ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Zechariah 9.9-13

Book: Zechariah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

7. And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; and he also shall be a remnant for our God; and he shall be as a chieftain in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 8. And I will encamp about my house against the army, that none pass through or return; and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.

9. Rejoice 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, even upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10. And 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 nations: and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 11. As for thee also, because of the blood of thy covenant I have set free thy prisoners from the pit wherein is no water. 12. Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee. 13. For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and will make thee as the sword of a mighty man.

  1. And Jehovah shall be seen over them; and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south. 15. Jehovah of hosts will defend them; and they shall devour, and shall tread down the sling - stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar. (Zechariah 9:7-15, ASV)
WEB

7. I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; and he also will be a remnant for our God; and he will be as a chieftain in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 8. I will encamp around my house against the army, that no one pass through or return; and no oppressor will pass through them any more: for now I have seen with my eyes.

9. Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations: and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 11. As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I have set free your prisoners from the pit in which is no water. 12. Turn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope! Even today I declare that I will restore double to you. 13. For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for me. I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and will make you like the sword of a mighty man.

  1. Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south. 15. Yahweh of Armies will defend them; and they will destroy and overcome with sling stones; and they will drink, and roar as through wine; and they will be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar. (Zechariah 9:7-15, WEB)
KJV

7. And 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. blood: Heb. bloods 8. And 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.

9. Rejoice 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. having: or, saving himself 10. And 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. 11. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. by: or, whose covenant is by blood 12. Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 13. When 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.

  1. And 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. 15. The 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. with: or, the stones of the sling be: or, fill both the bowls, etc (Zechariah 9:7-15, KJV)
YLT

7. And turned aside his blood from his mouth, His abominations from between his teeth, And he hath remained, even he, to our God, And he hath been as a leader in Judah, And Ekron as a Jebusite. 8. And I have pitched for My house a camp, Because of the passer through, and of the returner, And pass not through against them again doth an exactor, For, now, I have seen with My eyes.

9. Rejoice exceedingly, O daughter of Zion, Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, Lo, thy King doth come to thee, Righteous, and saved is He, Afflicted, and riding on an ass, And on a colt, a son of she-asses. 10. And I have cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem, Yea, cut off hath been the bow of battle, And he hath spoken peace to nations, And his rule [is] from sea unto sea, And from the river unto the ends of earth. 11. Also thou, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent thy prisoners out of the pit, There is no water in it. 12. Turn back to a fenced place, Ye prisoners of the hope, Even to-day a second announcer I restore to thee. 13. For I have trodden for Me Judah, A bow I have filled [with] Ephraim, And I have stirred up thy sons, O Zion, Against thy sons, O Javan, And I have set thee as the sword of a hero.

  1. And Jehovah doth appear for them, And gone forth as lightning hath His arrow, And the Lord Jehovah with a trumpet bloweth, And He hath gone with whirlwinds of the south. 15. Jehovah of Hosts doth cover them over, And they consumed, and subdued sling-stones, Yea, they have drunk, They have made a noise as wine, And they have been full as a bowl, As corners of an altar. (Zechariah 9:7-15, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: the prophetic voice of the book, in an oracle (massa) carrying no date formula
  • Audience: Judah and Jerusalem, addressed in the second person throughout
  • Location: Jerusalem and the surrounding land, with the nations in view
  • Time period: undated. Chapters 9-14 stand apart from the dated material of 1-8, and their date and composition are disputed; the reading below rests on the text rather than on a settled dating

Theological reading

"Behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass... because of the blood of thy covenant I have set free thy prisoners from the pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope."

The unit joins three things that are rarely found together: a king who arrives without an army, a release grounded in covenant blood, and a summons to captives who are told to move toward a fortress rather than wait in the pit.

The king of v. 9 is righteous, vindicated, lowly, and mounted on a donkey. Verse 10 disarms Ephraim and Jerusalem before it speaks peace to the nations, so the peace is not imposed by the victor's weapons but arrives after the victor's own side has laid theirs down.

Verse 11 supplies the mechanism, "the blood of thy covenant," which recalls Exodus 24:8, and v. 12 gives the captives a name that does the work of the whole passage: prisoners of hope. They are still prisoners. The hope is not a change in their circumstances but in who has taken up their case, which is why the imperative is to turn toward the stronghold rather than to wait for the walls to fall.

Verse 13 changes register sharply. Judah is bent as a bow and Ephraim set as its arrow, and the sons of Zion are roused against the sons of Greece. The oracle that began with a disarmed king ends with the people themselves as the weapon, which keeps the passage from collapsing into quietism: the king's peace is not the absence of conflict.

Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15 both apply v. 9 to Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.