Charles Spurgeon Commentary Zechariah 9:5-8

"Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also, and shall be sore pained; and Ekron, for her expectation shall be put to shame; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 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. And I will encamp about my house against the army, that none pass through or return; and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes." — Zechariah 9:5-8 (ASV)

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

When Phoenicia had fallen into the hands of the conqueror, there was no power able to avert the overthrow of Philistia; and Jerusalem would also have come beneath his sway had not the Lord miraculously interposed for its preservation. Alexander was restrained by a power which he perhaps did not understand, but which he could not resist, so he passed by the holy city of which the temple of the Lord was the glory in the midst. Those who are divinely protected are in absolute safety even in the most perilous times. The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.