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A Bright Future for Judah and Israel

10 I, the Lord, am the one
    who sends storm clouds
and showers of rain
    to make fields produce.
So when the crops need rain,
    you should pray to me.

(A) You can't believe idols
    and fortunetellers,
or depend on the hope
you receive from witchcraft
    and interpreters of dreams.
But you have tried all of these,
and now you are like sheep
    without a shepherd.

I, the Lord All-Powerful,
    am fiercely angry
with you leaders,
    and I will punish you.
I care for my people,
    the nation of Judah,
and I will change
this flock of sheep
    into charging war horses.

From this flock will come leaders
    who will be strong
like cornerstones and tent pegs
    and weapons of war.
They will join in the fighting,
and together they will trample
    their enemies like mud.
They will fight,
because I, the Lord,
    will be on their side.
And they will crush
    the enemy cavalry.

I will strengthen
the kingdoms of Judah
    and Israel.[a]
And I will show mercy
because I am the Lord,
    their God.
I will answer their prayers
    and bring them home.
Then it will seem as though
    I had never rejected them.
Israel[b] will be like
a tribe of warriors
    celebrating with wine.
When their children see this,
they will also be happy
    because of me, the Lord.

I will give a signal
for them to come together
    because I have rescued them.
And there will be as many
    as ever before.
(B) Although I scattered my people
in distant countries,
    they won't forget me.
Once their children are raised,[c]
    they will return—
10 I will bring them home
from Egypt and Assyria,
    then let them settle
as far as Gilead and Lebanon,
until the land overflows
    with them.
11 My people will go through
    an ocean of troubles,
but I will overcome the waves
and dry up the deepest part
    of the Nile.
Assyria's great pride
    will be put down,
and the power of Egypt
    will disappear.
12 I'll strengthen my people
because of who I am,
    and they will follow me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Footnotes

  1. 10.6 Israel: The Hebrew text has “family of Joseph,” the ancestor of Ephraim and Manasseh, the leading tribes of the northern kingdom (Israel).
  2. 10.7 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 9.10).
  3. 10.9 Once … raised: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

The Lord Will Care for Judah

10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
    it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(A) to all people,
    and plants of the field(B) to everyone.
The idols(C) speak deceitfully,
    diviners(D) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(E) that are false,
    they give comfort in vain.(F)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
    oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(G)

“My anger burns against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders;(H)
for the Lord Almighty will care
    for his flock, the people of Judah,
    and make them like a proud horse in battle.(I)
From Judah will come the cornerstone,(J)
    from him the tent peg,(K)
from him the battle bow,(L)
    from him every ruler.
Together they[a] will be like warriors in battle
    trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(M)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(N)

“I will strengthen(O) Judah
    and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
    because I have compassion(P) on them.(Q)
They will be as though
    I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
    and I will answer(R) them.
The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
    and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(S)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
    their hearts will rejoice(T) in the Lord.
I will signal(U) for them
    and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
    they will be as numerous(V) as before.
Though I scatter them among the peoples,
    yet in distant lands they will remember me.(W)
They and their children will survive,
    and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.(X)
I will bring them to Gilead(Y) and Lebanon,
    and there will not be room(Z) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
    the surging sea will be subdued
    and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(AA)
Assyria’s pride(AB) will be brought down
    and Egypt’s scepter(AC) will pass away.(AD)
12 I will strengthen(AE) them in the Lord
    and in his name they will live securely,(AF)
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 10:5 Or ruler, all of them together. / They