Zechariah 9:6
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | And 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, sourcedZechariah 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
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
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
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
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
- 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
- Ashdod settlementMapAbout this place
- Philistia regionMapAbout 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 will dwell | וְיָשַׁ֥ב | ve-ya-SHAV | H3427 | to dwellיָשַׁב (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 population | מַמְזֵ֖ר | mam-ZER | H4464 | bastardמַמְזֵר (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 Ashdod | בְּאַשְׁדּ֑וֹד | be-'ash-DOD | H0795 | Ashdodאַשְׁדּוֹד (ash.dod) § Ashdod = "powerful" a major Philistine city on the Mediterranean Sea west from Jerusalem, modern Esdud |
| and I will cut off | וְהִכְרַתִּ֖י | ve-hikh-ra-TI | H3772I | to cut: cutכָּרַת (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 of | גְּא֥וֹן | ge-'on | H1347 | prideגָּאוֹן (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] Philistines | פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃ | pe-lish-TIM | H6430G | Philistineפְּלִשְׁתִּי (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.