Zechariah 9

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

An Oracle

¹ The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach
and will rest upon Damascus—
for the eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel
are on the LORD—^[a]

² and upon Hamath too, which borders on it,
and upon Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.

³ Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.

⁴ But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.

⁵ Ashkelon 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.

⁶ Foreigners will occupy Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

⁷ I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God
and become leaders in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

⁸ But I will defend my house
against marauding forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.

The Coming of Zion’s King

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king ^[b] comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹⁰ I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River ^[c] to the ends of the earth. ^[d]

¹¹ As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.

¹² Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

¹³ I will bend Judah as I bend my bow
and fill it with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Greece,
and make you like a warrior’s sword.

The LORD Will Appear

¹⁴ Then the LORD will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the south,

¹⁵ and the LORD Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.
They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling ^[e]the corners of the altar.

¹⁶ The LORD their God will save them on that day
as the flock of his people.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.

¹⁷ How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.

Zechariah 10

The LORD Will Care for Judah

¹ Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime;
it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds.
He gives showers of rain to men,
and plants of the field to everyone.

² The idols speak deceit,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

³ “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the LORD Almighty will care
for his flock, the house of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.

⁴ From Judah will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler.

⁵ Together they ^[f] will be like mighty men
trampling the muddy streets in battle.
Because the LORD is with them,
they will fight and overthrow the horsemen.

⁶ “I will strengthen the house of Judah
and save the house of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the LORD their God
and I will answer them.

⁷ The Ephraimites will become like mighty men,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

⁸ I will signal for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous as before.

⁹ Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.

¹⁰ I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,
and there will not be room enough for them.

¹¹ They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
Assyria’s pride will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.

¹² I will strengthen them in the LORD
and in his name they will walk,”
declares the LORD.