Read the Bible

Prophecies against Neighboring Nations

¹ The ^(F1)oracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach in Syria, with ^(C1)Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD), ^(VR1)

² And ^(C1)Hamath also, which borders on it (Damascus),
^(C2)Tyre and ^(C3)Sidon, though they are ^(C2)very wise.

³ For Tyre built herself an impregnable ^(C1)stronghold on an island offshore,
And she has ^(C2)heaped up silver like dust
And ^(C3)gold like the mire of the streets.

⁴ Behold, the Lord will ^(F1)(C1)dispossess her
And throw her wealth into the sea;
And Tyre will be ^(C2)devoured by fire.

^5 (F1)Ashkelon will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in pain,
And Ekron, for her hope and expectation, has been ruined.
The king will perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

⁶ And a mongrel race will live in ^(C1)Ashdod,
And I will put an end to the pride and arrogance of the Philistines.

⁷ I will take the blood from their mouths
And their detestable things from between their teeth those repulsive, idolatrous sacrifices eaten with the blood.
Then they too will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like one of the ^(F1)Jebusites.

⁸ Then I will camp around My house as a guard because of an army,
Because of ^(C1)him who passes by and returns;
And ^(C2)no oppressor will again overrun them (Israel),
For now My eyes are upon them providentially protecting them.

^9 (C1)Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your ^(C2)King (Messianic King) is coming to you;
He is ^(C3)righteous and ^(C4)endowed with salvation,
^(F1)(C5)Humble and unassuming in submission to the will of the Father and riding on a ^(F2)donkey,
Upon a ^(C6)colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹⁰ I will ^(C1)cut off the war chariot from Ephraim
And the war ^(C2)horse from Jerusalem,
And the ^(C3)bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak words of ^(C4)peace to the nations,
And His ^(C5)dominion shall be from sea to sea absolutely endless,
And from the River Euphrates to the ends of the earth. ^(VR1)

Salvation of Judah and Ephraim

¹¹ As for you also, because of the ^(C1)blood of My covenant with you My chosen people, the covenant that was sealed with blood
I have freed your ^(C2)prisoners from the waterless pit. ^(VR1)

¹² Return to the ^(C1)stronghold of security and prosperity, O prisoners who have the ^(C2)hope;
Even today I am declaring that I will restore ^(C3)double your former prosperity to you as firstborn among nations. ^(VR1)

¹³ For I will ^(C1)bend Judah as My bow,
I will fit the bow with Ephraim as My arrow.
And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O ^(C2)Greece,
And will make you Israel like the ^(C3)sword of a warrior.

¹⁴ Then the LORD will be seen hovering ^(C1)over them protecting His people,
And His ^(C2)arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the Lord GOD will blow the ^(C3)trumpet
And will march in the ^(C4)windstorms of the south.

^15 (C1)The LORD of hosts shall defend and protect them;
And they will ^(C2)devour the enemy and trample down the ^(C3)slingstones that have missed their mark,
And they will drink of victory and be ^(C4)boisterous as with wine;
And they shall be filled like sacrificial bowls used to catch the blood,
Drenched like the ^(C5)corners of the sacrificial altar.

¹⁶ And the LORD their God shall ^(C1)save them on that day
As the flock of His people;
For they are like the precious jewels of a ^(C2)crown,
Displayed and glittering in His land.

¹⁷ For how great is God's ^(C1)goodness and how great is His ^(C2)beauty! And how great He will make Israel's goodliness and Israel's beauty!
Grain and new wine will make the young men and virgins flourish.