the Fourth Week of Advent
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Zechariah 9
Judgment Against Other Nations
1 This is the Lord's message against the land of Hadrach and against the city of Damascus. The tribes of Israel are not the only people who know about the Lord. Everyone looks to him for help.[a] 2 This message is also against the city of Hamath near Damascus. And this message is against Tyre and Sidon, even though those people have been so wise and skillful. 3 Tyre is built like a fort. The people there have collected so much silver that it is like dust, and gold is as common as clay. 4 But the Lord will take it all. He will destroy her powerful navy and that city will be destroyed by fire!
5 The people in Ashkelon will see this and they will be afraid. The people of Gaza will shake with fear, and the people of Ekron will lose all hope when they see this happen. There will be no king left in Gaza. No one will live in Ashkelon anymore. 6 The people in Ashdod will not even know who their real fathers are. The Lord says, "I will completely destroy the proud Philistines. 7 They will no longer eat meat with the blood still in it or any other forbidden food. Any Philistine left alive will become a part of my people; they will be just one more tribe in Judah. The people of Ekron will become a part of my people, as the Jebusites did. 8 I will protect my country. I will not let enemy armies pass through it. I will not let them hurt my people anymore. With my own eyes I have seen how much my people have suffered."
The Future King
9 People of Zion,[b] rejoice!
People of Jerusalem, shout with joy!
Look, your king is coming to you!
He is the good king who won the victory, but he is humble.
He is riding on a donkey, on a young donkey born from a work animal.
10 I will take the war chariots away from Ephraim
and the horse soldiers from Jerusalem.
I will destroy the bows used in war.
Your king will bring news of peace to the nations.
He will rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
The Lord Will Save His People
11 Jerusalem, we used blood to seal your agreement,
so I am setting your people free from that empty hole in the ground.[c]
12 Prisoners, go home!
Now you have something to hope for.
I am telling you now,
I am coming back to you.
13 Judah, I will use you like a bow.
Ephraim, I will use you like arrows.
Israel, I will use you like a sword
to fight against the men of Greece.
14 The Lord will appear to them,
and he will shoot his arrows like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
and the army will rush forward like a desert dust storm.
15 The Lord All-Powerful will protect them.
The soldiers will use rocks and slings to defeat the enemy.
They will spill the blood of their enemies.
It will flow like wine.
It will be like the blood that is thrown on the corners of the altar!
16 At that time the Lord their God
will save his people
like a shepherd saves his sheep.
They will be very precious to him.
They will be like sparkling jewels in his land.
17 Everything will be good and beautiful!
There will be a wonderful crop,
but it will not be just the food and wine.
It will be all the young men and women!
