Bible Strands
Zechariah 9:15
The 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Zechariah addresses post-exilic Judah and Jerusalem, describing a future moment when Yahweh manifests militarily to defend His people against their enemies.
The words — The Hebrew יָגֵן (ya.gên) literally means "he will defend" or "shield," paired with אַבְנֵי־קֶלַע (avnei-qelaʿ), "stones of a sling," which specifies the weapons through which this protection is executed.
The thread — This imagery of divine shielding and violent conquest echoes the ram’s horn blast in Zechariah 9:14 and the bronze horns of the altar in Exodus 27:2, while the wine-drinking motif parallels the glad hearts of Ephraim in Zechariah 10:7.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that God’s deliverance operates through overwhelming force rather than human strategy, requiring the reader to trust in divine sovereignty for national survival.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The 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.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 12:6 On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there.
- Zechariah 10:7 Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
- Exodus 27:2 Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.
- Psalms 78:65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
- Zechariah 10:5 They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
- Zechariah 12:8 On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.
- Leviticus 4:18 He is also to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting, and he must pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Leviticus 4:25 Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
- Revelation 19:13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
- Leviticus 4:7 The priest must then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. And he is to pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.