I am watching them.
The king of Zion comes
9 Sing loudly, people in Zion.
Shout, people in Jerusalem.
Look! Your king comes to you.
He will save you because he does everything well.
But he is quiet and he is riding on a donkey.
He will ride on a young animal. Its mother is a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim,[a]
and the horses of war from Jerusalem.
The bows of war will be broken.
He will speak to all the countries and wars will finish.
He will rule from sea to sea. He will rule from the river Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
11 But I made a promise to you. I made that promise true with blood. I will free your people that are in a prison, in deep dark holes without water.
12 All you people who hoped to see your own country again, return to Jerusalem.
I tell you this now: I will give back to you twice as much as you have lost.
13 I will use Judah and Israel to attack my enemies.
I will use you, men from Zion, to attack the men from Greece.
I will make you like the long metal knife of a soldier.
The Lord will appear
14 Then the Lord will appear above his people.
His arrows will be as fast as lightning in the sky.
The Lord God will make a loud sound with a trumpet.
He will march in a storm from the south to attack.
15 And the Lord Almighty will help his people.
They will throw great stones at their enemies.
When they go to war, they will shout loudly,
like men who have drunk too much wine.
They will be as full of joy as the priest's bowl is full of blood,
when he pours it on the altar.
16 On that day, the Lord will save them.
They are his people.
They will shine in his country
like beautiful stones that shine in a crown.
17 The people will be beautiful and good.
The young people will become strong
when they eat good bread.
The young women will become strong
when they drink new wine.
Footnotes
- 9:10 Ephraim was the name that people used for the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
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
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
