The LORD Protects His House 9 1 This is the divine revelation.

The word of Yahweh is against the land of Hadrach and will rest on Damascus 2 and also Hamath, which borders on it, and Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.

(The eyes of humanity and of all the tribes of Israel are on Yahweh.)a 3 Tyre built itself a fortress.

It piled up silver like dust and gold like mud in the streets.

4 Adonay will take away its possessions.

He will throw its wealth into the sea and burn the city down.

5 Ashkelon will see this and be afraid.

Gaza will also be in great pain, also Ekron, because its hope will fade.

Gaza will lose its king.

Ashkelon will no longer be lived in.

6 A mixed race will live in Ashdod, and I will cut off the Philistines' arrogance.

7 I will remove the blood from their mouths and the disgusting things from between their teeth.

Then only a few of them will be left for our Elohim like a tribe in Judah, and Ekron will be like a Jebusite.

8 I will camp in front of my house as a guard against those who come and go.

structure more clearly in English.

No oppressors will pass through them, because I have seen it with my own eyes.a The LORD Sends His King 9 Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion!

Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem!

Look! Your Melek is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious.

He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal.

10 Heb will make sure there are no chariots in Ephraim or war horses in Jerusalem.

There will be no battle bows.

He will announce peace to the nations.

He will rule from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

11 I will set your captives free from the waterless pit because of the blood that sealed my promisec to you.

12 Return to your fortress, you captives who have hope.

Today I tell you that I will return to you double blessings.

13 I will bend Judah as my bow and draw my bow with Ephraim as its arrow.

I will stir up your people, Zion, against your people, Greece, and I will use you like a warrior's sword.

14 Yahweh will appear over them, and his arrow will go out like lightning.

Adonay Yahweh will blow the ram's horn and will march in the storms from the south.

15 Yahweh Tsebaoth will defend them.

They will destroy and trample the stones used in slings.

They will drink and shout as if they were drunk.

They will be filled like a sacrificial bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.

16 On that day Yahweh their Elohim will rescue them as the flock of his people.

They will certainly sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.

17 They will be beautiful and lovely.d Young men will prosper on grain, and young women will prosper on new wine.

The LORD'S People Will Be Victorious 10 1 Ask Yahweh for rain in the springtime.

Yahweh makes thunderstorms.

He gives everyone rain showers for the plants in the field.

2 The idols speak lies.

The fortunetellers see false visions.

They speak about false dreams.

They give useless comfort.

That is why people wander around like sheep.

They are troubled because there is no shepherd.

3 "My burning anger is directed against the shepherds.

I will punish the male goats.

Yahweh Tsebaoth takes care of his flock, the people of Judah.

He makes them like his splendid war horse."

4 From them will come a cornerstone, from them a tent peg, from them a battle bow, from them every leader.

5 Together they will be like warriors who trample the enemy in the mud on the streets.

They will fight because Yahweh is with them.

They will put to shame those who ride on horses.

6 "I will strengthen the people of Judah.

I will rescue Joseph's people.

I will bring them back, because I have compassion for them.

It will be as though I had never rejected them, because I am Yahweh their Elohim , and I will answer them.

7 The people of Ephraim will be like mighty warriors.

Their hearts will be glad as if they had some wine to drink.

Their sons will see it and be glad.

Their hearts will find joy in Yahweh.

8 I will signal them with a whistle and gather them because I have reclaimed them.

They will be as numerous as they have ever been.

9 Although I have scattered them among the nations, they will remember me even in faraway places.

They will live with their children and then return.

10 I will bring them back from Egypt.

I will gather them from Assyria.

I will bring them to Gilead and to Lebanon, and there won't be enough room for them."

11 Yahweh will pass through a sea of distress, strike the waves in the sea, and dry up all the deep places of the Nile River.

The pride of Assyria will be humiliated, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

12 "I will strengthen them in Yahweh.

They will live in his name," declares Yahweh .

Zechariah Is Told to Take Care of the Sheep 11 1 Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire will be able to burn down your cedars.

2 Cry, cypress trees, because the cedars have fallen and the stately trees have been destroyed.

Cry, oak trees of Bashan, because your dense forest has fallen down.

3 Listen! The shepherds are crying, because their rich pastures are destroyed.

Listen! The young lions are roaring, because the lush banks of the Jordan are destroyed.

4 This is what Yahweh my Elohim says: Take care of the sheep that are about to be slaughtered. 5 Those who buy them will kill them and go unpunished. Those who sell them will say, "Praise Yahweh! I've become rich!" Even their own shepherds will have no pity on them.

6 Yahweh declares, "I will no longer have pity on those who live in the land. I am going to hand the people over to their neighbors and their king, who will crush the land. And I won't rescue any of them from their power."

7 So I became the shepherd of the sheep that were to be slaughtered and also of the oppressed sheep. I took two shepherd staffs and named one Favor and the other Unity. And I took care of the sheep. 8 I got rid of three shepherds in one month. I became impatient with the sheep, and they also became disgusted with me. 9 So I said, "I won't be your shepherd. Let those that are dying die. Let those that are missing stay missing. And let those that are left devour each other."

10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it in pieces, to break the promisea that I had made to all the nations. 11 So it was broken on that day, and the oppressed among the sheep who were watching me realized that it was the word of Yahweh.

12 Then I said to them, "If it's alright with you, pay me my wages. But if it's not, don't." And they paid me my wages-30 pieces of silver.

13 Yahweh told me, "Give it to the potter." So I took the 30 pieces of silver. Such a magnificent price was set by them! I gave the pieces of silver to the potter at the house of Yahweh.

14 Then I broke my second staff, called Unity, in pieces, to break off the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 Then Yahweh said to me, "Use the equipment of a foolish shepherd again. 16 I'm about to place a shepherd in the land. He will not take care of those that are dying. He will not search for the young. He will not heal those that have broken their legs or support those that can still stand. But he will eat the meat of the fat animals and tear off their hoofs.

17 "How horrible it will be for the foolish shepherd who abandoned the sheep.

A sword will strike his arm and his right eye.

His arm will be completely withered.

His right eye will be completely blind."

The LORD Will Save Jerusalem 12 1 This is the prophetic revelation, the word of Yahweh about Israel. Yahweh-who spread out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit in a person-says, 2 "I'm going to make Jerusalem like a cup of wine that makes all the surrounding people stagger. They will attack Judah along with Jerusalem. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a stone too heavy for all the nations to lift. All who try to lift it will be severely injured. All the nations in the world will gather to fight against Jerusalem."

4 Yahweh declares, "On that day I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with madness. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will strike all the horses of the nations blind. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will think to themselves, 'The people who live in Jerusalem are strong because of Yahweh Tsebaoth , their Elohim.'

6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire on a pile of wood and like a burning torch among freshly cut straw. They will burn up all the surrounding nations to the right and to the left. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe in Jerusalem.

7 "Yahweh will save Judah's tents first so that the honor of David's family and the honor of those who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the honor of Judah. 8 On that day Yahweh will defend those who live in Jerusalem so that even those who stumble will be like David, and David's family will be like Elohim , like the Messenger of Yahweh ahead of them.

9 "On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations who attack Jerusalem.

The People of Jerusalem Will Look at the One They Stabbed 10 "I will pour out the Ruach of blessing and mercy on David's family and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom they have stabbed. Then they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as intense as the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each family by itself: the family of David by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself, and the wives by themselves; 13 the family of Levi by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and the wives by themselves. 14 All the families that are left will mourn, each by itself, and the wives by themselves."

MELEK.

KING.

The Israelites believed that Yahweh was Melek, or King-not just over Israel but over every nation on earth. They understood that the temple in Jerusalem was the earthly symbol of God's heavenly throne, and they expected a coming Messiah who would one day save his people from their enemies, establishing his rule over the whole world.

Compared to surrounding nations, the Israelites were relatively late in adopting monarchy as a form of government. Instead, they thought of Yahweh as their King. Once the monarchy was established, it was understood that the king received his power from God and was therefore responsible for ruling according to God's laws. David, Israel's second king, represented the ideal of how a king should rule. But most of the kings of Israel and Judah fell far short of the ideal, leading people away from God. After years of living under the rule of these less than-perfect kings, God's people longed for a Messiah-a descendant of David who would sit on Israel's throne, subdue its enemies, and then rule over the entire earth. Given these expectations, it is hardly surprising that even Jesus'disciples thought he would establish an earthly kingdom.