Zechariah - The Old Testament

¹ A proclamation. The word of Yahweh is against Hadrach, it has come to rest on Damascus, for the source of Aram belongs to Yahweh no less than all the tribes of Israel;

² on Hamath too, which borders on it, and on (Tyre and) Sidon, despite her acumen.

³ Tyre has built herself a fortress, has heaped up silver like dust and gold like the dirt of the streets.

⁴ And now the Lord is going to dispossess her; at sea he will break her power, and she herself will go up in flames.

⁵ Seeing this, Ashkelon will be terrified, Gaza too, and writhe with grief, Ekron too, at the ruin of her prospects; the king will vanish from Gaza and Ashkelon be unpeopled,

⁶ while a half-breed will live in Ashdod! Yes, I shall destroy the pride of the Philistine;

⁷ I shall snatch his blood from his mouth, his abominations from between his teeth. But his remnant too will belong to our God, becoming like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will become like a Jebusite.

⁸ I shall stand guard before my home to defend it against all comers, and no oppressor will overrun them ever again, for now I am on the alert.

⁹ Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is approaching, he is vindicated and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹⁰ He will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the bow of war will be banished. He will proclaim peace to the nations, his empire will stretch from sea to sea, from the River to the limits of the earth.

¹¹ As for you, because of the blood of your covenant I have released your prisoners from the pit in which there is no water.

¹² Come back to the fortress, you prisoners waiting in hope. This very day, I vow, I shall make it up to you twice over.

¹³ For I have strung Judah as a bow for myself, laid Ephraim on the string as an arrow, have roused your sons, Zion, against your sons, Javan, and have made you like a warrior's sword.

¹⁴ Then Yahweh will appear above them and his arrow will flash out like lightning. (The Lord) Yahweh will sound the trumpet and advance in the storm-winds of the south.

¹⁵ Yahweh Sabaoth will protect them! They will devour, will trample on the sling-stones, they will drink blood like wine, awash like bowls, like the corners of the altar.

¹⁶ Yahweh their God will give them victory when that day comes, like the sheep who are his people; yes, the stones of a diadem will sparkle over his country.

¹⁷ How fine, how splendid that will be, with wheat to make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens!