The Lord will rescue his people and punish their enemies

Israel's enemies will be punished

1This is a message9.1: Is 17.1-3; Jr 49.23-27; Am 1.3-5.9.1-4: Is 23.1-18; Ez 26.1—28.26; Jl 3.4-8; Am 1.9,10; Mt 11.21-22; Lk 10.13-14.

from the LORD:

His eyes are on everyone,

especially the tribes

of Israel.9.1 His…Israel: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

So he pronounces judgment

against the cities

of Hadrach and Damascus.9.1 Hadrach and Damascus: Hadrach was north of both Damascus (the main city of Syria) and Hamath (verse 2).

2Judgment will also fall

on the nearby city

of Hamath,

as well as on Tyre and Sidon,9.2 Tyre and Sidon: Phoenician cities.

whose people are clever.

3Tyre has built a fortress

and piled up silver and gold,

as though they were dust

or mud from the streets.

4Now the Lord will punish Tyre

with poverty;

he will sink its ships

and send it up in flames.

5Both Ashkelon and Gaza9.5-7: Is 14.29-31; Jr 47.1-7; Ez 25.15-17; Jl 3.4-8; Am 1.6-8; Zep 2.4-7.

will tremble with fear;

Ekron will lose all hope.

Gaza's king will be killed,

and Ashkelon emptied

of its people.

6A mob of half-breeds

will settle in Ashdod,9.5,6 Ashkelon and Gaza…Ekron…Ashdod: Philistine cities.

and the Lord himself

will rob Philistia of pride.

7No longer will the Philistines

eat meat with blood in it

or any unclean food.9.7 eat…food: The Philistines will become part of Judah and no longer eat meat with blood in it (see Genesis 9.4) or any other forbidden foods (see Leviticus 11.1-23; Deuteronomy 14.3-21).

They will become part

of the people of our God

from the tribe of Judah.

And God will accept

the people of Ekron,

as he did the Jebusites.9.7 Jebusites: The original people of Canaan, who lived in Jerusalem before it was captured by David (see 2 Samuel 5.6-10) and were later accepted as part of Israel.

8God says, “I will stand guard

to protect my temple from those

who come to attack.

I know what's happening,

and no one will ill-treat

my people ever again.”

The LORD tells about the coming king

9Everyone in Jerusalem,9.9: Mt 21.5; Jn 12.15.

celebrate and shout!

Your king has won a victory,

and he is coming to you.

He is humble

and rides on a donkey;

he comes on the colt

of a donkey.

10I, the LORD, will take away9.10: Ps 72.8.

war chariots and horses

from Israel9.10 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim”, the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole kingdom. and Jerusalem.

Bows that were made for battle

will be broken.

I will bring peace to nations,

and your king will rule

from sea to sea.

His kingdom will reach

from the River Euphrates

across the earth.

The LORD promises to rescue captives

11When I made a sacred agreement9.11: Ex 24.8.

with you, my people,

we sealed it with blood.9.11 agreement…blood: The agreement at Mount Sinai (see Exodus 24.7,8).

Now some of you are captives

in waterless pits,

but I will come to your rescue

12and offer you hope.

Return to your fortress,

because today I will reward you

with twice what you had.

13I will use Judah as my bow

and Israel9.13 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 9.10). as my arrow.

I will take the people of Zion

as my sword

and attack the Greeks.

The LORD will protect his people

14Like a cloud, the LORD God

will appear over his people,

and his arrows will flash

like lightning.

God will sound his trumpet

and attack in a whirlwind

from the south.

15The LORD All-Powerful

will protect his people,

and they will trample down

the sharpshooters

and their slingshots.

They will drink and get rowdy;

they will be as full as a bowl

at the time of sacrifice.

16The LORD God will save them

on that day,

because they are his people,

and they will shine on his land

like jewels in a crown.

17How lovely they will be.

Young people will grow there

like grain in a field

or grapes in a vineyard.