Zechariah
9
- 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 --
- and upon Hamath too, which borders on it,
and upon Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.
- Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she
has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.
- But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.
- 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.
- Foreigners will occupy Ashdod, and I will
cut off the pride of the Philistines.
- 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.
- But I will defend my house against marauding
forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping
watch.
- Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout,
Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- 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 to the ends of the earth.
- As for you, because of the blood of my covenant
with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
- Return to your fortress, O prisoners of
hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
- 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.
- 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,
- 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 the corners
of the altar.
- 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.
- How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.
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