9 The Lord speaks against the land of Hadrach, and against the city of Damascus.
The Lord watches all men and all the groups of people in Israel.
2 The 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.
3 Tyre'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.
4 The 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.
5 The 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.
6 Foreign people will live in Ashdod city.
I will show the Philistines that they are not clever. They are not as clever as they believe.
7 I 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.
8 Then I will keep my house safe against my enemies.
No army will ever again beat my people,
because I am watching them.
9 Sing 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.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim, [ a ]
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.
11 But 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.
12 All 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.
13 I 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.
14 Then the Lord will appear above his people.
His arrows will be as fast as lightning in the sky.
The Lord God will make a loud sound with a trumpet.
He will march in a storm from the south to attack.
15 And the Lord Almighty will help his people.
They will throw great stones at their enemies.
When they go to war, they will shout loudly,
like men who have drunk too much wine.
They will be as full of joy as the priest's bowl is full of blood,
when he pours it on the altar.
16 On 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.
17 The 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.
9 This is the Lord ’s message against the land of Hadrach and against the city of Damascus. The tribes of Israel are not the only people who know about the Lord . Everyone looks to him for help. [ a ] 2 This message is also against the city of Hamath near Damascus. And this message is against Tyre and Sidon, even though those people have been so wise and skillful. 3 Tyre is built like a fort. The people there have collected so much silver that it is like dust, and gold is as common as clay. 4 But the Lord will take it all. He will destroy her powerful navy and that city will be destroyed by fire!
5 The people in Ashkelon will see this and they will be afraid. The people of Gaza will shake with fear, and the people of Ekron will lose all hope when they see this happen. There will be no king left in Gaza. No one will live in Ashkelon anymore. 6 The people in Ashdod will not even know who their real fathers are. The Lord says, “I will completely destroy the proud Philistines. 7 They will no longer eat meat with the blood still in it or any other forbidden food. Any Philistine left alive will become a part of my people; they will be just one more tribe in Judah. The people of Ekron will become a part of my people, as the Jebusites did. 8 I will protect my country. I will not let enemy armies pass through it. I will not let them hurt my people anymore. With my own eyes I have seen how much my people have suffered.”
9 People of Zion, [ b ] rejoice!
People of Jerusalem, shout with joy!
Look, your king is coming to you!
He is the good king who won the victory, but he is humble.
He is riding on a donkey, on a young donkey born from a work animal.
10 I will take the war chariots away from Ephraim
and the horse soldiers from Jerusalem.
I will destroy the bows used in war.
Your king will bring news of peace to the nations.
He will rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 Jerusalem, we used blood to seal your agreement,
so I am setting your people free from that empty hole in the ground. [ c ]
12 Prisoners, go home!
Now you have something to hope for.
I am telling you now,
I am coming back to you.
13 Judah, I will use you like a bow.
Ephraim, I will use you like arrows.
Israel, I will use you like a sword
to fight against the men of Greece.
14 The Lord will appear to them,
and he will shoot his arrows like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
and the army will rush forward like a desert dust storm.
15 The Lord All-Powerful will protect them.
The soldiers will use rocks and slings to defeat the enemy.
They will spill the blood of their enemies.
It will flow like wine.
It will be like the blood that is thrown on the corners of the altar!
16 At that time the Lord their God
will save his people
like a shepherd saves his sheep.
They will be very precious to him.
They will be like sparkling jewels in his land.
17 Everything will be good and beautiful!
There will be a wonderful crop,
but it will not be just the food and wine.
It will be all the young men and women!
9 The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord .
2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
14 And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
9 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach, with ( A ) Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord ),
2 And ( B ) Hamath also, which borders on it;
( C ) Tyre and ( D ) Sidon, [ a ] though [ b ] they are ( E ) very wise.
3 For Tyre built herself a ( F ) fortress,
And ( G ) piled up silver like dust,
And ( H ) gold like the mud of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will ( I ) dispossess her
And throw her wealth into the sea;
And she will be ( J ) consumed with fire.
5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
Gaza too will writhe in great pain;
Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined.
Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
6 And a people of mixed origins will live in ( K ) Ashdod,
And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will remove their blood from their mouth
And their detestable things from between their teeth.
Then they also will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a [ c ] clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
8 But I will camp around My house [ d ] because of an army,
Because of ( L ) him who passes by and returns;
And ( M ) no oppressor will pass over them anymore,
For now I have seen with My eyes.
9 ( N ) Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph , daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your ( O ) king is coming to you;
He is [ e ] ( P ) righteous and ( Q ) endowed with salvation,
( R ) Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a ( S ) colt, the [ f ] foal of a donkey.
10 And I will ( T ) eliminate the chariot from Ephraim
And the ( U ) horse from Jerusalem;
And the ( V ) bow of war will be eliminated.
And He will speak ( W ) peace to the nations;
And His ( X ) dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the ( Y ) blood of My covenant with you,
I have set your ( Z ) prisoners free from the [ g ] waterless pit.
12 Return to the [ h ] ( AA ) stronghold, you prisoners [ i ] who have the ( AB ) hope;
This very day I am declaring that I will restore ( AC ) double to you.
13 For I will ( AD ) bend Judah [ j ] as My bow,
I will fill the bow with Ephraim.
And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, ( AE ) Greece;
And I will make you like a ( AF ) warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear ( AG ) over them,
And His ( AH ) arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the Lord [ k ] God will blow the ( AI ) trumpet,
And march in the ( AJ ) storm winds of the south.
15 ( AK ) The Lord of armies will protect them.
And they will ( AL ) devour and trample on the ( AM ) slingstones;
And they will drink and be ( AN ) boisterous as with wine;
And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin,
Drenched like the ( AO ) corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God will ( AP ) save them on that day
As the flock of His people;
For they are like the precious stones of a ( AQ ) crown,
Sparkling on His land.
17 For how great will [ l ] their ( AR ) loveliness and ( AS ) beauty be !
Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.
9 A prophecy: ( A )
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus ( B ) —
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord — [ a ]
2 and on Hamath ( C ) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre ( D ) and Sidon, ( E ) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets. ( F )
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy ( G ) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire. ( H )
5 Ashkelon ( I ) 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.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end ( J ) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God ( K )
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. ( L )
8 But I will encamp ( M ) at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces. ( N )
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch. ( O )
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! ( P )
Shout, ( Q ) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you, ( R )
righteous and victorious, ( S )
lowly and riding on a donkey, ( T )
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ( U )
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken. ( V )
He will proclaim peace ( W ) to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River [ b ] to the ends of the earth. ( X )
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant ( Y ) with you,
I will free your prisoners ( Z ) from the waterless pit. ( AA )
12 Return to your fortress, ( AB ) you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice ( AC ) as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow ( AD )
and fill it with Ephraim. ( AE )
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece, ( AF )
and make you like a warrior’s sword. ( AG )
14 Then the Lord will appear over them; ( AH )
his arrow will flash like lightning. ( AI )
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; ( AJ )
he will march in the storms ( AK ) of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield ( AL ) them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones. ( AM )
They will drink and roar as with wine; ( AN )
they will be full like a bowl ( AO )
used for sprinkling [ c ] the corners ( AP ) of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day ( AQ )
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown. ( AR )
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
