Zechariah 9

An Oracle Against the Nations

1An oracle.

The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach,
and Damascus is its resting place,
for the eye of humanity
and of all the tribes of Israel
is toward the LORD. 2Hamath also borders on it,
Tyre and Sidon,
though they are very wise. 3Tyre built herself a stronghold
and piled up silver like dust
and gold like the mud of the streets. 4Look, the Lord will dispossess her
and strike her wealth into the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.

5Ashkelon will see and be afraid;
Gaza will writhe greatly,
and Ekron also,
because her hope has withered.
The king will perish from Gaza,
and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited. 6A mixed people will dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7I will remove the blood from their mouths
and their abominations from between their teeth.
Those who remain will belong to our God;
they will become like a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusite. 8I will encamp around my house as a guard
against armies passing back and forth.
No oppressor will pass over them again,
for now I have seen with my own eyes.

Your King Comes to You

9Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion!
Shout, daughter Jerusalem!
Look, your king comes to you,
righteous and saved,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the battle bow will be cut off,
and he will speak peace to the nations.
His dominion will be from sea to sea
and from the River
to the ends of the earth.

Prisoners of Hope

11As for you,
because of the blood of your covenant,
I will release your prisoners
from the waterless pit. 12Return to the stronghold,
O prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
that I will restore double to you. 13For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have filled the bow with Ephraim.
I will stir up your children, O Zion,
against your children, O Greece,
and I will make you
like the sword of a warrior.

The LORD Will Save the Flock

14Then the LORD will appear over them,
and the LORD’s arrow will go out like lightning.
The Lord GOD will sound the trumpet
and advance in the whirlwinds of the south. 15The LORD of Hosts will protect them.
They will consume
and trample the sling stones;
they will drink and roar as with wine,
and they will be filled like a bowl,
drenched like the corners of the altar. 16The LORD their God will save them on that day,
as the flock of the LORD’s people;
for they will be like stones of a crown,
sparkling over the LORD’s land. 17For how great is the LORD’s goodness,
and how great the LORD’s beauty!
Grain will make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.