CHAPTER 9
1 The burden of the word of the Lord, in the land of Hadrach, and of Damascus, (which shall be) the rest thereof; for of the Lord is the eye of man, and of all [the] lineages of Israel. (The charge, or the heavy burden, of the word of the Lord, for the land of Hadrach, and the city of Damascus, which shall be its resting place; and the eyes of these people, like those of all the tribes of Israel, shall be upon the Lord.)
2 And Hemath shall be in the terms thereof, and Tyrus, and Sidon; for they took to them wisdom greatly. (And Hamath shall be within its borders, and Tyre, and Sidon; even though they think themselves to have great wisdom.)
3 And Tyrus builded his stronghold, and gathered silver as earth, and gold as fen of streets. (And Tyre built its fortress, and gathered silver like the dust, and gold like the mire, or like the mud, in the streets.)
4 Lo! the Lord shall wield it, and shall smite in the sea the strength thereof, and it shall be devoured by fire. (Behold! the Lord shall possess it, and shall strike down its strength into the sea, and the city itself shall be devoured by fire.)
5 Ashkelon shall see, and shall dread; and Gaza, and shall sorrow full much; and Ekron, for the hope thereof is confounded; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited; (Ashkelon shall see it, and shall have great fear; and Gaza, and it shall have great sorrow; and Ekron too, for its hope is confounded, or what it trusted in hath perished; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited;)
6 and a parter shall sit in Ashdod, and I shall destroy the pride of Philistines. (and those who be parted, or who be half-breeds, shall live in Ashdod, and I shall destroy the pride of the Philistines.)
7 And I shall take away the blood of him from the mouth of him, and the abominations of him from the middle of the teeth of him, and he also shall be left to our God; and he shall be as a duke in Judah, and Ekron as Jebusite. (And I shall take away the blood-filled sacrifice from their mouths, and the abominations from the midst of their teeth, and they shall belong to our God; and they shall be like a family in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.)
8 And I shall compass mine house of these that hold knighthood to me, and go, and turn again; and an exactor, or unjust asker, shall no more pass on them, for now I saw with mine eyes. (And I shall surround my House with those of my host, or of my army, yea, they who go, and return, at my command; and no more shall an oppressor overrun them, for now I have seen their suffering with my own eyes.)
9 Thou daughter of Zion, make joy withoutforth enough; sing, thou daughter of Jerusalem; lo! thy king shall come to thee, he (is) just, and (a) saviour; he (is) poor, and ascending on a she-ass, and on a colt or a foal, the son of a she-ass. (O daughter of Zion, make full out joy, (or rejoice); sing, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold! thy King shall come to thee, he is just, and a saviour, or and the victor; he (is) poor, and riding on a female donkey, and on a colt or a foal, the son of a female donkey.)
10 And I shall lose the four-horsed cart of Ephraim, and an horse of Jerusalem, and the bow of battle shall be destroyed; and he shall speak peace to heathen men, and the power of him shall be from sea till to sea, and from floods, till to the ends of [the] earth. (And he shall destroy the four-horsed carts, or the chariots, of Ephraim, and the horses of Jerusalem, and the bows for battle shall be destroyed; and he shall speak peace to the heathen, and his power shall be from sea unto sea, and from the Euphrates River, unto the ends of the earth.)
11 And thou in the blood of thy testament sentest out thy bound men from the lake in which is no water. (And by the blood of my covenant with thee, I sent out thy bound men from the pit in which there was no water.)
12 Ye bound of hope, be turned again to (the) stronghold; and today I tell, and I shall yield to thee double things, (Ye prisoners of hope, return to the stronghold, or to the fortress; for today I declare that I shall give thee double for all thy trouble,)
13 for I shall stretch forth to me Judah as a bow, I filled the land of Ephraim. And I shall raise thy sons, thou Zion, on thy sons, thou land of Greeks, and I shall set thee as the sword of strong men. (for I shall stretch forth Judah unto me like a bow, and I have filled the land of Ephraim with arrows. And I shall raise up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and I shall make thee like the sword of the strong.)
14 And the Lord God shall be seen on them, and the dart of him shall go out as lightning. And the Lord God shall sing in a trump, and shall go in whirlwind of the south; (And the Lord God shall be seen above them, and his darts, or his arrows, shall go out like the lightning. And the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and then shall go forth in the whirlwinds of the south;)
15 the Lord of hosts shall defend them, and they shall devour, and make subject with stones of a sling; and they drinking, shall be filled as with wine, and shall be filled as vials, or cruets, and as horns of the altar. (the Lord of hosts shall defend them, and they shall devour them, and make them subject with the stones of a sling; and they drinking, shall be filled with wine, and shall be filled up like the basins, or like the bowls, and like the horns, or like the corners, of the altar.)
16 And the Lord God of them shall save them in that day, as a flock of his people, for holy stones shall be raised [up] on the land of him. (And the Lord God of them shall save them on that day, his people like a flock, and like holy stones that shall be raised up on his land.)
17 For what is the good of him, and what is the fair thing of him, no but wheat of chosen men, and wine (of) burgeoning (for the) virgins? (For what is his good thing, and what (is) his beautiful, (or his wonderful), thing? it is wheat for the chosen, and new wine for the virgins!)