Zechariah 9:13

Zechariah 9:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”

Context of Zechariah 9:13

11As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you [My chosen people, the covenant that was sealed with blood] I have freed your prisoners from the waterless pit. 12Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], O prisoners who have the hope; Even today I am declaring that I will restore double [your former prosperity] to you [as firstborn among nations]. For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fit the bow with Ephraim [as My arrow]. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, And will make you [Israel] like the sword of a warrior. 14Then the Lord will be seen [hovering] over them [protecting His people], And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord God will blow the trumpet And will march in the windstorms of the south. 15The Lord of hosts shall defend and protect them; And they will devour [the enemy] and trample down the slingstones [that have missed their mark], And they will drink [of victory] and be boisterous as with wine; And they shall be filled like sacrificial bowls [used to catch the blood], Drenched like the corners of the [sacrificial] altar.

Zechariah 9:13 word by word

כִּֽי־דָרַ֨כְתִּי לִ֜י יְהוּדָ֗ה קֶ֚שֶׁת מִלֵּ֣אתִי אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְעוֹרַרְתִּ֤י בָנַ֙יִךְ֙ צִיּ֔וֹן עַל־בָּנַ֖יִךְ יָוָ֑ן וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְ כְּחֶ֥רֶב גִּבּֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• When I have bentדָּרַךְdârak · to treadH1869
• Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• for me, filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• the bowקֶ֫שֶׁתqesheth · bowH7198
• with Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• and raised upעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
• thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• O Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• O Greeceיָוָןyâvân · GreeceH3120
• and madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• thee as the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• of a mighty manגִּבּוֹרgibbôr gibbôr · mighty manH1368

Cross-references for Zechariah 9:13

• Zechariah 1:21I asked, “What are these [horns and craftsmen] coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns (powers) that have scattered Judah so that no man raised up his head [because of the suffering inflicted by the Gentile nations]. But these craftsmen have come to terrify them and make them panic, and throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
• Zechariah 10:3“My anger is kindled against the shepherds [who are not true shepherds], And I shall punish the male goats (leaders); For the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom), And will make them like His beautiful and majestic horse in the battle.
• Zechariah 12:2“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling (staggering) to all the surrounding peoples; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
• Micah 5:4And He shall stand and shepherd and guide His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall dwell [secure in undisturbed peace], Because at that time He shall be great [extending His authority] [Even] to the ends of the earth.
• Revelation 17:14They will wage war against the Lamb (Christ), and the Lamb will triumph and conquer them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him and on His side are the called and chosen (elect) and faithful.”
• Psalms 49:2Both low and high, Rich and poor together:
• Lamentations 4:2The [noble and] precious sons of Zion, [Once] worth their weight in fine gold, How they are regarded [merely] as earthen jars, The work of a potter’s hands!
• Amos 2:11Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets [who gave you My revelation], And some of your young men to be Nazirites (dedicated ones). Is this not true, O you children of Israel?” says the Lord.
• Obadiah 1:21The deliverers shall go up on Mount Zion To rule and judge the mountain of Esau, And the kingdom and the kingship shall be the Lord’s.
• Daniel 8:21The shaggy (rough-coated) male goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the great horn between his eyes is the first king.
• Daniel 11:32With smooth words [of flattery and praise] he will turn to godlessness those who [are willing to] disregard the [Mosaic] covenant, but the people who [are spiritually mature and] know their God will display strength and take action [to resist].
• Joel 3:6and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the Greeks, so that you may send them far away from their territory,
• Micah 4:2And many nations shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law shall go forward from Zion, And the word of the Lord [the revelation about Him and His truth] from Jerusalem.
• Mark 16:15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
• Romans 15:16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I minister as a priest the gospel of God, in order that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable [to Him], sanctified [made holy and set apart for His purpose] by the Holy Spirit.
• 1 Corinthians 1:21For since the world through all its [earthly] wisdom failed to recognize God, God in His wisdom was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached [regarding salvation] to save those who believe [in Christ and welcome Him as Savior].

Commentaries on Zechariah 9:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13When I have bent Judah - Judah is the bow, and Ephraim is the arrows; and these are to be shot against the Greeks. I am inclined, with Bp. Newcome, to consider that the language of this prophecy is too strong to point out the only trifling advantage which the Maccabees gained over Antiochus, who was of Macedonian descent; and it is probable that these prophecies remain to be fulfilled against the present possessors of Javan or Greece, Macedonia, and a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13When - or For I have bent Judah for me As a mighty bow which is only drawn at full human strength, the foot being placed to steady it. It becomes a strong instrument, but only at God‘s Will. God Himself bends it. It cannot bend itself. “And filled the bow with Ephraim.” The bow is filled, when the arrow is laid upon it. God would employ both in their different offices, as one. “And raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece.” Let people place…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-17Verses 9-17 The prophet breaks forth into a joyful representation of the coming of the Messiah, of whom the ancient Jews explained this prophecy. He took the character of their King, when he entered Jerusalem amidst the hosannas of the multitude. But his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. It shall not be advanced by outward force or carnal weapons. His gospel shall be preached to the world, and be received among the heathen. A sinful state is a state of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13In Zechariah’s time, the Persian Empire and the Greeks were competing for power. Looking ahead, God promised to judge the Greeks, who may also represent all Gentile nations. Zechariah may be pointing to the vision recorded in the book of Daniel, where Greece appears as a future ruling power (Daniel 8:21–22).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. bent Judah--made Judah as it were My bow, and "filled" it "with Ephraim," as My arrow, wherewith to overcome the successor of the Grecian Alexander, Antiochus Epiphanes (compare Notes, see on Da 8:9; Da 11:32; 1 Maccabees 1:62; 2:41-43), the oppressor of Judah. Having spoken (Zec 9:1-8) of Alexander's victories, after the parenthesis (Zec 9:9, 10) as to Messiah the infinitely greater King coming, he passes to the victories which God would enable Judah…Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 9:13

• Archery
• Church
• Gentiles
• Greece
• Jerusalem
• Zion

In the dictionaries

• Ephraim
• Greece
• Judah
• Greece; Graecia
• Ephraim, Ephraimite
• Greece, Grecian
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Javan
• Pride

Commentaries on Zechariah 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings