Zechariah 9:6 (KJV)

Passage

And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

Nearby Context

Zechariah 9:4 Behold, the LORD will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.

Zechariah 9:5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

Zechariah 9:6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

Zechariah 9:7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.

Zechariah 9:8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bastard", "shall", "dwell", "ashdod", "pride", and "philistines". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bastard" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Ashkelon shall see it and fear Gaza..." into verse 7's "And I will take away his blood...", so "bastard" and "shall" 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 "bastard" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.