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Punishment on Israel’s Enemies

9 This message is the word of the Lord.

The message is against the land of Hadrach

and the city of Damascus.

The tribes of Israel and all people

belong to the Lord.

The message is also against the city of Hamath, on the border,

and against Tyre and Sidon, with their skill.

Tyre has built a strong wall for herself.

She has piled up silver like dust

and gold like the mud in the streets.

But the Lord will take away all she has

and destroy her power on the sea.

That city will be destroyed by fire.

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.

Foreigners will live in Ashdod,

and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.

I will stop them from drinking blood

and from eating forbidden food.

Those left alive will belong to God.

They will be leaders in Judah,

and Ekron will become like the Jebusites.

I will protect my Temple

from armies who would come or go.

No one will hurt my people again,

because now I am watching them.

The King Is Coming

Rejoice greatly, 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,

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  As for you, because of the blood of the agreement with you

I will set your prisoners free from the waterless 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 like the arrows.

Jerusalem, I will use your men

to fight the men of Greece.

I will use you like a warrior’s sword.

14  Then the Lord will appear above them,

and his arrows will shoot like lightning.

The Lord God will blow the trumpet,

and he will march in the storms of the south.

15  The Lord All-Powerful will protect them;

they will destroy the enemy with slingshots.

They will drink and shout like drunks.

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 on new wine.

NCV

About New Century Version

The New Century Version is one of the easiest translations of the Bible to understand. It accurately communicates the messages found in the original languages of biblical manuscripts, using the kind of terms you use every day. It uses contemporary language with down-to-earth vocabulary. The end result is a fresh, straightforward, and strong translations of God’s truth; and it is something you can connect with in your daily life. You’ll find it easier to experience God's Word as it truly is—absolutely clear, powerfully alive, and completely life-changing.

Copyright

Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

The Publisher is pleased herely to grant permission for the New Century Version to be quoted or reprinted without prior written permission with the following qualifications: (1) up to and including one thousand (1,000) verses may be quoted, except: (a) the verses being quoted may not comprise as much as 50 percent of the work in which they are quoted. and/or (b) the verses quoted may not comprise an entire book of the Bible when quoted; (2) all NCV quotations must conform accurately to the NCV text.

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“Scriptures quoted from The Holy Bible: New Century Version®, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.”

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