Zechariah

“The word of Jehovah is against the land of Haʹdrach,

And Damascus is its target*+

—For Jehovah’s eye is on mankind+

And on all the tribes of Israel—

 2 And against Haʹmath,+ which borders on her,

And against Tyre+ and Siʹdon,+ for they are so wise.+

She piled up silver like dust

And gold like the dirt of the streets.+

 4 Look! Jehovah will take away her possessions,

And he will strike down her army into the sea;*+

And she will be consumed in the fire.+

 5 Ashʹke·lon will see it and be afraid;

Gazʹa will feel great anguish,

Also Ekʹron, because her hope is put to shame.

A king will perish from Gazʹa,

And Ashʹke·lon will not be inhabited.+

 6 An illegitimate son will settle in Ashʹdod,

And I will do away with the pride of the Phi·lisʹtine.+

 7 I will remove the bloodstained things from his mouth

And the disgusting things from between his teeth,

And he will be left remaining for our God;

And he will become like a sheikh* in Judah,+

And Ekʹron like the Jebʹu·site.+

 8 I will encamp as a guard* for my house,+

So that there will be no one passing through and no one returning;

And no taskmaster* will pass through again,+

For now I have seen it* with my eyes.

He is righteous, bringing salvation,*

Humble+ and riding on a donkey,

On a colt,* the foal of a female donkey.+

10 I will take away the war chariot from Eʹphra·im

And the horse from Jerusalem.

And he will proclaim peace to the nations;+

His rulership will be from sea to sea

And from the River* to the ends of the earth.+

11 As for you, O woman, by the blood of your covenant,

I will send your prisoners out of the waterless pit.+

Today I am telling you,

‘I will repay to you, O woman, a double portion.+

The bow I will fill with Eʹphra·im,*

And I will awaken your sons, O Zion,

Against your sons, O Greece,

And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.’

14 Jehovah will be seen over them,

And his arrow will go out like lightning.

The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will sound the horn,+

And he will advance with the windstorms of the south.

15 Jehovah of armies will defend them,

And they will devour and subdue the slingstones.+

They will drink and be boisterous, as if with wine;

And they will be filled like the bowl,

Like the corners of the altar.+

16 Jehovah their God will save them in that day

As the flock of his people;+

For they will be like the gemstones of a crown* glittering over his soil.+

17 For how great his goodness is,+

And how great his handsomeness is!

Grain will make the young men thrive,

And new wine the virgins.”+