New King James Version

New Living Translation

Israel Defended Against Enemies

The [a]burden of the word of the Lord
Against the land of Hadrach,
And Damascus its resting place
(For the eyes of men
And all the tribes of Israel
Are on the Lord);

1

Judgment against Israel’s Enemies

This is the messagea from the LORD against the land of Aramb and the city of Damascus, for the eyes of humanity, including all the tribes of Israel, are on the LORD.

2

Also against Hamath, which borders on it,
And against Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.

2

Doom is certain for Hamath,
near Damascus,
and for the cities of Tyre and Sidon,
though they are so clever.

3

For Tyre built herself a tower,
Heaped up silver like the dust,
And gold like the mire of the streets.

3

Tyre has built a strong fortress
and has made silver and gold
as plentiful as dust in the streets!

4

Behold, the Lord will cast her out;
He will destroy her power in the sea,
And she will be devoured by fire.

4

But now the Lord will strip away Tyre’s possessions
and hurl its fortifications into the sea,
and it will be burned to the ground.

5

Ashkelon shall see it and fear;
Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;
And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation.
The king shall perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

5

The city of Ashkelon will see Tyre fall
and will be filled with fear.
Gaza will shake with terror,
as will Ekron, for their hopes will be dashed.
Gaza’s king will be killed,
and Ashkelon will be deserted.

6

“A[b] mixed race shall settle in Ashdod,
And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

6

Foreigners will occupy the city of Ashdod.
I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.

7

I will take away the blood from his mouth,
And the abominations from between his teeth.
But he who remains, even he shall be for our God,
And shall be like a leader in Judah,
And Ekron like a Jebusite.

7

I will grab the bloody meat from their mouths
and snatch the detestable sacrifices from their teeth.
Then the surviving Philistines will worship our God
and become like a clan in Judah.c
The Philistines of Ekron will join my people,
as the ancient Jebusites once did.

8

I will camp around My house
Because of the army,
Because of him who passes by and him who returns.
No more shall an oppressor pass through them,
For now I have seen with My eyes.

8

I will guard my Temple
and protect it from invading armies.
I am watching closely to ensure
that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.
Zion’s Coming King

9

The Coming King

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.

9

Rejoice, O people of Zion!d
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,e
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey —
riding on a donkey’s colt.

10

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

10

I will remove the battle chariots from Israelf
and the warhorses from Jerusalem.
I will destroy all the weapons used in battle,
and your king will bring peace to the nations.
His realm will stretch from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates Riverg to the ends of the earth.h

11

God Will Save His People

“As for you also,
Because of the blood of your covenant,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

11

Because of the covenant I made with you,
sealed with blood,
I will free your prisoners
from death in a waterless dungeon.

12

Return to the stronghold,
You prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore double to you.

12

Come back to the place of safety,
all you prisoners who still have hope!
I promise this very day
that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.

13

For I have bent Judah, My bow,
Fitted the bow with Ephraim,
And raised up your sons, O Zion,
Against your sons, O Greece,
And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”

13

Judah is my bow,
and Israel is my arrow.
Jerusalemi is my sword,
and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.j

14

Then the Lord will be seen over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And go with whirlwinds from the south.

14

The LORD will appear above his people;
his arrows will fly like lightning!
The Sovereign LORD will sound the ram’s horn
and attack like a whirlwind from the southern desert.

15

The Lord of hosts will defend them;
They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine;
They shall be filled with blood like [c]basins,
Like the corners of the altar.

15

The LORD of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people,
and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones.
They will shout in battle as though drunk with wine.
They will be filled with blood like a bowl,
drenched with blood like the corners of the altar.

16

The Lord their God will save them in that day,
As the flock of His people.
For they shall be like the [d]jewels of a crown,
Lifted like a banner over His land —

16

On that day the LORD their God will rescue his people,
just as a shepherd rescues his sheep.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.

17

For how great is [e]its goodness
And how great its beauty!
Grain shall make the young men thrive,
And new wine the young women.

17

How wonderful and beautiful they will be!
The young men will thrive on abundant grain,
and the young women will flourish on new wine.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Zechariah 9

Zechariah 9