Zechariah 9:1-10:12

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies 1A prophecy: The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrak and will come to rest on Damascus— for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD — Or Damascus. / For the eye of the Lord is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,

2and on Hamath too, which borders on it, and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.

3Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.

4But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.

5Ashkelon 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.

6A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.

7I 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 a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

8But I will encamp at my temple to guard it against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch.

The Coming of Zion’s King 9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses 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 That is, the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

11As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.

12Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

13I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.

The LORD Will Appear 14Then 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,

15and 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 Or bowl, / like the corners of the altar.

16The LORD their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. 17How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.

The LORD Will Care for Judah 1Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.

2The idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

3“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD Almighty will care for his flock, the people of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle.

4From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler.

5Together they Or ruler, all of them together. / 5 They will be like warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.

6“I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

7The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD .

8I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before.

9Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return.

10I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them.

11They will pass through the sea of trouble; the surging sea will be subdued and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. Assyria’s pride will be brought down and Egypt’s scepter will pass away. 12I will strengthen them in the LORD and in his name they will live securely,” declares the LORD .