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
International Children’s Bible
Punishment on Israel’s Enemies
9 This message is the word of the Lord.
The message is against the land of Hadrach.
And it is against the city of Damascus.
The tribes of Israel and all people
belong to the Lord.
2 The Lord’s message is also against the city of Hamath, which is on the border of the land of Hadrach.
The Lord’s message is against Tyre and Sidon, with their skill.
3 Tyre has built a strong, walled city.
The people have piled up silver like dust.
They have as much gold as mud in the streets.
4 But the Lord will take away all she has.
He will destroy her power on the sea.
That city will be destroyed by fire.
5 The city of Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
The people of Gaza will shake with fear.
And the people of Ekron will lose hope.
No king will be left in Gaza.
And no one will live in Ashkelon anymore.
6 Foreigners will live in Ashdod.
And I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will stop them from drinking blood.
They will not eat any other forbidden food.
Those left alive will belong to God.
They will be leaders in Judah.
And Ekron will become part of my people like the Jebusites.
8 I will protect my Temple
from armies who come and go.
No one will hurt my people again
because now I am guarding it.
The King Is Coming
9 Rejoice, people of Jerusalem.
Shout for joy, people of Jerusalem.
Your king is coming to you.
He does what is right, and he saves.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey.
He is on the colt of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the horses from Jerusalem.
The bows used in war will be broken.
The king will talk to the nations about peace.
His kingdom will go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 My people, I made an agreement with you
and sealed it with the blood of sacrifices.
Because of this, I will set your prisoners free from captivity,
which is like a dry pit.
12 You prisoners who have hope,
return to your place of safety.
Today I am telling you
that I will give you back twice as much as before.
13 I will use Judah like a bow.
And Ephraim will be like the arrows.
Jerusalem, I will use your men
to fight the men of Greece.
I will make you like the sword of a warrior.
14 Then the Lord will appear to them.
He will shoot his arrows like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet.
And he will march in the storms of the south.
15 The Lord of heaven’s armies will protect them.
They will destroy the enemy with slingshots.
They will drink and shout like drunk men.
They will be filled like a bowl
used for sprinkling blood at the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them
as if his people were sheep.
They will shine in his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 They will be so pretty and beautiful.
The young men will grow strong on the grain.
And the young women will grow strong on new wine.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
