God will punish Israel's enemies
1 This is a message from the Lord against the land of Hadrach. It speaks about the city of Damascus.
9:1Damascus was the capital city of Syria.
Everyone looks to see what the Lord will do, including all the tribes of Israel. 2 The people of Hamath, which is near Damascus, also wait to see what the Lord will do. The people in the cities of Tyre and Sidon also do this, even though they are very wise.
3 Tyre's people have built strong walls around their city to keep it safe. They have stored a lot of silver and gold, as much as the dirt and mud in their streets! 4 But now the Lord God will take away all Tyre's valuable things. He will throw all its power into the sea! Fire will destroy the whole city.
5 The people in Ashkelon will see what has happened to Tyre. They will be afraid. The people in Gaza will shake with fear. The people in Ekron will also be afraid. They will no longer hope for good things. The people of Gaza will no longer have a king. Ashkelon will become an empty place.
6 Foreign people will make Ashdod their home. I, the Lord, will cause the proud Philistine people to be ashamed. 7 I will remove from their mouths the meat of sacrifices that they have offered to their idols. Those Philistines who remain will become a group of people who belong to me. They will be like a clan in the tribe of Judah. The Philistines of Ekron will join the people of Judah, as the Jebusites did long ago.
9:6The Philistines were a nation of people who were powerful enemies of Israel. They lived beside the sea on the west side of Israel.
8 Then I will keep my temple safe. I will protect it like a guard. I will not allow an enemy to attack my people any more. Now I am watching carefully and I will take care of them.
