Zechariah 9
God speaks against Israel‘s enemies
1The LORD speaks against the country called Hadrach and against Damascus city. The LORD watches all men and all the groups of people in Israel. 2The LORD speaks against the country called Hamath. (It is next to the country called Hadrach.) The people in Tyre and Sidon cities are very wise. But the LORD also speaks against them. 3Tyre’s people have built strong walls to keep enemies out. They have swept up rich metals like dirt. They have swept up gold like dirt in the streets. 4The Lord will take away all the things that Tyre’s people have. And he will remove their ships from the sea. Fire will burn every part of the city. 5The people in Ashkelon city will see it and they will be afraid. The people in Gaza city will see it and they will be afraid. The things that the people in Ekron city hope for will not happen. The king of Gaza will die and there will be no people in Ashkelon any longer. 6Foreign people will live in Ashdod city. I will show the Philistines that they are not clever. They are not as clever as they believe. 7I will take the blood from their mouths. I will take the food from their teeth, because it is bad food. Those that remain will still be my people. They will become leaders in Judah. Ekron will be like a part of Judah, as the Jebusites were. 8Then I will keep my house safe against my enemies. No army will ever again beat my people, because I am watching them.The King of Zion comes
9Sing loudly, people in Zion. Shout, people in Jerusalem. Look! Your king comes to you. He will save you because he does everything well. But he is quiet and he is riding on a donkey. He will ride on a young animal. Its mother is a donkey. 10I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the horses of war from Jerusalem. The bows of war will be broken. He will speak to all the countries and wars will finish. He will rule from sea to sea. He will rule from the river Euphrates to the ends of the earth. 11But I made a promise to you. I made that promise true with blood. I will free your people that are in a prison, in deep dark holes without water. 12All you people who hoped to see your own country again, return to Jerusalem. I tell you this now: I will give back to you twice as much as you have lost. 13I will use Judah and Israel to attack my enemies. I will use you, men from Zion, to attack the men from Greece. I will make you like the long metal knife of a soldier.The LORD will appear
14Then the LORD will appear over them. His arrow will be like the bright light in the sky that you see during a storm. The LORD God will make a great sound. He will march in the storms from the south. 15And the LORD Almighty will watch over them. They will beat the stones that their enemies throw at them. When they go to war, they will shout. They will shout like men who have drunk too much wine. They will be as full of joy as the dish is full. This is the dish filled with the blood of animals in the house of God. The priest pours it on the altar. 16On that day, the LORD will save them. They are his people. They will shine in his country like beautiful stones that shine in a crown. 17The people will be beautiful and good. The young people will become strong when they eat good bread. The young women will become strong when they drink new wine.
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