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Zechariah 9

KJV · Chapter 9/14

1The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord.

2And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.

3And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.

4Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.

5Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

6And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

7And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.

8And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.

9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

11As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.

12Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

13When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.

14And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.

15The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.

16And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.

17For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Zechariah prophesies judgment against several neighboring cities, but announces that the king of Jerusalem will come lowly and riding on a donkey, bringing peace, and that God will free the prisoners with a double blessing.

Explanation

The first part of the chapter announces judgment against cities along the Mediterranean coast such as Damascus, Tyre, Sidon, and the Philistine cities, showing that the political power of these nations, even with their strongholds and riches heaped up 'as the dust,' would not protect them from God's judgment. The high point of the chapter, however, is one of the most famous messianic prophecies in the whole Bible: a king who would come 'just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass,' in total contrast to kings who entered triumphantly mounted on war horses. This figure would bring genuine peace, with dominion 'from sea to sea,' and would free prisoners with a double blessing. The application for today: true power and true royalty, by God's standard, are often shown through humility, not military force or display.

Fun facts

  • This chapter (verse 9) is quoted directly in all four Gospels to describe Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:5; John 12:15), making it one of the most clearly fulfilled messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.
  • 'A bastard shall dwell in Ashdod' (v.6) probably refers to a mixed and weakened population that would occupy the Philistine city after its conquest, symbolizing the end of its distinct national identity.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Zechariah 9:1From here the book changes tone, leaving the night visions behind and moving into oracles about neighboring nations (Damascus, Tyrus, Zidon, the Philistines) before turning to a future king of Zion.
  2. Zechariah 9:2Hamath, to the north, and the wealthy Phoenician cities of Tyrus and Zidon also join the list of judgment announced in this oracle against the neighboring nations.
  3. Zechariah 9:3Tyrus was famous as a fortified and extremely wealthy city, heaping up silver like dust and fine gold like the mire of the streets — a symbol of excessive wealth.
  4. Zechariah 9:4Despite all that wealth, the Lord promises to strip Tyrus of her possessions and strike down her power at sea, consuming the city with fire.
  5. Zechariah 9:5Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron, the Philistine cities, will also fear and lose hope — the king will perish from Gaza and Ashkelon will be left uninhabited.
  6. Zechariah 9:6'A bastard' (a foreigner of mixed lineage) will settle in Ashdod, a sign that the proud identity of the Philistines would be undone.
  7. Zechariah 9:7Even this judgment has a hopeful side: a remnant of the Philistines will give up their unclean customs and be accepted, as happened before with the Jebusites absorbed into Judah.
  8. Zechariah 9:8God promises to encamp around His own house (the temple) like a guard, ensuring that no invading army will ever pass through unseen again.
  9. Zechariah 9:9This is the book's most-quoted prophecy: a king arriving 'lowly, and riding upon an ass' — the Gospels quote this verse directly when describing Jesus' entry into Jerusalem before Passover.
  10. Zechariah 9:10The gentle king of the previous verse will also dismantle the weapons of war of Ephraim and Jerusalem, because his reign will be built on peace, reaching from sea to sea.
  11. Zechariah 9:11'The pit wherein is no water' describes a dry cistern used as a prison, a common practice at the time; freeing prisoners from these pits symbolizes a concrete rescue, not only a spiritual one.
  12. Zechariah 9:12To those still living as 'prisoners of hope,' God promises a double restitution, rewarding those who kept hope alive even in captivity.
  13. Zechariah 9:13Naming Greece as an adversary is notable because, in the Persian period when the book was written, Greece was not yet the great power it would later become — a detail scholars debate a great deal when dating this passage precisely.
  14. Zechariah 9:14God's intervention is described like a visible warrior: arrows like lightning, a trumpet sounding, advancing with the strong whirlwinds of the south.
  15. Zechariah 9:15The people are compared to soldiers who win the battle and celebrate afterward, drinking and making noise like those who have already secured victory.
  16. Zechariah 9:16On the day of salvation, the people are compared to the jewels of a crown, lifted up like a banner over their own land — from an oppressed flock to a symbol of honor.
  17. Zechariah 9:17The chapter closes celebrating the goodness and beauty of this restoration: an abundance of grain and wine that renews even the spirit of the young.

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