Prophecies against Neighboring Nations

The pronouncement of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach, with (A)Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord),

And (B)Hamath also, which borders on it;
(C)Tyre and (D)Sidon, [a]though [b]they are (E)very wise.
For Tyre built herself a (F)fortress,
And (G)piled up silver like dust,
And (H)gold like the mud of the streets.
Behold, the Lord will (I)dispossess her
And throw her wealth into the sea;
And she will be (J)consumed with fire.
Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.
Gaza too will writhe in great pain;
Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined.
Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
And a people of mixed origins will live in (K)Ashdod,
And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
And I will remove their blood from their mouth
And their detestable things from between their teeth.
Then they also will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a [c]clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
But I will camp around My house [d]because of an army,
Because of (L)him who passes by and returns;
And (M)no oppressor will pass over them anymore,
For now I have seen with My eyes.
(N)Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your (O)king is coming to you;
He is [e](P)righteous and (Q)endowed with salvation,
(R)Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a (S)colt, the [f]foal of a donkey.
10 And I will (T)eliminate the chariot from Ephraim
And the (U)horse from Jerusalem;
And the (V)bow of war will be eliminated.
And He will speak (W)peace to the nations;
And His (X)dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

Restoration of Judah and Ephraim

11 As for you also, because of the (Y)blood of My covenant with you,
I have set your (Z)prisoners free from the [g]waterless pit.
12 Return to the [h](AA)stronghold, you prisoners [i]who have the (AB)hope;
This very day I am declaring that I will restore (AC)double to you.
13 For I will (AD)bend Judah [j]as My bow,
I will fill the bow with Ephraim.
And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, (AE)Greece;
And I will make you like a (AF)warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear (AG)over them,
And His (AH)arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the Lord [k]God will blow the (AI)trumpet,
And march in the (AJ)storm winds of the south.
15 (AK)The Lord of armies will protect them.
And they will (AL)devour and trample on the (AM)slingstones;
And they will drink and be (AN)boisterous as with wine;
And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin,
Drenched like the (AO)corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God will (AP)save them on that day
As the flock of His people;
For they are like the precious stones of a (AQ)crown,
Sparkling on His land.
17 For how great will [l]their (AR)loveliness and (AS)beauty be!
Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.

God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

10 Ask for (AT)rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—

The Lord who (AU)makes the [m]storm winds;
And He will give them (AV)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person.
For the [n](AW)household idols speak deception,
And the (AX)diviners see [o]an illusion
And tell (AY)deceitful dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people [p]wander like (AZ)sheep,
They are wretched because there is no shepherd.
“My (BA)anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the [q]male goats;
For the Lord of armies has (BB)visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
From [r]them will come the (BC)cornerstone,
From [s]them the tent peg,
From [t]them the bow of (BD)battle,
From [u]them every tyrant, all of them together.
And they will be like warriors,
(BE)Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, because the Lord will be with them;
And the (BF)riders on horses will be put to shame.
And I will (BG)strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will (BH)save the house of Joseph,
And I will [v](BI)bring them back,
Because I have had (BJ)compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had (BK)not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will (BL)answer them.
Ephraim will be like a warrior,
And their heart will be joyful as if from wine;
Indeed, their (BM)children will see it and be joyful,
[w]Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.
I will (BN)whistle for them and gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as (BO)numerous as they [x](BP)were before.
When I [y]scatter them among the peoples,
They will (BQ)remember Me in distant countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
10 I will (BR)bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of (BS)Gilead and Lebanon
[z]Until (BT)no room can be found for them.
11 And they will pass through the (BU)sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the (BV)Nile will dry up;
And the pride of (BW)Assyria will be brought down,
And the scepter of (BX)Egypt will depart.
12 And I will (BY)strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name (BZ)they will walk,” declares the Lord.

The Doomed Flock

11 Open your doors, Lebanon,

So that a (CA)fire may feed on your (CB)cedars.
Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen,
For the magnificent trees have been destroyed;
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
Because the [aa]impenetrable forest has come down.
There is a sound of the shepherds’ (CC)wail,
For their splendor is ruined;
There is a (CD)sound of the young lions’ roar,
For the [ab]pride of the Jordan is ruined.

This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to (CE)slaughter. Those who buy them slaughter them and [ac]go (CF)unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for (CG)I have become rich!’ And their (CH)own shepherds have no compassion for them. For I will (CI)no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will (CJ)let the people fall, each into another’s [ad]power and into the [ae]power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will (CK)not rescue them from their [af]power.”

So I (CL)pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, [ag]therefore also the (CM)afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two (CN)staffs: the one I called [ah](CO)Favor, and the other I called (CP)Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I did away with the three shepherds in (CQ)one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also [ai]was tired of me. Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to (CR)die, [aj]let it die, and what is to perish, [ak]let it perish; and [al]let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff [am](CS)Favor and cut it in pieces, to [an](CT)break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was [ao]broken on that day, and [ap]so the (CU)afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my (CV)wages; but if not, [aq]never mind!” So they weighed out (CW)thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (CX)potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff (CY)Union, to (CZ)break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a (DA)foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will (DB)not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will (DC)devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.

17 (DD)Woe to the worthless shepherd
Who abandons the flock!
A (DE)sword will be on his arm
And on his right eye!
His (DF)arm will be totally withered,
And his right eye will be [ar]blind.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 9:2 Or because
  2. Zechariah 9:2 I.e., they think they are
  3. Zechariah 9:7 Or chief
  4. Zechariah 9:8 Or as a garrison, so that none will go back and forth
  5. Zechariah 9:9 Or vindicated and victorious
  6. Zechariah 9:9 Lit son of a female donkey
  7. Zechariah 9:11 Lit cistern in which there is no water
  8. Zechariah 9:12 Or Stronghold
  9. Zechariah 9:12 Lit of the hope
  10. Zechariah 9:13 Lit for Me as a bow
  11. Zechariah 9:14 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  12. Zechariah 9:17 Lit his
  13. Zechariah 10:1 Or thunderbolts
  14. Zechariah 10:2 Heb teraphim
  15. Zechariah 10:2 Lit a lie
  16. Zechariah 10:2 Lit journey
  17. Zechariah 10:3 I.e., leaders
  18. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  19. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  20. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  21. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  22. Zechariah 10:6 Another reading is have them dwell
  23. Zechariah 10:7 Or Let their heart rejoice
  24. Zechariah 10:8 Lit were numerous
  25. Zechariah 10:9 Lit sow
  26. Zechariah 10:10 Lit And
  27. Zechariah 11:2 Another reading is forest of the vintage
  28. Zechariah 11:3 Or thicket
  29. Zechariah 11:5 Lit are not held guilty
  30. Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
  31. Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
  32. Zechariah 11:6 Lit hand
  33. Zechariah 11:7 Another reading is for the sheep dealers
  34. Zechariah 11:7 Or Pleasantness
  35. Zechariah 11:8 Or detested
  36. Zechariah 11:9 Or will die
  37. Zechariah 11:9 Or will perish
  38. Zechariah 11:9 Or those...will eat
  39. Zechariah 11:10 Or Pleasantness
  40. Zechariah 11:10 Or annul
  41. Zechariah 11:11 Or annulled
  42. Zechariah 11:11 Another reading is the sheep dealers who
  43. Zechariah 11:12 Lit cease
  44. Zechariah 11:17 Lit completely dimmed

Overcoming the World

(A)Everyone who believes that Jesus is the [a]Christ has been (B)born of God, and everyone who loves the [b]Father (C)loves the child born of Him. (D)By this we know that (E)we love the children of God, when we love God and [c]follow His commandments. For (F)this is the love of God, that we (G)keep His commandments; and (H)His commandments are not burdensome. For [d]whoever has been (I)born of God (J)overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who (K)believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came (L)by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not [e]with the water only, but [f]with the water and [g]with the blood. It is (M)the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are (N)three that testify: [h]the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are [i]in agreement. (O)If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that (P)He has testified concerning His Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God (Q)has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has (R)made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us (S)eternal life, and (T)this life is in His Son. 12 (U)The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

This Is Written That You May Know

13 (V)These things I have written to you who (W)believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have (X)eternal life. 14 This is (Y)the confidence which we have [j]before Him, that, (Z)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, (AA)we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

16 If anyone sees his brother or sister [k]committing a sin not leading to death, (AB)he shall ask and [l]God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. (AC)There is sin leading to death; (AD)I am not saying that he should ask about that. 17 (AE)All unrighteousness is sin, and (AF)there is sin not leading to death.

18 (AG)We know that (AH)no one who has been born of God [m]sins; but He who was born of God (AI)keeps him, and (AJ)the evil one does not (AK)touch him. 19 (AL)We know that (AM)we are of God, and that (AN)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And (AO)we know that (AP)the Son of God has come, and has (AQ)given us understanding so that we may know (AR)Him who is true; and we (AS)are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. (AT)This is the true God and (AU)eternal life.

21 (AV)Little children, guard yourselves from (AW)idols.

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 5:1 I.e., Messiah
  2. 1 John 5:1 Lit one who has fathered
  3. 1 John 5:2 Lit do
  4. 1 John 5:4 Lit everything that
  5. 1 John 5:6 Lit in
  6. 1 John 5:6 Lit in
  7. 1 John 5:6 Lit in
  8. 1 John 5:8 A few late mss add ...in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth, the Spirit
  9. 1 John 5:8 Lit for the one thing
  10. 1 John 5:14 Lit toward
  11. 1 John 5:16 Lit sinning
  12. 1 John 5:16 Or God will give him life, that is, to those who...
  13. 1 John 5:18 Or sins continually

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