Zechariah 9; Zechariah 10; Zechariah 11:1-3

1 The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrak and will come to rest on Damascus— for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD—

2 and on Hamath too, which borders on it, and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.

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

4 But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.

5 Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted.

6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.

7 I will take the blood from their mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth. Those who are left will belong to our God and become a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

8 But I will encamp at my temple to guard it against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch.

9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.

12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.

14 Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south,

15 and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.

16 The LORD their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.

17 How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.

1 Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.

2 The idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

3 “My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD Almighty will care for his flock, the people of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle.

4 From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler.

5 Together they will be like warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.

6 “I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

8 I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before.

9 Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return.

10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them.

11 They will pass through the sea of trouble; the surging sea will be subdued and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. Assyria’s pride will be brought down and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.

12 I will strengthen them in the LORDand in his name they will live securely,” declares the LORD.

1 Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars!

2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down!

3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds; their rich pastures are destroyed! Listen to the roar of the lions; the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!