Zechariah 9:3
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. | Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets. | And Tyre did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedZechariah 9 opens with a burden, a heavy message from the LORD, against Israel's neighbors, from Hadrach and Damascus down to Tyre, Zidon and the Philistine cities. This verse describes Tyre's security: a strong fortress and silver and gold piled up like dirt in the street. The next verse answers it: the LORD will cast her out, strike her power in the sea, and she will be devoured with fire. Zechariah 9:1Zechariah 9:2Zechariah 9:3Zechariah 9:4Zechariah 9:5Zechariah 9:6
SpeakingThe prophet delivers "the burden of the word of the LORD." Traditional: the book names the prophet as Zechariah son of Berechiah. Scholarly: many assign chapters 9-14 to a later writer or writers. Zechariah 9:1Zechariah overview
ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon and were living in and around Jerusalem. Zechariah overview
Also involvedTyre, the wealthy Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast. Its fall would also frighten the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza and Ekron. Strong's H6865Zechariah 9:4Zechariah 9:5
Tyre made herself safe by building a fortress and piling up wealth, so that silver was as common as dust and gold as common as street mud. Zechariah sets this up so that verse 4 can show that none of it will protect her from the LORD. Ezekiel says the same: Tyre gained gold and silver by wisdom and trade, and her heart was lifted up because of her riches. Zechariah 9:3Zechariah 9:4Ezekiel 28:4Ezekiel 28:5Ezekiel 27:33Ezekiel 28:2
Tyre was a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast, at the edge of Asher's land (Joshua 19:29). Scripture long knew it as a fortified place, calling it "the strong city Tyre" and "the strong hold of Tyre." Strong's H6865TyreJoshua 19:292 Samuel 24:7
The eventsThe text does not give a date for Tyre's fall. It sets the judgment within a sweep of events that leads to Zion's coming king in verse 9. Zechariah 9:4Zechariah 9:9
WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote the book; his dated messages run from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most agree chapters 1-8 come from those years, but chapters 9-14 are undated and many assign them to a later writer or writers, while others hold Zechariah wrote it all. Zechariah overview
HereThe verse shows the false security of a proud, rich city. Its walls and treasure are named so that the LORD's judgment in the next verse stands out clearly. Zechariah 9:3Zechariah 9:4Ezekiel 28:5
In the whole of ScriptureThe LORD humbles the strong nations around his people. Then he promises to encamp about his house, so that no oppressor passes through any more, and he announces Zion's lowly King who brings salvation and peace. Zechariah 9:4Zechariah 9:6Zechariah 9:8Zechariah 9:9Zechariah 9:10
For readersFortresses and piled-up money cannot keep anyone safe from God, as verse 4 shows for Tyre. Job 27:16 uses the same picture of one who would "heap up silver as the dust." Zechariah 9:3Zechariah 9:4Job 27:16
- strong holdמָצוֹר
The word means a siege-enclosure, rampart or fortification. In Hebrew it is written ma.Tzor, while the city's name is tzor, meaning "a rock." Strong's H4692Strong's H6865
- heaped upצָבַר
This word means to heap up or pile up, and it is used of grain, dust and silver. It pictures wealth stacked like a pile of dirt, the same image used in Job 27:16. Strong's H6651Job 27:16
- mireטִיט
It means mud, clay or damp dirt. Comparing fine gold to the mud of the streets shows how common gold had become in Tyre. Strong's H2916Strong's H2351Zechariah 9:3
Takeaway
Tyre trusted in her walls and her wealth, but the LORD would cast her out and burn her. Security built on fortresses and money fails before God. Zechariah 9:3Zechariah 9:4Ezekiel 28:5
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
Behind this verse
- Tyre: An island fortress
- Tyre's main city stood on an island off the shore, with strong walls. Nebuchadnezzar besieged it for thirteen years. Zechariah 9:3Ezekiel 26:7Ezekiel 29:18Josephus, Against Apion 1.21
- Tyre: Merchants of the sea
- Tyre traded with the whole Mediterranean and beyond. Ezekiel lists her trade in silver, iron, tin, horses, ivory and fine cloth. Ezekiel 27:3-25Isaiah 23:8
About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.
Who ruled
- King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC
Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription
- Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC
A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8
- High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC
Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2
- Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC
The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13
What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
- 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleThe first return
Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops
The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24
- 525 BCWarPersia conquers Egypt
Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16
- 522-521 BCWarDarius crushes the revolts
When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11
- 520 BCGod's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build
In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1
- c. 520-519 BCRulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree
Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12
- 515 BCBuildingThe second temple is finished
The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9
- 490-479 BCWarPersia's wars with Greece
Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13
- 445 BCBuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls
Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15
- 332 BCWarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza
Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Where
- Tyre settlementMapAbout this place
Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and it built | וַתִּ֥בֶן | va-TI-ven | H1129 | to buildבְּנָה (be.nah) 1) to build 1a) (P'al) to build 1b) (Ithp'il) to be built |
| Tyre | צֹ֛ר | tzor | H6865 | Tyreצֹר (tsor) § Tyre or Tyrus = "a rock" the Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast |
| a fortification | מָצ֖וֹר | ma-TZOR | H4692 | siegeמָצוֹר (ma.tsor) 1) siege-enclosure, siege, entrenchment, siege works 1a) siege 1b) enclosure, siege-works, rampart |
| and it heaped up | וַתִּצְבָּר־ | va-titz-bor- | H6651 | to heapצָבַר (tsa.var) 1) (Qal) to heap up, pile up 1a) of grain, dust, silver |
| silver | כֶּ֙סֶף֙ | ke-sef | H3701G | silver: moneyכֶּ֫סֶף (ke.seph) : money/payment/silver 1) silver, money 1a) silver 1a1) as metal 1a2) as ornament 1a3) as colour 1b) money, shekels, talents |
| like the dust | כֶּֽעָפָ֔ר | ke-'a-FAR | H6083 | dustעָפָר (a.phar) 1) dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish 1a) dry or loose earth 1b) debris 1c) mortar 1d) ore |
| and gold | וְחָר֖וּץ | ve-cha-RUTZ | H2742D | goldחָרוּץ (cha.ruts) gold (poetical) |
| like [the] mud of | כְּטִ֥יט | ke-TIT | H2916 | mudטִיט (tit) 1) mud, clay, mire, damp dirt 1a) mud, mire 1b) clay (poetical) Aramaic equivalent: tin (טִין "common" H2917) |
| [the] streets | חוּצֽוֹת׃ | chu-TZOT | H2351 | outsideחוּץ (chuts) outside, outward, street, the outside |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.