9 Be full of joy, O daughter of Zion; give a glad cry, O daughter of Jerusalem: see, your king comes to you: he is upright and has overcome; gentle and seated on an ass, on a young ass.
Make melody, O daughter of Zion; give a loud cry, O Israel; be glad and let your heart be full of joy, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away those who were judging you, he has sent your haters far away: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is among you: you will have no more fear of evil.
See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will give to David a true Branch, and he will be ruling as king, acting wisely, doing what is right, and judging uprightly in the land. In his days Judah will have salvation and Israel will be living without fear: and this is the name by which he will be named, The Lord is our righteousness.
Take my yoke on you and become like me, for I am gentle and without pride, and you will have rest for your souls;
For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.
Saying, Go into the little town in front of you, and on going in you will see a young ass fixed with a cord, on which no man has ever been seated; let him loose and take him. And if anyone says to you, Why are you taking him? say, The Lord has need of him. And those whom he sent went away, and it was as he said. And when they were getting the young ass, the owners of it said to them, Why are you taking the young ass? And they said, The Lord has need of him. And they took him to Jesus, and they put their clothing on the ass, and Jesus got on to him.
I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no saviour but me.
And when he came near the foot of the Mountain of Olives, all the disciples with loud voices gave praise to God with joy, because of all the great works which they had seen; Saying, A blessing on the King who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
Now this took place so that these words of the prophet might come true, Say to the daughter of Zion, See, your King comes to you, gentle and seated on an ass, and on a young ass. And the disciples went and did as Jesus had given them orders, And got the ass and the young one, and put their clothing on them, and he took his seat on it.
The Lord has sent out word to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, See, your saviour comes; those whom he has made free are with him, and those to whom he has given salvation go before him.
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your saviour; I have given Egypt as a price for you, Ethiopia and Seba for you.
Your seat of power, O God, is for ever and ever; the rod of your kingdom is a rod of honour. You have been a lover of righteousness and a hater of evil: and so God, your God, has put the oil of joy on your head, lifting you high over all other kings.
And they may have righteousness put to their credit, freely, by his grace, through the salvation which is in Christ Jesus: Whom God has put forward as the sign of his mercy, through faith, by his blood, to make clear his righteousness when, in his pity, God let the sins of earlier times go without punishment; And to make clear his righteousness now, so that he might himself be upright, and give righteousness to him who has faith in Jesus.
<To the chief music-maker; put to Shoshannim. Of the sons of Korah. Maschil. A Song of loves.> My heart is flowing over with good things; my words are of that which I have made for a king; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Then they gave a loud cry, Away with him! away with him! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Am I to put your King to death on the cross? The chief priests said in answer, We have no king but Caesar.
Took branches of palm-trees and went out to him, crying, A blessing on him who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! And Jesus saw a young ass and took his seat on it; as the Writings say, Have no fear, daughter of Zion: see your King is coming, seated on a young ass. (These things were not clear to his disciples at first: but when Jesus had been lifted up into his glory, then it came to their minds that these things in the Writings were about him and that they had been done to him.)
Nathanael said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are King of Israel!
And those who went in front, and those who came after, were crying, Glory: A blessing on him who comes in the name of the Lord: A blessing on the coming kingdom of our father David: Glory in the highest.
And she will give birth to a son; and you will give him the name Jesus; for he will give his people salvation from their sins.
But they will be servants to the Lord their God and to David their king, whom I will give back to them.
Give sounds of joy, make melody together, waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord has given comfort to his people, he has taken up the cause of Jerusalem. The Lord has let his holy arm be seen by the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
Give the word, put forward your cause, let us have a discussion together: who has given news of this in the past? who made it clear in early times? did not I, the Lord? and there is no God but me; a true God and a saviour; there is no other.
See, a king will be ruling in righteousness, and chiefs will give right decisions. And a man will be as a safe place from the wind, and a cover from the storm; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a waste land.
<A Psalm. Of David.> The Lord said to my lord, Be seated at my right hand, till I put all those who are against you under your feet. The Lord will send out the rod of your strength from Zion; be king over your haters. Your people give themselves gladly in the day of your power; like the dew of the morning on the holy mountains is the army of your young men. The Lord has made an oath, and will not take it back. You are a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.
The heavens gave out the news of his righteousness, and all the people saw his glory. Shamed be all those who give worship to images, and take pride in false gods; give him worship, all you gods. Zion gave ear and was glad; and the daughters of Judah were full of joy, because of your decisions, O Lord.
Truly, his salvation is near to his worshippers; so that glory may be in our land. Mercy and faith have come together; righteousness and peace have given one another a kiss. Faith comes up from the earth like a plant; righteousness is looking down from heaven. The Lord will give what is good; and our land will give its increase.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Zechariah 9
Commentary on Zechariah 9 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 9
At this chapter begins another sermon, which is continued to the end of ch. 11. It is called, "The burden of the word of the Lord,' for every word of God has weight in it to those who regard it, and will be a heavy weight upon those who do not, a dead weight. Here is,
Zec 9:1-8
After the precious promises we had in the foregoing chapter of favour to God's people, their persecutors, who hated them, come to be reckoned with, those particularly that bordered close upon them.
Zec 9:9-11
That here begins a prophecy of the Messiah and his kingdom is plain from the literal accomplishment of the ninth verse in, and its express application to, Christ's riding in triumph into Jerusalem, Mt. 21:5; Jn. 12:15.
Zec 9:12-17
The prophet, having taught those that had returned out of captivity to attribute their deliverance to the blood of the covenant and to the promise of the Messiah (for they were so wonderfully helped because that blessing was in them, was yet in the womb of their nation), now comes to encourage them with the prospect of a joyful and happy settlement, and of glorious times before them; and such a happiness they did enjoy, in a great measure, for some time; but these promises have their full accomplishment in the spiritual blessings of the gospel which we enjoy by Jesus Christ.