Bible Strands
Zechariah 9:5
Ashkelon 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through the prophet Zechariah regarding the impending judgment on Philistine city-states. The declaration follows a pronouncement against Tyre and precedes a similar oracle against Ashdod.
The words — תֵּרֵא (te.Re') means "it will see" and תִירָא (ti.Ra') means "it will be afraid," describing Ashkelon’s reaction. וְתָחִיל (ta.Chil) translates to "it will writhe in agony," detailing Gaza’s physical distress.
The thread — The judgment on Gaza and Ashkelon reappears in Zephaniah 2:4, which predicts Gaza’s abandonment and Ashkelon’s ruin. Jeremiah 47:1 also records an oracle concerning the Lord’s strike against Gaza before Pharaoh’s campaign.
Why it lands — The text declares that political power in Gaza will end and Ashkelon will become uninhabited. It demands recognition that human hope withers when divine judgment arrives.
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
Ashkelon 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.
Cross-references
- Acts 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
- Jeremiah 47:1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.
- Zephaniah 2:4 For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
- Revelation 18:9 Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
- Isaiah 14:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
- Isaiah 20:5 Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
- Jeremiah 47:4 For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
- Ezekiel 25:15 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility,
- Ezekiel 26:15 This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan at the slaughter in your midst?
- Philippians 1:20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.