New King James Version
Zechariah 9:13
13For 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.”
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 Living Translation (NLT)Judah is my bow, and Israel is my arrow. Jerusalem is my sword, and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.
Context of Zechariah 9:13
11“As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you. 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.” 14Then the Lord will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south. 15The Lord of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, 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
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 1:21And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
- Zechariah 10:3“My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.
- Zechariah 12:2“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.
- Micah 5:4And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;
- Revelation 17:14These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
- Psalms 49:2Both low and high, Rich and poor together.
- Lamentations 4:2The precious sons of Zion, Valuable as fine gold, How they are regarded as clay pots, The work of the hands of the potter!
- Amos 2:11I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the Lord.
- Obadiah 1:21Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
- Daniel 8:21And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.
- Daniel 11:32Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
- Joel 3:6Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem You have sold to the Greeks, That you may remove them far from their borders.
- Micah 4:2Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, 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 15:16that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries