Zechariah 9:1-8

1The Lord speaks against the land of Hadrach, and against the city of Damascus. The Lord watches all men and all the groups of people in Israel.

2The Lord speaks against the country called Hamath. (It is next to the country called Hadrach.) The people in Tyre and Sidon cities are very wise. But the Lord also speaks against them.

3Tyre's people have built strong walls to keep enemies out. They have swept up rich metals like dirt. They have swept up gold like dirt in the streets.

4The Lord will take away all the things that Tyre's people have. And he will remove their ships from the sea. Fire will burn every part of the city.

5The people in Ashkelon city will see it and they will be afraid. The people in Gaza city will see it and they will be afraid. The things that the people in Ekron city hope for will not happen. The king of Gaza will die and there will be no people in Ashkelon any longer.

6Foreign people will live in Ashdod city. I will show the Philistines that they are not clever. They are not as clever as they believe.

7I will take the blood from their mouths. I will take the food from their teeth, because it is bad food. Those that remain will still be my people. They will become leaders in Judah. Ekron will be like a part of Judah, as the Jebusites were.

8Then I will keep my house safe against my enemies. No army will ever again beat my people, because I am watching them.