Israel Defended Against Enemies
The burden of the word of the Lord
Against the land of Hadrach,
And aDamascus its resting place
(For bthe eyes of men
And all the tribes of Israel
Are on the Lord);
2 Also against aHamath, which borders on it,
And against bTyre and cSidon, though they are very dwise.
3 For Tyre built herself a tower,
Heaped up silver like the dust,
And gold like the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, athe Lord will cast her out;
He will destroy bher power in the sea,
And she will be devoured by fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it and fear;
Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;
And aEkron, for He dried up her expectation.
The king shall perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 “A mixed race shall settle ain Ashdod,
And I will cut off the pride of the bPhilistines.
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.
8 aI 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.
The Coming King
9 “Rejoice agreatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, byour King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I awill cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The bbattle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be c‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’
God Will Save His People
11 “As for you also,
Because of the blood of your covenant,
I will set your aprisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to the stronghold,
aYou prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore bdouble to you.
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.”
14 Then the Lord will be seen over them,
And aHis arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And go bwith whirlwinds from the south.
15 The Lord of hosts will adefend them;
They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine;
They shall be filled with blood like basins,
Like the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will asave them in that day,
As the flock of His people.
For bthey shall be like the jewels of a crown,
cLifted like a banner over His land—
17 For ahow great is its goodness
And how great its bbeauty!
cGrain shall make the young men thrive,
And new wine the young women.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved.