The Meaning of Zechariah 9:7 Explained

Zechariah 9:7

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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.

Darby: and I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; but he that remaineth, he also shall belong to our God, and shall be as a leader in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.

ASV: And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; and he also shall be a remnant for our God; and he shall be as a chieftain in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Zechariah 9:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord would also remove the blood that these pagans ate, which was forbidden in Israel, from their mouths. He would take the unclean, detestable food that they ate from their mouths. Drinking blood and eating unclean food was part of Philistine pagan worship (cf. Isaiah 65:4; Isaiah 66:3; Isaiah 66:17), so the judgment in view included punishment for idolatry. Some remaining Philistines would turn to the Lord and become like the Israelites in their faith in Yahweh. As the Jebusites became incorporated into Israel in David"s day (cf. 2 Samuel 24:16; 1 Chronicles 21:18), so would the Philistines in the future from Zechariah"s viewpoint.

Context Summary

Zechariah 9:1-8 - The Nations Will Seek The God Of Israel
In his final answer the prophet gives a delightful picture of the future, which was on the eve of complete realization. So entirely would the memory of the past be obliterated that fateful anniversaries would soon fade from their minds. Indeed they would discover that their dark days had been the source and origin of their glad ones. In all subsequent ages, even when persecuting the Jews, the foremost nations have taken hold of their skirts, appropriating their sacred writings, venerating their lawgivers, prophets, and saints; and believing in the noblest representative of their race.
The prophet passes his eye over the surrounding nations, showing that his people need fear no more, because their oppressors had been effectually silenced. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 9

1  God defends his church
9  Zion is exhorted to rejoice for the coming of Christ, and his peaceable kingdom
12  God's promises of victory and defense

What do the individual words in Zechariah 9:7 mean?

And I will take away the blood from his mouth and the abominations from between his teeth But he who remains even he [shall be] for our God and shall be like a leader in Judah and Ekron like a Jebusite
וַהֲסִרֹתִ֨י דָמָ֜יו מִפִּ֗יו וְשִׁקֻּצָיו֙ מִבֵּ֣ין שִׁנָּ֔יו וְנִשְׁאַ֥ר גַּם־ ה֖וּא לֵֽאלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְהָיָה֙ כְּאַלֻּ֣ף בִּֽיהוּדָ֔ה וְעֶקְר֖וֹן כִּיבוּסִֽי

וַהֲסִרֹתִ֨י  And  I  will  take  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
דָמָ֜יו  the  blood 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
מִפִּ֗יו  from  his  mouth 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
וְשִׁקֻּצָיו֙  and  the  abominations 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שִׁקּוּץ  
Sense: detestable thing or idol, abominable thing, abomination, idol, detested thing.
מִבֵּ֣ין  from  between 
Parse: Preposition-m
Root: בַּיִן 
Sense: between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
שִׁנָּ֔יו  his  teeth 
Parse: Noun, cdc, third person masculine singular
Root: שֵׁן  
Sense: tooth, ivory.
וְנִשְׁאַ֥ר  But  he  who  remains 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁאַר  
Sense: to remain, be left over, be left behind.
גַּם־  even 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
ה֖וּא  he  [shall  be] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
לֵֽאלֹהֵ֑ינוּ  for  our  God 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וְהָיָה֙  and  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כְּאַלֻּ֣ף  like  a  leader 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַלּוּף 
Sense: tame, docile.
בִּֽיהוּדָ֔ה  in  Judah 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
וְעֶקְר֖וֹן  and  Ekron 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֶקְרֹון  
Sense: the most northerly of the 5 principal cities of the Philistines; located in the lowlands of Judah and later given to Dan.
כִּיבוּסִֽי  like  a  Jebusite 
Parse: Preposition-k, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְבוּסִי  
Sense: descendants of the 3rd son of Canaan who lived in or around the site of Jebus, the early name for Jerusalem.