Punishment on Israel’s Enemies
9 This message is the word of the Lord.
The message is against the land of Hadrach
and the city of Damascus.
The tribes of Israel and all people
belong to the Lord.
2 The message is also against the city of Hamath, on the border,
and against Tyre and Sidon, with their skill.
3 Tyre has built a strong wall for herself.
She has piled up silver like dust
and gold like the mud in the streets.
4 But the Lord will take away all she has
and destroy her power on the sea.
That city will be destroyed by fire.
5 The city of Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
The people of Gaza will shake with fear,
and the people of Ekron will lose hope.
No king will be left in Gaza,
and no one will live in Ashkelon anymore.
6 Foreigners will live in Ashdod,
and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will stop them from drinking blood
and from eating forbidden food.
Those left alive will belong to God.
They will be leaders in Judah,
and Ekron will become like the Jebusites.
8 I will protect my Temple
from armies who would come or go.
No one will hurt my people again,
because now I am watching them.
The King Is Coming
9 Rejoice greatly, people of Jerusalem!
Shout for joy, people of Jerusalem!
Your king is coming to you.
He does what is right, and he saves.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey,
on the colt of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the horses from Jerusalem.
The bows used in war will be broken.
The king will talk to the nations about peace.
His kingdom will go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of the agreement with you
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 You prisoners who have hope,
return to your place of safety.
Today I am telling you
that I will give you back twice as much as before.
13 I will use Judah like a bow
and Ephraim like the arrows.
Jerusalem, I will use your men
to fight the men of Greece.
I will use you like a warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear above them,
and his arrows will shoot like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
and he will march in the storms of the south.
15 The Lord All-Powerful will protect them;
they will destroy the enemy with slingshots.
They will drink and shout like drunks.
They will be filled like a bowl
used for sprinkling blood at the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them
as if his people were sheep.
They will shine in his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 They will be so pretty and beautiful.
The young men will grow strong on the grain
and the young women on new wine.
