Reference

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.
2

And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.

3

And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.

4

Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.

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.

6

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

Why This Verse Was Tagged

Annihilation / Destruction
Keyword Match
100% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Destruction / Perishing Language
Keyword Match
100% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Fire Imagery
Semantic Discovery
100% relevance

This verse was identified through meaning similarity — its content is mathematically close to known verses in this theme, even without sharing the same vocabulary.

Literal Fulfillment
Semantic Discovery
80% relevance

This verse was identified through meaning similarity — its content is mathematically close to known verses in this theme, even without sharing the same vocabulary.

Counter-Arguments

The strongest case that this verse does not belong in this theme.

Annihilation / Destruction

This verse describes a specific entity being "cast out," "smitten," and "devoured with fire," which are all actions indicative of destruction, but it does not explicitly state that the entity ceases to exist.

Destruction / Perishing Language

There is no argument that this verse does not support the theme, as it explicitly uses the word "devoured" in relation to the fate of the entity being discussed.

Fire Imagery

The verse explicitly states "she shall be devoured with fire," which directly aligns with the theme's definition of using "fire" in a judgment or punishment context.

Literal Fulfillment

While the verse describes concrete actions, the use of "devoured with fire" could be interpreted metaphorically for complete destruction rather than a literal conflagration.