5 See doth Ashkelon and fear, Also Gaza, and she is exceedingly pained, Also Ekron—for her expectation dried up, And perished hath a king from Gaza, And Ashkelon doth not remain, 6 And dwelt hath a foreigner in Ashdod, And I have cut off the excellency of the Philistines. 7 And turned aside his blood from his mouth, His abominations from between his teeth, And he hath remained, even he, to our God, And he hath been as a leader in Judah, And Ekron as a Jebusite. 8 And I have pitched for My house a camp, Because of the passer through, and of the returner, And pass not through against them again doth an exactor, For, now, I have seen with My eyes.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Zechariah 9:5-8
Commentary on Zechariah 9:1-8
(Read Zechariah 9:1-8)
Here are judgements foretold on several nations. While the Macedonians and Alexander's successors were in warfare in these countries, the Lord promised to protect his people. God's house lies in the midst of an enemy's country; his church is as a lily among thorns. God's power and goodness are seen in her special preservation. The Lord encamps about his church, and while armies of proud opposers shall pass by and return, his eyes watch over her, so that they cannot prevail, and shortly the time will come when no exactor shall pass by her any more.