Zechariah 9:13 (DRB)

Passage

Because I have bent Juda for me as a bow, I have filled Ephraim: and I will raise up thy sons, O Sion, above thy sons, O Greece, and I will make thee as the sword of the mighty.

Nearby Context

Zechariah 9:11 Thou also by the blood of thy testament hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water.

Zechariah 9:12 Return to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope, I will render thee double as I declare today.

Zechariah 9:13 Because I have bent Juda for me as a bow, I have filled Ephraim: and I will raise up thy sons, O Sion, above thy sons, O Greece, and I will make thee as the sword of the mighty.

Zechariah 9:14 And the Lord God shall be seen over them, and his dart shall go forth as lightning: and the Lord God will sound the trumpet, and go in the whirlwind of the south.

Zechariah 9:15 The Lord of hosts will protect them: and they shall devour, and subdue with the stones of the sling: and drinking they shall be inebriated as it were with wine, and they shall be filled as bowls, and as the horns of the altar.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bent", "juda", "filled", "ephraim", "raise", "sons", "sion", and "above". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bent" and "juda", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Return to the strong hold ye prisoners..." into verse 14's "And the Lord God shall be seen...", so "bent" and "juda" belong inside that flow. In Zechariah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "bent" and "juda" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.