Zechariah 9

Zechariah · Chapter 9

Zechariah 9:6

1The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.2And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.3And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.4Behold, the LORD will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.5Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.6And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.7And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.8And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.11As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.12Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;13When 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.14And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the LORD God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.15The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.16And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.17For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
6And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.A mixed race will occupy Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Zechariah 9 opens with a burden against the nations around Israel: Hadrach, Damascus, Hamath, Tyre and Sidon, then the Philistine cities. In verse 6 the LORD says Ashdod will be lived in by a mixed people, and he will cut off the pride of the Philistines. The next verse adds that a remnant of them will belong to God. Zechariah 9:1Zechariah 9:2Zechariah 9:5Zechariah 9:6Zechariah 9:7Strong's H4464

SpeakingThe LORD speaks in the first person ("I will cut off"), through the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah. Zechariah 9:6Zechariah overview

ToThe people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon. Zechariah overview

Also involvedThe Philistines, and especially the city of Ashdod, named alongside the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza and Ekron. Zechariah 9:5Zechariah 9:6Strong's H0795Strong's H6430G

A mixed people would dwell in Ashdod, and God would cut off the Philistines' pride. Amos 1:8 had already warned, "I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod." Zechariah 9:6Strong's H4464Strong's H3427Amos 1:8

Ashdod was a major Philistine city on the Mediterranean coast, west of Jerusalem, in the region of Philistia. Strong's H0795AshdodPhilistia

Mediterranean SeaAshdodPHILISTIATyreSidonDamascusGazaMegiddo

The eventsThe verse speaks of a coming judgment. It follows the fall of Tyre and the loss of Gaza's king in the same oracle. The text does not give a date for when it would happen. Zechariah 9:4Zechariah 9:5Zechariah 9:6

WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote the whole book, with dated messages from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most agree chapters 1-8 date from then, but many assign the undated chapters 9-14 to a later writer or writers, while others hold Zechariah wrote it all. Zechariah overview

HereGod judges the pride of the Philistines. Zephaniah 2:10 gives pride as the same kind of reason for judgment: "This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts." Zechariah 9:6Strong's H1347Zephaniah 2:10

In the whole of ScriptureAfter the judgment on the nations, God promises to encamp about his house, and Zion's king comes, "lowly, and riding upon an ass." Even so, a Philistine remnant "shall be for our God," and "Ekron as a Jebusite." Zechariah 9:7Zechariah 9:8Zechariah 9:9Zechariah overview

For readersScripture says again and again that God brings the proud low. Isaiah 2:17 says "the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day," and 1 Peter 5:5 says "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." Isaiah 2:12Isaiah 2:171 Peter 5:5

  • bastardמַמְזֵר
    Hebrew · mam.zer · H4464

    The word can mean an illegitimate child. Here the lexicon glosses it as "a mixed population" in a figurative sense. So the verse is about who would live in Ashdod, not about one person's birth. Strong's H4464Zechariah 9:6

  • prideגָּאוֹן
    Hebrew · ga.on · H1347

    The word means exaltation or majesty. It can describe a nation's excellence, and it can also mean arrogance. What God cuts off is the Philistines' proud standing, in line with Isaiah 23:9, where the LORD purposes "to stain the pride of all glory." Strong's H1347Isaiah 23:9

  • I will cut offכָּרַת
    Hebrew · ka.rat · H3772I

    The verb means to cut off, destroy, or take away. The same phrase appears in Amos 1:8 against Ashdod and in Zechariah 9:10, where God cuts off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. Strong's H3772IAmos 1:8Zechariah 9:10

Takeaway

This verse is a prophecy against Philistine Ashdod: a mixed people would dwell there, and God would humble the Philistines' pride. Yet in the very next verse he promises a remnant of them for himself. Zechariah 9:6Zechariah 9:7Isaiah 2:17

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

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
  1. 539 BC
    WarBabylon 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

  2. 538 BC
    God'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

  3. c. 536 BC
    God'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

  4. 525 BC
    WarPersia 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

  5. 522-521 BC
    WarDarius 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

  6. 520 BC
    God'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

  7. c. 520-519 BC
    RulersDarius 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

  8. 515 BC
    BuildingThe 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

  9. 490-479 BC
    WarPersia'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

  10. 445 BC
    BuildingNehemiah 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

  11. 332 BC
    WarAlexander 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

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and it will dwellוְיָשַׁ֥בve-ya-SHAVH3427
to dwell

יָשַׁב (ya.shav) 1) to dwell, remain, sit, abide 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to sit, sit down 1a2) to be set 1a3) to remain, stay 1a4) to dwell, have one's abode 1b) (Niphal) to be inhabited 1c) (Piel) to set, place 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cause to sit 1d2) to cause to abide, set 1d3) to cause to dwell 1d4) to cause (cities) to be inhabited 1d5) to marry (give an dwelling to) 1e) (Hophal) 1e1) to be inhabited 1e2) to make to dwell Aramaic equivalent: ye.tiv (יְתִב "to dwell" H3488)

a mixed populationמַמְזֵ֖רmam-ZERH4464
bastard

מַמְזֵר (mam.zer) 1) bastard, child of incest, illegitimate child 1a) bastard 1b) mixed population (fig.) 1c) born of a Jewish father and a heathen mother or visa versa

in Ashdodבְּאַשְׁדּ֑וֹדbe-'ash-DODH0795
Ashdod

אַשְׁדּוֹד (ash.dod) § Ashdod = "powerful" a major Philistine city on the Mediterranean Sea west from Jerusalem, modern Esdud

and I will cut offוְהִכְרַתִּ֖יve-hikh-ra-TIH3772I
to cut: cut

כָּרַת (ka.rat) : cut/fell 1) to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to cut off 1a1a) to cut off a body part, behead 1a2) to cut down 1a3) to hew 1a4) to cut or make a covenant 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be cut off 1b2) to be cut down 1b3) to be chewed 1b4) to be cut off, fail 1c) (Pual) 1c1) to be cut off 1c2) to be cut down 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cut off 1d2) to cut off, destroy 1d3) to cut down, destroy 1d4) to take away 1d5) to permit to perish 1e) (Hophal) cut off

[the] pride ofגְּא֥וֹןge-'onH1347
pride

גָּאוֹן (ga.on) 1) exaltation, majesty, pride 1a) majesty, exaltation, excellence 1a1) of nations 1a2) of God 1a3) of the Jordan 1b) pride, arrogance (bad sense)

[the] Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃pe-lish-TIMH6430G
Philistine

פְּלִשְׁתִּי (pe.lish.ti) Philistine = "immigrants" an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan Another spelling of pe.le.shet (פְּלֶ֫שֶׁת "Philistia" H6429)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.