Zechariah 9 - 10

Yahweh’s Oracle Against Israel’s Enemies

The oracle of the word of Yahweh is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward Yahweh), 2

And Hamath also, which borders on it;

And Tyre and Sidon, because they are very wise.

So Tyre built herself a tight fortification

And tied up silver like dust

And fine gold like the mire of the streets.

Behold, the Lord will dispossess her

And strike her wealth down into the sea;

And she will be consumed with fire.

Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.

Gaza too will writhe in great pain;

Also Ekron, for her hope has been put to shame.

Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza,

And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

And those of illegitimate birth will inhabit Ashdod,

And I will cut off 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 clan in Judah,

And Ekron like a Jebusite.

But I will camp around My house because of an army,

Because of him who passes by and returns;

And no taskmaster will pass over them anymore,

For now I have seen with My eyes.

The Coming King of Zion

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

He is righteous and endowed with salvation,

Lowly and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal.

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

And the horse from Jerusalem;

And the bow of war will be cut off.

And He will speak peace to the nations;

And His reign will be from sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant,

I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope;

This very day I am declaring that I will return double to you.

For I will bend Judah as My bow;

I will fill the bow with Ephraim.

And I will rouse up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece;

And I will make you like a mighty man’s sword.

Then Yahweh will appear over them,

And His arrow will go forth like lightning;

And Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet

And will go in the storm winds of the south.

Yahweh of hosts will defend them.

And they will consume and trample on the stones of a sling;

And they will drink and roar as with wine;

And they will be filled like a sacrificial bowl,

Drenched like the corners of the altar.

And Yahweh their God will save them in that day

As the flock of His people;

For they are as the stones of a crown,

Sparkling in His land.

For what goodness and what beauty will be theirs!

Grain will make the choice men flourish, and new wine the virgins.

Yahweh Will Redeem Judah and Israel

Ask rain from Yahweh at the time of the late rain—

Yahweh who makes the storm clouds;

And He will give them showers of rain, the plant in the field to each man.

For the teraphim speak wickedness,

And the diviners behold false visions

And speak worthless dreams;

They comfort in vain.

Therefore the people journey like sheep;

They are afflicted because there is no shepherd.

“My anger burns against the shepherds,

And I will visit punishment upon the male goats;

For Yahweh of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah,

And will make them like His splendid horse in battle.

From them will come the cornerstone,

From them the tent peg,

From them the bow of battle,

From them every good taskmaster, all of them together.

And they will be as mighty men,

Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle;

And they will battle, for Yahweh will be with them;

And the riders on horses will be put to shame.

I will make the house of Judah mighty,

And I will save the house of Joseph,

And I will cause them to return,

Because I have had compassion on them;

And they will be as though I had not rejected them,

For I am Yahweh their God, and I will answer them.

And Ephraim will be like a mighty man,

And their heart will be glad as if from wine;

Indeed, their children will see it and be glad;

Their heart will rejoice in Yahweh.

I will whistle for them to gather them together,

For I have redeemed them;

And they will be as numerous as they were before.

And I will sow them among the peoples,

And they will remember Me in far countries,

And they with their children will live and turn back.

Then I will cause them to return from the land of Egypt

And gather them from Assyria;

And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon

Until no room can be found for them.

And they will pass through the sea of distress,

And He will strike the waves in the sea,

So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;

And the pride of Assyria will be brought down,

And the scepter of Egypt will depart.

And I will make them mighty in Yahweh,

And in His name they will walk,” declares Yahweh.

Revelation 18

Fallen Is Babylon

After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean bird and a prison of every unclean and hateful beast. 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her sensuality.” 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Pay her back even as she paid, and give her back double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning, for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. 9 “And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived sensuously with her, will cry and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ 11 “And the merchants of the earth cry and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore— 12 cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from precious wood and bronze and iron and marble, 13 and cinnamon and amomum and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargo of horses and carriages and human beings and human lives. 14 And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were splendid and shining have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, crying and mourning, 16 saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; 17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, 18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like the great city?’ 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, crying and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” 21 Then a strong angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. 22 And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”