Zechariah 9:13
in Zechariah 9For I will bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece. I will make you like the sword of a mighty man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and will make thee as the sword of a mighty man.
KJV
When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
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This verse in Zechariah 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 13) For I have bent Judah for Myself as My bow, I have filled Ephraim, and will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and will make you like the sword of a mighty man. LXX: For I have stretched Judah for Myself as My bow, I have filled Ephraim, and will stir up your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece, and will touch you as the sword of a warrior.
This site's exposition
raised up thy sons, O Zion
on Zechariah 9:13-17
Judah bent as the bow and Ephraim as its arrow, and thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece: the readings are named, the Maccabean victories over the Seleucid Greeks as the near horizon most of the bench gives, and the wider day-of-the-Lord horizon others hear, positions with holders and no verdict. The Lord seen over them, the arrow as lightning, the trumpet blown: the theophany fights for the sons it armed. The close turns from war to harvest, the flock saved in that day as the stones of a crown lifted as an ensign, and the last line is pure delight, for how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty, corn and new wine cheering the young, the oracle ending at a table rather than a battlefield.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
O Greece - Against the Grecians or Ionians, who had oppressed the Jews, and bought them for slaves, against whom the Jews took arms, under the conduct of the Maccabees, to whom Christ made good much of this promise.
When I have bent Judah for me,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
When - or For I have bent Judah for me As a mighty bow which is only drawn at full human strength, the foot being placed to steady it. It becomes a strong instrument, but only at God’s Will. God Himself bends it. It cannot bend itself. “And filled the bow with Ephraim.” The bow is filled, when the arrow is laid upon it.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
2:41-43), the oppressor of Judah. Having spoken (Zec 9:1-8) of Alexander's victories, after the parenthesis (Zec 9:9, 10) as to Messiah the infinitely greater King coming, he passes to the victories which God would enable Judah to gain over Alexander's successor, after his temporary oppression of them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
When I have bent Judah - Judah is the bow, and Ephraim is the arrows; and these are to be shot against the Greeks. I am inclined, with Bp. Newcome, to consider that the language of this prophecy is too strong to point out the only trifling advantage which the Maccabees gained over Antiochus, who was of Macedonian descent; and it is probable that these prophecies remain to be fulfilled against the present possessors of Javan or Greece, Macedonia, and a part of Asia Minor.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For I bend Judah for Me Eventually, the Greeks will wrest the kingdom from the Persian kings and inflict harm upon you, and I will bend Judah to be a war bow for me; and Judah will wage war against the Greeks in the days of the Hasmoneans.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Return to the stronghold To your strength and to your glory, even though you are now under the rule of the kings of Persia. you prisoners of hope who hoped for Me until now that My words [would] be fulfilled at the end of seventy years.
And the Lord shall appear over them In the book of Josippon (chap. 18), we find that at that time a sign appeared to the people of Jerusalem.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| דָרַ֨כְתִּי | darakhti | I will bend | H1869 → | |
| לִ֜י | li | for myself | ||
| יְהוּדָ֗ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| קֶ֚שֶׁת | keshet | a bow | H7198 → | 76 times |
| מִלֵּ֣אתִי | mileti | I will fill | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אֶפְרַ֔יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| וְעוֹרַרְתִּ֤י | veorarti | and I will rouse | H5782 → | 80 times |
| בָנַ֙יִךְ֙ | vanayikh | sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צִיּ֔וֹן | tziyon | O Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּנַ֖יִךְ | banayikh | sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יָוָ֑ן | yavan | O Greece | H3120 → | |
| וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְ | vesamtikh | and I will make you | H7760 → | 584 times |
| כְּחֶ֥רֶב | kecherev | like [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| גִּבּֽוֹר׃ | gibor | a warrior | H1368 → | 158 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
דָרַ֨כְתִּיI will bend
darakhtiH1869 →
לִ֜יfor myself
li
יְהוּדָ֗הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
קֶ֚שֶׁתa bow
keshetH7198 →76 times
מִלֵּ֣אתִיI will fill
miletiH4390 →249 times
אֶפְרַ֔יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
וְעוֹרַרְתִּ֤יand I will rouse
veorartiH5782 →80 times
בָנַ֙יִךְ֙sons your
vanayikhH1121 →4930 times
צִיּ֔וֹןO Zion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּנַ֖יִךְsons your
banayikhH1121 →4930 times
יָוָ֑ןO Greece
yavanH3120 →
וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְand I will make you
vesamtikhH7760 →584 times
כְּחֶ֥רֶבlike [the] sword of
kecherevH2719 →413 times
גִּבּֽוֹר׃a warrior
giborH1368 →158 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 17:14They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
it leads to
- Romans 8:30
And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
- 1 Timothy 6:15
which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
- Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
- Revelation 3:21
To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
- Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…
- Romans 8:30
Through
Isaiah 49:2He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.
it leads to
- Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 1:16
He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 50:4
The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
- Hebrews 4:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJudeaEphraimThe town near the wilderness where Jesus withdrew with His disciples before the last Passover (John 11:54).
- PlaceJerusalemZionThe eastern ridge David took from the Jebusites and made his stronghold, the name the Psalms and the prophets give the city the LO…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.