EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Zechariah 9:13
13I will use Judah and Israel to attack my enemies. I will use you, men from Zion, to attack the men from Greece. I will make you like the long metal knife of a soldier.
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
11But I made a promise to you. I made that promise true with blood. I will free your people that are in a prison, in deep dark holes without water. 12All you people who hoped to see your own country again, return to Jerusalem. I tell you this now: I will give back to you twice as much as you have lost. I will use Judah and Israel to attack my enemies. I will use you, men from Zion, to attack the men from Greece. I will make you like the long metal knife of a soldier. 14Then the Lord will appear above his people. His arrows will be as fast as lightning in the sky. The Lord God will make a loud sound with a trumpet. He will march in a storm from the south to attack. 15And the Lord Almighty will help his people. They will throw great stones at their enemies. When they go to war, they will shout loudly, like men who have drunk too much wine. They will be as full of joy as the priest's bowl is full of blood, when he pours it on 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
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 said, ‘What are these men coming to do?’ The Lord answered, ‘The horns are the enemies that destroyed Judah. They destroyed Judah and they made the people ashamed. The workers came to frighten and to destroy the enemies because they killed many of my people. The enemies took many of my people out of Judah.’
- Zechariah 10:3‘I am angry with the leaders. I will cause them to be sorry. Judah's people are mine,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I will watch over them. I will make them as strong as horses that are ready for war.
- Zechariah 12:2‘I will frighten the enemies that live round Jerusalem. I will frighten them so much that they will run. They will run as fast as they can from Jerusalem and from Judah.
- Micah 5:4And this ruler will stay strong because the Lord will make him strong. He will supply what his people need. He will be like a man who supplies everything for his sheep. He will rule with authority from the Lord his God, and his people will be safe. So then, all over the world, people will know that he is great.
- Revelation 17:14Together they will fight a war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will win against them. He is the Lord above all lords. He is the King who rules over all kings. And God's people will be with him. They are the people that the Lamb has chosen to belong to him. They are the people who have continued to trust him.’
- Psalms 49:2All people must listen, whoever you are, whether you are rich people or poor people.
- Lamentations 4:2Jerusalem's men were valuable, like the best gold. Now they lie in the streets, because God has broken them. They are like common pots that a potter makes.
- Amos 2:11I chose some men among you to be prophets, and some to be Nazirites. You Israelites know that it is true.’ That is what the Lord says.
- Obadiah 1:21Men will come to make Jerusalem free, and they will rule over Edom. And that country will belong to the Lord.
- Daniel 8:21The male goat means the kingdom of Greece. The large horn between its eyes means the first king of Greece.
- Daniel 11:32The king will deceive the people who are no longer faithful to God. He will make them help him. But the people who are still faithful to God will work hard to stop him.
- Joel 3:6You sold the people from Judah and Jerusalem to the Greek people. You wanted to send them a long way from their own country.
- Micah 4:2Many people will speak about it. ‘Come! We will go up to the Lord's mountain,’ they will say. ‘We will go to the Lord's house because he is the God of Jacob's people. He will teach us what he wants us to do. He will show us the right way; so then we will be able to obey him. The Lord will speak his rules from Zion. He will send out his message from Jerusalem.’
- Mark 16:15Then Jesus said to them, ‘Go to all people everywhere in the world. Tell God's good news to everyone.
- Romans 15:16I am a servant of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles. I tell people God's good news. I work like a priest so that God will accept the Gentiles. I offer them to God. The Holy Spirit has made them clean and so God accepts them.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21God himself is wise. He has decided that people cannot know him just because they are wise in their own way. Instead, God uses the message about Jesus to save people. That message may seem to be silly to some people. But when we tell it to people, God saves them if they believe it.
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
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries