Zechariah 9

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9A prophecy:^y

The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak

and will come to rest on Damascus^z—

for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel

are on the Lord—^a

²and on Hamath^a too, which borders on it,

and on Tyre^b and Sidon,^c though they are very skillful.

³Tyre has built herself a stronghold;

she has heaped up silver like dust,

and gold like the dirt of the streets.^d

⁴But the Lord will take away her possessions

and destroy^e her power on the sea,

and she will be consumed by fire.^f

⁵Ashkelon^g will see it and fear;

Gaza will writhe in agony,

and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.

Gaza will lose her king

and Ashkelon will be deserted.

⁶A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,

and I will put an end^h to the pride of the Philistines.

⁷I will take the blood from their mouths,

the forbidden food from between their teeth.

Those who are left will belong to our Godⁱ

and become a clan in Judah,

and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.^j

⁸But I will encamp^k at my temple

to guard it against marauding forces.^l

Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,

for now I am keeping watch.^m

The Coming of Zion’s King

⁹Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!ⁿ

Shout,^o Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,^p

righteous and victorious,^q

lowly and riding on a donkey,^r

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.^s

¹⁰I will take away the chariots from Ephraim

and the warhorses from Jerusalem,

and the battle bow will be broken.^t

He will proclaim peace^u to the nations.

His rule will extend from sea to sea

and from the River^b to the ends of the earth.^v

¹¹As for you, because of the blood of my covenant^w with you,

I will free your prisoners^x from the waterless pit.^y

¹²Return to your fortress,^z you prisoners of hope;

even now I announce that I will restore twice^a as much to you.

¹³I will bend Judah as I bend my bow^b

and fill it with Ephraim.^c

I will rouse your sons, Zion,

against your sons, Greece,^d

and make you like a warrior’s sword.^e

The Lord Will Appear

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them;^f

his arrow will flash like lightning.^g

The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;^h

he will march in the stormsⁱ of the south,

¹⁵and the Lord Almighty will shield^j them.

They will destroy

and overcome with slingstones.^k

They will drink and roar as with wine;^l

they will be full like a bowl^m

used for sprinkling^c the cornersⁿ of the altar.

¹⁶The Lord their God will save his people on that day^o

as a shepherd saves his flock.

They will sparkle in his land

like jewels in a crown.^p

¹⁷How attractive and beautiful they will be!

Grain will make the young men thrive,

and new wine the young women.