Zacharias 9

1 The burden of the word of the Lord, in the land of Sedrach, and his sacrifice [shall be] in Damascus; for the Lord looks upon men, and upon all the tribes of Israel.

A prophecy: A message from the Lord to the land of Hadrach, and Damascus its main objective. For the eyes of human beings together with all the tribes of Israel are on the Lord,

2 And in Emath, [even] in her coasts, [are] Tyre and Sidon, because they were very wise.

and Hamath too since it is close by. Also Tyre and Sidon for they are very wise.

3 And Tyrus built strong-holds for herself, and heaped up silver as dust, and gathered gold as the mire of the ways.

The people of Tyre built a fortress, and piled up silver like dust and gold like the dirt of the street.

4 And therefore the Lord will take them for a possession, and will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be consumed with fire.

But look at what will happen. The Lord will take away everything they have, and knock down their strong defenses into the sea. The city will be burned down.

5 Ascalon shall see, and fear; Gaza also, and shall be greatly pained, and Accaron; for she is ashamed at her trespass; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited.

The people of Ashkelon will see this and be terrified; those in Gaza will thrash around in agony like a woman giving birth; and the people of Ekron too, because their hopes are shattered. The king of Gaza will be killed, and Ashkelon will be deserted.

6 And aliens shall dwell in Azotus, and I will bring down the pride of the Philistines.

Mixed-race people will live in Ashdod, and I will wipe out the Philistine's pride.

7 And I will take their blood out of their mouth, and their abominations from between their teeth; and these also shall be left to our God, and they shall be as a captain of a thousand in Juda, and Accaron as a Jebusite.

I will remove the blood-filled meat from their mouths; the unclean food from their jaws. Those who remain will belong to our God—they shall become like a family of Judah—and those from Ekron will become part of my people, just as the Jebusites did.

8 And I will set up a defence for my house, that they may not pass through, nor turn back, neither shall there any more come upon them one to drive them away: for now have I seen with mine eyes.

I will make my camp in my Temple to guard it from invaders, and no oppressors will conquer them, for now I myself am keeping watch.

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; proclaim [it] aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, the King is coming to thee, just, and a Saviour; he is meek and riding on an ass, and a young foal.

Be happy and celebrate, people of Zion! Shout loudly, people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He does what is right and has salvation; he is humble, riding on a donkey—on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 And he shall destroy the chariots out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow of war shall be utterly destroyed; and [there shall be] abundance and peace out of the nations; and he shall rule over the waters as far as the sea, and the rivers [to] the ends of the earth.

(I will remove the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy the bows used in battle.) He will proclaim peace to the nations, and he will rule from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

11 And thou by the blood of thy covenant has sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit that has no water.

And as for you, because my agreement with you, sealed with blood, I will set you free from the waterless pit.

12 Ye shall dwell in strongholds, ye prisoners of the congregation: and for one day of thy captivity I will recompense thee double.

Return to the stronghold, you prisoners who have hope! Today I promise I will repay you double what you lost.

13 For I have bent thee, O Juda, for myself [as] a bow, I have filled Ephraim; and I will raise up thy children, O Sion, against the children of the Greeks, and I will handle thee as the sword of a warrior.

I will use Judah as my bow, and I will load it with Ephraim my arrow. I will call up you men of Zion to fight against you men of Greece, wielding you like a warrior's sword.

14 And the Lord shall be over them, and [his] arrow shall go forth as lightning: and the Lord Almighty shall blow with the trumpet; and shall proceed with the tumult of his threatening.

Then the Lord will appear over his people and his arrow will flash like lightning! The Lord God will blow the trumpet and march out like a windstorm from the south.

15 The Lord Almighty shall protect them, and they shall destroy them, and overwhelm them with sling-stones; and they shall swallow them down as wine, and fill the bowls as the altar.

The Lord Almighty will protect them. They will destroy their enemies, conquering them with slingshots. They will drink and shout loudly like people who are drunk. They will be filled like a bowl, soaked liked the corners of an altar.

16 And the Lord their God shall save them in that day, [even] his people as a flock; for holy stones are rolled upon his land.

On that day the Lord their God will save them—his people that are his flock—for they will glitter as crown jewels in his land.

17 For if he has anything good, and if he has anything fair, the young [men shall have] corn, and [there shall be] fragrant wine to the virgins.

How lovely and beautiful they will be! Young men will grow strong on grain, and young women flourish on the new wine.