The Burden against Israel’s Enemies

¹This is the burden of the word of the LORDagainst the land of Hadrachand Damascus its resting place—for the eyes of menand of all the tribes of Israelare upon the LORD—

²and also against Hamath,which borders it,as well as Tyre and Sidon,though they are very shrewd.

³Tyre has built herself a fortress;she has heaped up silver like dust,and gold like the dirt of the streets.

⁴Behold, the Lord will impoverish herand cast her wealth into the sea,and she will be consumed by fire.

⁵Ashkelon will see and fear;Gaza will writhe in agony,as will Ekron,for her hope will wither.There will cease to be a king in Gaza,and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.

⁶A mixed race will occupy Ashdod,and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

⁷I will remove the blood from their mouthsand the abominations from between their teeth.Then they too will become a remnant for our God;they will become like a clanin Judah,and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

⁸But I will camp around My house because of an army,because of those who march to and fro,and never again will an oppressor overrun My people,for now I keep watch with My own eyes.

Zion’s Coming King

⁹Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem!See, your King comes to you,righteous and victorious,humble and riding on a donkey,on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹⁰And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraimand the horse from Jerusalem,and the bow of war will be broken.Then He will proclaim peace to the nations.His dominion will extend from sea to sea,and from the Euphratesto the ends of the earth.

¹¹As for you,because of the blood of My covenant,I will release your prisonersfrom the waterless pit.

¹²Return to your stronghold,O prisoners of hope;even today I declarethat I will restore to you double.

¹³For I will bend Judah as My bowand fit it with Ephraim.I will rouse your sons, O Zion,against the sons of Greece.I will make you like the swordof a mighty man.

The LORD Will Save His People

¹⁴Then the LORD will appear over them,and His arrow will go forth like lightning.The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s hornand advance in the whirlwinds of the south.

¹⁵The LORD of Hosts will shield them.They will destroy and conquer with slingstones;they will drink and roar as with wine.And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls,drenched like the corners of the altar.

¹⁶On that day the LORD their God will save themas the flock of His people;for like jewels in a crownthey will sparkle over His land.

¹⁷How lovely they will be,and how beautiful!Grain will make the young men flourish,and new wine, the young women.

The Murder of Ish-bosheth

¹Now when Ish-bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel was dismayed.

²Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding parties. One was named Baanah and the other Rechab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin,

³because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have lived there as foreigners to this day.

⁴And Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to escape, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

⁵Now Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day, while the king was taking his midday nap.

⁶They entered the interior of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah slipped away.

⁷They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed, and having stabbed and killed him, they beheaded him, took his head, and traveled all night by way of the Arabah.

⁸They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life. Today the LORD has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

The Execution of Rechab and Baanah

⁹But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,

¹⁰when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!

¹¹How much more, when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house and on his own bed, shall I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth!”

¹²So David commanded his young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

Unto Us a Child Is Born

¹Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:

²The people walking in darknesshave seen a great light;on those living in the land of the shadow of death,a light has dawned.

³You have enlarged the nationand increased its joy.The people rejoice before Youas they rejoice at harvest time,as men rejoice in dividing the plunder.

⁴For as in the day of MidianYou have shattered the yoke of their burden,the bar across their shoulders,and the rod of their oppressor.

⁵For every trampling boot of battleand every garment rolled in bloodwill be burned as fuel for the fire.

⁶For unto us a child is born,unto us a son is given,and the government will be upon His shoulders.And He will be calledWonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of His government and peacethere will be no end.He will reign on the throne of Davidand over his kingdom,to establish and sustain itwith justice and righteousnessfrom that time and forevermore.The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

Judgment against Israel’s Pride

⁸The Lord has sent a message against Jacob,and it has fallen upon Israel.

⁹All the people will know it—Ephraimand the dwellers of Samaria.With pride and arrogance of heartthey will say:

¹⁰“The bricks have fallen,but we will rebuild with finished stone;the sycamores have been felled,but we will replace them with cedars.”

¹¹The LORD has raised up the foes of Rezin against himand joined his enemies together.

¹²Aramfrom the east and Philistia from the westhave devoured Israel with open mouths.Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;His hand is still upraised.

Judgment against Israel’s Hypocrisy

¹³But the people did not return to Him who struck them;they did not seek the LORD of Hosts.

¹⁴So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail,both palm branch and reed in a single day.

¹⁵The head is the elder and honorable man,and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.

¹⁶For those who guide this people mislead them,and those they mislead are swallowed up.

¹⁷Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men;He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows.For every one of them is godless and wicked,and every mouth speaks folly.Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;His hand is still upraised.

Judgment against Israel’s Unrepentance

¹⁸For wickedness burns like a firethat consumes the thorns and briersand kindles the forest thickets,which roll upward in billows of smoke.

¹⁹By the wrath of the LORD of Hoststhe land is scorched,and the people are fuel for the fire.No man even spares his brother.

²⁰They carve out what is on the right,but they are still hungry;they eat what is on the left,but they are still not satisfied.Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.

²¹Manasseh devours Ephraim,and Ephraim Manasseh;together they turn against Judah.Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;His hand is still upraised.

God Is Our Refuge and Strength

¹God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in times of trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear,though the earth is transformedand the mountains are toppledinto the depths of the seas,

³though their waters roar and foamand the mountains quake in the surge.Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams delight the city of God,the holy place where the Most High dwells.

⁵God is within her; she will not be moved.God will help her when morning dawns.

⁶Nations rage, kingdoms crumble;the earth melts when He lifts His voice.

⁷The LORD of Hosts is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress.Selah

⁸Come, see the works of the LORD,who brings devastation upon the earth.

⁹He makes wars to cease throughout the earth;He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;He burns the shieldsin the fire.

¹⁰“Be still and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted over the earth.”

¹¹The LORD of Hosts is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress.Selah