מַשָּׂא דְבַר־ה' בְּאֶרֶץ חַדְרָךְ וְדַמֶּשֶׂק מְנֻחָתוֹ כִּי לַה' עֵין אָדָם וכֹל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

A prophecy of the word of the Lord, referred to here as a burden [massa], as at times prophets experienced prophecy like a heavy load: In the land of Hadrakh, a state near Hamat in Syria, and Damascus, shall be His resting place. God’s holy residence will spread northward, for the eye of man, and especially the eye of all the tribes of Israel, who are closest to Him, is toward the Lord.

וְגַם־חֲמָת תִּגְבָּל־בָּהּ צֹר וְצִידוֹן כִּי חָכְמָה מְאֹד

Hamat, a city in Syria, too will be in its borders, it will be included in the region of God; and also Tyre and Sidon, which were great centers of commerce and art, will be in its borders. Although it, Tyre, and perhaps Sidon as well, is very wise, they will nevertheless be conquered by Israel.

וַתִּבֶן צֹר מָצוֹר לָהּ וַתִּצְבָּר־כֶּסֶף כּעָפָר וְחָרוּץ כְּטִיט חוּצוֹת

Tyre, which was originally an island, built itself a fortress, which helped protect it from attackers; it amassed silver like dirt, and piled up fine gold like the mud of the streets. Tyre was an island with a fortified causeway connecting it to the mainland. Its great wealth was founded on it being a great trading nation.

הִנֵּה אֲדֹנָי יוֹרִשֶׁנָּה וְהִכָּה בַיָּם חֵילָהּ וְהִיא בָּאֵשׁ תֵּאָכֵל

Behold, the Lord will impoverish, or destroy it, and He will strike its forces on the sea, as the city’s defenses were based on the sea and its military navy; and it, Tyre, will be consumed by fire.

תֵּרֶא אַשְׁקְלוֹן וְתִירָא וְעַזָּה וְתָחִיל מְאֹד וְעֶקְרוֹן כִּי־הוֹבִישׁ מֶבָּטָהּ וְאָבַד מֶלֶךְ מֵעַזָּה וְאַשְׁקְלוֹן לֹא תֵשֵׁב

Ashkelon will see Tyre’s fate and fear, Gaza will also see and tremble greatly. These Philistine cities likewise depended to a great extent on trade and foreign relations, albeit not on the same scale as Tyre and Sidon. And the city of Ekron will tremble greatly too, because its expectation was confounded. When its inhabitants see that Tyre is lost, they will realize that their own conquest and downfall is imminent. A king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be settled, but will become desolate.

וְיָשַׁב מַמְזֵר בְּאַשְׁדּוֹד וְהִכְרַתִּי גְּאוֹן פְּלִשְׁתִּים

A mongrel people, mixtures of different nations, will dwell in Ashdod, and in general I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.

וַהֲסִרֹתִי דָמָיו מִפִּיו וְשִׁקֻּצָיו מִבֵּין שִׁנָּיו וְנִשְׁאַר גַּם־הוּא לֵאלֹהֵינוּ וְהָיָה כְּאַלֻּף בִּיהוּדָה וְעֶקְרוֹן כִּיבוּסִי

I will remove his blood, the blood spilled by the Philistine people, from his mouth. All such blood will be removed from the entire region of the Philistines. His repugnant things, his idols, will be removed from between his teeth, and he too will remain for our God. The entire region of the coastal cities will be transferred to Israel’s control. He will be like a chieftain in Judah. The former region of Philistine residence will become an important district for the leaders of Judah. And the Philistine Ekron will be like Yevus, a reference to Jerusalem. In other words, it will be turned into a Jewish city.

וְחָנִיתִי לְבֵיתִי מִצָּבָה מֵעֹבֵר וּמִשָּׁב וְלֹא־יַעֲבֹר עֲלֵיהֶם עוֹד נֹגֵשׂ כִּי עַתָּה רָאִיתִי בְעֵינָי

I will set a guard for My house, the house of Israel, against trespassers and travelers, foreign armies, and no oppressor will pass through them anymore, for I have seen now the destruction of the Philistine coastal cities and their conquest by Israel with My eyes; or, we will merit to see it with our own eyes.

גִּילִי מְאֹד בַּת־צִיּוֹן הָרִיעִי בַּת יְרוּשָׁלִַם הִנֵּה מַלְכֵּךְ יָבוֹא לָךְ צַדִּיק וְנוֹשָׁע הוּא עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל־חֲמוֹר וְעַל־עַיִר בֶּן־אֲתֹנוֹת

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; cheer, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your king will come to you; he is righteous and saved from distress. He, the king, is humble, and riding upon a donkey, on the foal of a female donkey. He will not ride on a horse in the usual manner of kings, but will arrive on a young donkey, just like the first redeemer, Moses our teacher, when he came to Egypt to redeem Israel.

וְהִכְרַתִּי־רֶכֶב מֵאֶפְרַיִם וְסוּס מִירוּשָׁלִַם וְנִכְרְתָה קֶשֶׁת מִלְחָמָה וְדִבֶּר שָׁלוֹם לַגּוֹיִם וּמָשְׁלוֹ מִיָּם עַד־יָם וּמִנָּהָר עַד־אַפְסֵי האָרֶץ

I will eliminate battle chariots from Ephraim, and horses of war I will likewise cut off from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be eliminated; he, that king, will speak peace to the nations, and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

גַּם־אַתְּ בּדַם־בְּרִיתֵךְ שִׁלַּחְתִּי אֲסִירַיִךְ מִבּוֹר אֵין מַיִם בּוֹ

You too, daughter of Zion, for the blood of your covenant, which began Israel’s relationship with God, I have released your prisoners from the pit in which there is no water.

שׁוּבוּ לְבִצָּרוֹן אֲסִירֵי הַתִּקְוָה גַּם־הַיּוֹם מַגִּיד מִשְׁנֶה אָשִׁיב לָךְ

Return to security, to the fortress where you will be protected and fortified, prisoners of hope, who have nothing left but hope; today too, I declare that I will return double the amount of good to you. I will send you a king of redemption who will give you tidings of double your previous good.

כִּי־דָרַכְתִּי לִי יְהוּדָה קֶשֶׁת מִלֵּאתִי אֶפְרַיִם וְעוֹרַרְתִּי בָנַיִךְ צִיּוֹן עַל־בָּנַיִךְ יָוָן וְשַׂמְתִּיךְ כְּחֶרֶב גִּבּוֹר

For I bend Judah for Me like a bow; I fully draw a bow of Ephraim, I will fill Israel with strength; I will rouse your children, Zion, against your children, Yavan, and will set you, Zion, like the sword of the valiant.

וַה' עֲלֵיהֶם יֵרָאֶה וְיָצָא כַבָּרָק חִצּוֹ וַה' אֱלוֹהִים בַּשּׁוֹפָר יִתְקָע וְהָלַךְ בְּסַעֲרוֹת תֵּימָן

The Lord will appear over them, the children of Israel, and His arrow will emerge like the lightning bolt, and destroy their enemies; and the Lord God will sound the shofar, as in war, and He will go with the storms to the south, the southern edge of the land.

ה' צְבָאוֹת יָגֵן עֲלֵיהֶם וְאָכְלוּ וְכָבְשׁוּ אַבְנֵי־קֶלַע וְשָׁתוּ הָמוּ כְּמוֹ־יָיִן וּמָלְאוּ כַּמִּזְרָק כְּזָוִיֹּת מִזְבֵּחַ

The Lord of hosts will protect them in their wars; they will devour and conquer their enemies like a slingshot, and they will drink and clamor like one who gets excited after drinking wine, or like the fizz of wine; they shall be filled with the blood of war and victory, like the basins in which blood from offerings is collected, or like the corners of the altar, upon which the blood of offerings was sprinkled.

וְהוֹשִׁיעָם ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כּצֹאן עַמּוֹ כִּי אַבְנֵי־נֵזֶר מִתְנוֹסְסוֹת עַל־אַדְמָתוֹ

The Lord their God will save them on that day as is fitting for the flock, His people, for they will be like the jewels of a crown, precious stones fixed in a royal crown, brandished over His land.

כִּי מַה טּוּבוֹ וּמַה יָּפְיוֹ דָּגָן בַּחוּרִים וְתִירוֹשׁ יְנוֹבֵב בְּתֻלוֹת

For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty? This is a reference to the people, the king, that day, or the fruit of the land. There will be grain for the young men, and new wine, before it has fermented, or after it has fermented slightly, will make the young women talk, or raise their spirits.