Zechariah 9

²³Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.

²⁴Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.

¹⁵My eyes are always on the Lord, for He will free my feet from the mesh.

³This is what the Lord says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.

⁴So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.

⁸The Lord has sent a message against Jacob, and it has fallen upon Israel.

⁹All the people will know it—Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say:

¹This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:

³³“Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’

³⁴As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household.

¹²“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord God says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

²³Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.

²“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord God says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.

³Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!

²¹So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.

¹This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.

²Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea.

²⁰And the exiles of this host of the Israelites will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath; and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev.

¹⁶Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,

⁴By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries.

⁵By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.

²⁹The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,

³³When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise.

⁷They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.

⁸Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth?

¹⁸By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you.

¹⁰So I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre to consume its citadels.”

¹⁷Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples!

²“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord God says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.

²⁶Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.

²⁷Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.

³therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.

⁴They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

⁹Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.

¹⁰In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

¹This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.

⁴For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will be left.”

²⁹Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.

³⁰Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your remnant will be slain.

⁵Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.

⁶And on that day the dwellers of this coastland will say, ‘See what has happened to our source of hope, those to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”

⁸I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord God.

⁵Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

¹⁰This they shall have in return for their pride, for taunting and mocking the people of the Lord of Hosts.

⁹The Lord of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.

²God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

¹²For the Day of the Lord of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—

¹³against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

³⁹“Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,” declares the Lord.

⁶O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O Lord, tear out the fangs of the lions.

⁵⁷before your wickedness was uncovered? Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you.

⁵⁸You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.

²²This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

²³Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

⁴Then David and all the Israelites marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus), where the Jebusites inhabited the land.

⁵The people of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).

¹⁴In righteousness you will be established, far from oppression, for you will have no fear. Terror will be far removed, for it will not come near you.

¹⁸No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.

¹Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.

¹⁶The Lord will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

¹⁷Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.

¹²They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the Lord—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.

⁴⁰At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood.

⁴¹He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.

⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

¹⁴Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the Lord, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm.

¹³They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

¹⁴Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written:

¹⁰“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the Lord.

⁵Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

⁶In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

³⁷And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

¹⁸On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and battle in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.

⁷Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the Lord their God.”

⁷May the righteous flourish in his days and prosperity abound until the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

¹⁵Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”

²⁰and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.

⁴The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

⁵We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

⁸So Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

¹⁴The captive will soon be freed; he will not die in the dungeon, and his bread will not be lacking.

¹⁹For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the Lord gazed out from heaven to earth

²⁰to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death,

²⁸This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

⁷to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

⁹to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.

¹⁰After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.

⁷Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.

²¹Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:

²²Because of the loving devotion of the Lord we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.

¹⁸Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

²“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.”

¹⁰“The Lord has brought forth our vindication; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has accomplished.”

¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

²He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

³“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the Lord of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle.

⁴The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together.

³Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior; appear in your majesty and splendor.

⁶You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.

⁷Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads.

¹²For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁵For behold, the Lord will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.

³Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.

¹³And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt. And they will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

⁵Part Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke.

⁶Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them; shoot Your arrows and rout them.

¹¹Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.

⁶On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there.

⁷Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.

⁸On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.

²Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.

⁵They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.

³You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the palm of your God.

²⁷My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

²³On that day, declares the Lord of Hosts, I will take you, My servant, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and I will make you like My signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of Hosts.”

³²Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

³¹‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord God.”

²²I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

²³I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

¹⁷Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar.

⁸The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled.

⁹For those who harvest grain will eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather grapes will drink the wine in My holy courts.”

⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

⁹This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

¹²In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!”

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

⁵He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

⁷How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!