Berean Standard Bible
Zechariah 9:13
13For I will bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece.1 I will make you like the sword of a mighty man.
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, because of the blood of My covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit. 12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double. For I will bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece. I will make you like the sword of a mighty man. 14Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south. 15The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar.
Read all of Zechariah 9Zechariah 9:13 word by word
כִּֽי־דָרַ֨כְתִּי לִ֜י יְהוּדָ֗ה קֶ֚שֶׁת מִלֵּ֣אתִי אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְעוֹרַרְתִּ֤י בָנַ֙יִךְ֙ צִיּ֔וֹן עַל־בָּנַ֖יִךְ יָוָ֑ן וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְ כְּחֶ֥רֶב גִּבּֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear
- Forכִּיkîy · forH3588
- I will bendדָּרַךְdârak · to treadH1869
- Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- as My bowקֶ֫שֶׁתqesheth · bowH7198
- and fit itמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
- with Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
- I will rouseעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
- your sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- O Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
- againstעַל‛al · uponH5921
- of Greeceיָוָןyâvân · GreeceH3120
- I will make youשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
- like the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- of a mighty manגִּבּוֹרgibbôr gibbôr · mighty manH1368
Cross-references for Zechariah 9:13
- Zechariah 1:21“What are these coming to do?” I asked. And He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head; but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations that have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
- Zechariah 10:3“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle.
- Zechariah 12:2“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem.
- Micah 5:4He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
- Revelation 17:14They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”
- Psalms 49:2both low and high, rich and poor alike.
- Lamentations 4:2How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, are now esteemed as jars of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
- Amos 2:11I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not true, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD.
- Obadiah 1:21The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.
- Daniel 8:21The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
- Daniel 11:32With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
- Joel 3:6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.
- Micah 4:2And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
- Mark 16:15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Romans 15:16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
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
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Zechariah 9:13 Hebrew the sons of Javan ↩
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
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