Zechariah 9

1 The burden of a word of YHWH against the land of Hadrach, and Demmeseh—his place of rest: (When to YHWH [is] the eye of man, And of 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 also Hamath borders thereon, Tyre and Sidon, for—very wise!

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

3 And Tyre builds a bulwark for herself, And heaps silver as dust, And gold as mire of out-places.

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

4 Behold, the Lord dispossesses her, And He has struck her force in the sea, And she is 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 Ashkelon sees and fears, Also Gaza, and she is exceedingly pained, Also Ekron—for her expectation dried up, And a king has perished from Gaza, And Ashkelon does not remain,

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 a foreigner has dwelt in Ashdod, And I have cut off the excellence of the Philistines.

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

7 And turned aside his blood from his mouth, His abominations from between his teeth, And he has remained, even he, to our God, And he has been as a leader in Judah, And Ekron 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 have pitched a camp for My house, Because of the passer through, and of the returner, And an exactor does not pass through against them again, For now, I have seen with My 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 exceedingly, O daughter of Zion, Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, Behold, your King comes to you, Righteous and having salvation, Afflicted—and riding on a donkey, And on a colt—a son of female donkeys.

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 I have cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem, Indeed, the bow of battle has been cut off, And He has spoken peace to nations, And His rule [is] from sea to sea, And from the river 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 Also You—by the blood of Your covenant, I have sent Your prisoners out of the pit, There is no water in it.

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

12 Return to a stronghold, You prisoners of the hope, Even today a second announcer I restore to you.

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

13 For I have trodden for Myself with Judah, I have filled a bow [with] Ephraim, And I have stirred up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Javan, And I have set you as the sword of a hero.”

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 YHWH appears for them, And His arrow has gone forth as lightning, And Lord YHWH blows with a horn, And He has gone with whirlwinds of the south.

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 YHWH of Hosts covers them over, And they consumed, and subdued sling-stones, Indeed, they have drunk, They have made a noise as wine, And they have been full as a bowl, As corners of an 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 their God YHWH has saved them in that day, As a flock of His people, For stones of a crown are displaying themselves over His ground.

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 what His goodness! And what His beauty! Grain the young men, And new wine the virgins—make fruitful!

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