Zechariah 9

The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place. For the LORD has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel,

and on Hamath also, which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.

Tyre has built herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets.

But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire.

Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;

a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.

I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.

Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

Then the LORD will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.

The LORD of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar.

On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.

For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.

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Zechariah 9:9

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, yet humble and riding upon an ass. This pivotal verse announces the coming messianic king, emphasizing both His military victory and His shocking humility—a paradoxical figure combining divine power with human weakness. Matthew 21:4-5 explicitly applies this verse to Jesus Christ's triumphal entry, showing how the Messiah fulfills these redemptive expectations by coming to Israel in humble form. The imagery of a king riding a donkey rather than a war horse subverts all conventional expectations of royal power and dominion. This verse stands at the theological center of Zechariah's redemptive vision, uniting political restoration with spiritual transformation.

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Zechariah 9:9

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