Prophecies against Israel’s Enemies
1 A revelation.
The word of the Lord
is against the land of Hadrach
and will rest upon Damascus,
for the eyes of men
and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord,
2 and Hamath, also, which borders on it;
Tyre and Sidon too, though they are very shrewd.
3 Tyre built herself a stronghold
and piled up silver like the dust
and fine gold like dirt in the street.
4 The Lord will dispossess her.
He will cast her power into the sea,
and she will be devoured with fire.
5 Ashkelon will see it and fear,
Gaza also, and will writhe in agony,
as will Ekron,
for her expectation will be met with disappointment,
and the king will perish from Gaza,
and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
6 Foreigners will live in Ashdod,
and I will end the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from his mouth,
the abominations from between his teeth,
and he too will be a remnant for our God,
and he will be like a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
8 I will encamp around my house against armies,
so that none pass through or return.
Oppressors will no longer overtake them,
for now I have seen it with my own eyes.
Zion’s Coming King
9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!
Your King is coming to you!
He is righteous and victorious,
lowly, and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will remove the chariots from Ephraim
and the war horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be removed,
and he will speak peace to the nations,
and his dominion will be from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also,
because of the blood of your covenant,
I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners who now have hope!
Today I am declaring that I will restore double to you.
13 For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for myself.
I have filled the bow with Ephraim,
and I will stir up your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,
and will make you like the sword of a mighty man.
The Lord will Save His People
14 The Lord will appear over them,
and his arrow will flash like lightning,
and the Lord God will blow the trumpet
and will go forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
15 The Lord of Hosts will defend them,
and they will prevail and overcome with sling stones,
and they will drink and roar boisterously, as if from wine,
and they will be filled like the sacrificial bowls
at the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save them in that day
like the flock of his people,
for they are like the jewels of a crown,
lifted on high over his land.
17 For how great is his goodness
and how great is his beauty!
Grain will make the young men flourish
and new wine the virgins.