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The Lord Will Restore His People

10 Ask the Lord for rain in the spring,
    for he makes the storm clouds.
And he will send showers of rain
    so every field becomes a lush pasture.
Household gods give worthless advice,
    fortune-tellers predict only lies,
and interpreters of dreams pronounce
    falsehoods that give no comfort.
So my people are wandering like lost sheep;
    they are attacked because they have no shepherd.

“My anger burns against your shepherds,
    and I will punish these leaders.[a]
For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived
    to look after Judah, his flock.
He will make them strong and glorious,
    like a proud warhorse in battle.
From Judah will come the cornerstone,
    the tent peg,
the bow for battle,
    and all the rulers.
They will be like mighty warriors in battle,
    trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet.
Since the Lord is with them as they fight,
    they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen.

“I will strengthen Judah and save Israel[b];
    I will restore them because of my compassion.
It will be as though I had never rejected them,
    for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.
The people of Israel[c] will become like mighty warriors,
    and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine.
Their children, too, will see it and be glad;
    their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
When I whistle to them, they will come running,
    for I have redeemed them.
From the few who are left,
    they will grow as numerous as they were before.
Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations,
    they will still remember me in distant lands.
They and their children will survive
    and return again to Israel.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.
I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon
    until there is no more room for them all.
11 They will pass safely through the sea of distress,[d]
    for the waves of the sea will be held back,
    and the waters of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be crushed,
    and the rule of Egypt will end.
12 By my power[e] I will make my people strong,
    and by my authority they will go wherever they wish.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Footnotes

  1. 10:3 Or these male goats.
  2. 10:6 Hebrew save the house of Joseph.
  3. 10:7 Hebrew of Ephraim.
  4. 10:11 Or the sea of Egypt, referring to the Red Sea.
  5. 10:12 Hebrew In the Lord.

Restoration of Judah and Israel

10 Ask rain from the Lord
    in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
    who gives showers of rain to you,[a]
    the vegetation in the field to everyone.(A)
For the teraphim[b] utter nonsense,
    and the diviners see lies;
the dreamers tell false dreams
    and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people[c] wander like sheep;
    they suffer for lack of a shepherd.(B)

My anger is hot against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders,[d]
for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
    and will make them like his proud war horse.(C)
Out of them shall come the cornerstone,
    out of them the tent peg,
out of them the battle bow,
    out of them every commander.(D)
Together they shall be like warriors in battle,
    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight, for the Lord is with them,
    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.(E)

I will strengthen the house of Judah,
    and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
    for I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.(F)
Then the people of Ephraim shall become like warriors,
    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and rejoice;
    their hearts shall exult in the Lord.(G)

I will signal for them and gather them in,
    for I have redeemed them,
    and they shall be as numerous as they were before.(H)
Though I scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far countries they shall remember me,
    and they shall rear their children and return.(I)
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria;
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
    until there is no room for them.(J)
11 They[e] shall pass through the sea of distress,
    and the waves of the sea shall be struck down,
    and all the depths of the Nile dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.(K)
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
    and they shall walk in his name,
            says the Lord.(L)

Footnotes

  1. 10.1 Heb them
  2. 10.2 Or household gods
  3. 10.2 Heb they
  4. 10.3 Or male goats
  5. 10.11 Gk: Heb He