Zechariah 9 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Zechariah 9

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9:1   The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach
    and Damascus is its resting place.
  For the LORD has an eye on mankind
    and on all the tribes of Israel,¹
2   and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
    Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3   Tyre has built herself a rampart
    and heaped up silver like dust,
    and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4   But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
    and strike down her power on the sea,
    and she shall be devoured by fire.
5   Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
    Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
    Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
  The king shall perish from Gaza;
    Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6   a mixed people² shall dwell in Ashdod,
    and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7   I will take away its blood from its mouth,
    and its abominations from between its teeth;
  it too shall be a remnant for our God;
    it shall be like a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8   Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
    so that none shall march to and fro;
  no oppressor shall again march over them,
    for now I see with my own eyes.

The Coming King of Zion

9   Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
  Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
  humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10   I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
    and the war horse from Jerusalem;
  and the battle bow shall be cut off,
    and he shall speak peace to the nations;
  his rule shall be from sea to sea,
    and from the River³ to the ends of the earth.
11   As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12   Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
    today I declare that I will restore to you double.
13   For I have bent Judah as my bow;
    I have made Ephraim its arrow.
  I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
    against your sons, O Greece,
    and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

The Lord Will Save His People

14   Then the LORD will appear over them,
    and his arrow will go forth like lightning;
  the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet
    and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
15   The LORD of hosts will protect them,
    and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,
  and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
    and be full like a bowl,
    drenched like the corners of the altar.
16   On that day the LORD their God will save them,
    as the flock of his people;
  for like the jewels of a crown
    they shall shine on his land.
17   For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
    Grain shall make the young men flourish,
    and new wine the young women.

Footnotes

[1] 9:1 Or For the eye of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, is toward the Lord
[2] 9:6 Or a foreign people; Hebrew a bastard
[3] 9:10 That is, the Euphrates

Commentary

v1-2: Addressing those nations immediately to the north of Israel.

v3-4: See Is 23; Ezek 26-28; Tyre, the city state of pride; self-made, self-exalting. She gathered silver and gold for herself; things esteemed by man. Yet all her wealth and power is proved useless when the Lord casts here down to be destroyed and devoured.

v5-8: The testimony in Philistia, bringing fear to many; the enmity of the past will cease.

v9-10: The Saviour contrasting with Tyre and Philistia; just and lowly, bringing salvation. They are full of lies and pride, seeking only good for themselves.

But Israel erred in seeking strength in chariots and horses, in human schemes and physical strength. Salvation is of the Lord, to be achieved His way; "I will save my people," 8.7. Their salvation is linked with the universal reign of Jesus Christ, the exalted king.

v11-13: The promise to the people; restoration by God's hand.

v14-17: The day will come when the Lord will come to save His people, defending them from an attacking army, and defeating that army. Israel and Judah will be jewels in God's crown, a banner lifted over His land; compare Is 62.1-5.