Zechariah 9

1An oracle: the word of Yahweh is against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is its resting place; for the eye of man and of all the tribes of Israel is toward Yahweh.

2and also Hamath, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, because they are very wise.

3Tyre built herself a fortress, and piled up silver like dust, and gold like the mud of the streets.

4Behold, the Lord will dispossess her and strike her wealth into the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.

5Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza also will writhe greatly, and Ekron, because her hope has been put to shame. A king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

6A mixed people will dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

7I will remove his blood from his mouth and his detestable things from between his teeth. Then he too will be a remnant for our God; he will be like a clan leader in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusite.

8And I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none may pass to and fro, and no oppressor will pass over them again; for now I have seen with my own eyes.

9Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you—righteous and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a she-donkey.

10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations, and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

11As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I have sent out your prisoners from the pit in which there is no water.

12Return to the stronghold, 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 it with Ephraim. I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.

14Then Yahweh will appear over them, and his arrow will go out like lightning; and the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet and march in the whirlwinds of the south.

15The LORD of Armies will shield them, and they will devour and trample the sling stones; they will drink and roar as if with wine, and they will be filled like a bowl, like the corners of the altar.

16And Yahweh their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people, for they will sparkle like the stones of a crown over his land.

17For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.