Zechariah 9

1 The burden of a word of Jehovah against the land of Hadrach, and Demmeseh — his place of rest: (When to Jehovah [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 doth border thereon, Tyre and Zidon, for — very wise!

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

3 And Tyre doth build a bulwark to herself, And doth heap 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 Lo, the Lord doth dispossess her, And He hath smitten in the sea her force, And she with fire is consumed.

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 See doth Ashkelon and fear, Also Gaza, and she is exceedingly pained, Also Ekron — for her expectation dried up, And perished hath a king from Gaza, And Ashkelon doth 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 dwelt hath a foreigner in Ashdod, And I have cut off the excellency 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 hath remained, even he, to our God, And he hath 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 for My house a camp, Because of the passer through, and of the returner, And pass not through against them again doth an exactor, 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, Lo, thy King doth come to thee, Righteous — and saved is He, Afflicted — and riding on an ass, And on a colt — a son of she-asses.

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, Yea, cut off hath been the bow of battle, And he hath spoken peace to nations, And his rule [is] from sea unto sea, And from the river unto the ends of 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 thou — by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent thy 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 Turn back to a fenced place, Ye prisoners of the hope, Even to-day a second announcer I restore to thee.

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 Me Judah, A bow I have filled [with] Ephraim, And I have stirred up thy sons, O Zion, Against thy sons, O Javan, And I have set thee 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 Jehovah doth appear for them, And gone forth as lightning hath His arrow, And the Lord Jehovah with a trumpet bloweth, And He hath 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 Jehovah of Hosts doth cover them over, And they consumed, and subdued sling-stones, Yea, 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 saved them hath Jehovah their God 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! Corn 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.