8. I will protect my country. I will not let enemy armies pass through it. I will not let them hurt my people anymore. With my own eyes I have seen how much my people have suffered.”
9. People of Zion, rejoice! People of Jerusalem, shout with joy! Look, your king is coming to you! He is the good king who won the victory, but he is humble. He is riding on a donkey, on a young donkey born from a work animal.
10. I will take the war chariots away from Ephraim and the horse soldiers from Jerusalem. I will destroy the bows used in war. Your king will bring news of peace to the nations. He will rule from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
11. Jerusalem, we used blood to seal your agreement, so I am setting your people free from that empty hole in the ground.
12. Prisoners, go home! Now you have something to hope for. I am telling you now, I am coming back to you.
13. Judah, I will use you like a bow. Ephraim, I will use you like arrows. Israel, I will use you like a sword to fight against the men of Greece.
14. The Lord will appear to them, and he will shoot his arrows like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and the army will rush forward like a desert dust storm.