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¹ This is a message
    from the Lord:
His eyes are on everyone,
especially the tribes
    of Israel.^[a]
So he pronounces judgment
against the cities
    of Hadrach and Damascus.^[b]
2 Judgment will also fall
on the nearby city
    of Hamath,
as well as on Tyre and Sidon,^[c]
    whose people are clever.
³ Tyre has built a fortress
    and piled up silver and gold,
as though they were dust
    or mud from the streets.
⁴ Now the Lord will punish Tyre
    with poverty;
he will sink its ships
    and send it up in flames.

⁵ Both Ashkelon and Gaza
will tremble with fear;
    Ekron will lose all hope.
Gaza's king will be killed,
and Ashkelon emptied
    of its people.
⁶ A mob of half-breeds
    will settle in Ashdod,^[d]
and the Lord himself
    will rob Philistia of pride.

⁷ No longer will the Philistines
eat meat with blood in it
    or any unclean food.^[e]
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.^[f]

⁸ God says, "I will stand guard
to protect my temple
from those
    who come to attack.
I know what's happening,
and no one will mistreat
    my people ever again."

⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem,
    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.
¹⁰ I, the Lord, will take away
war chariots and horses
    from Israel^[g] 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 Euphrates River
    across the earth.

¹¹ When I made a sacred agreement
with you, my people,
    we sealed it with blood.^[h]
Now some of you are captives
    in waterless pits,
but I will come to your rescue
¹²     and offer you hope.
Return to your fortress,
because today I will reward you
    with twice what you had.
¹³ I will use Judah as my bow
    and Israel^[i] as my arrow.
I will take the people of Zion
as my sword
    and attack the Greeks.

¹⁴ Like 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.
¹⁵ The 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.

¹⁶ The 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.
¹⁷ How lovely they will be.
Young people will grow there
    like grain in a field
    or grapes in a vineyard.