Zechariah 10
EasyEnglish Bible
The Lord will watch over Judah
10 Ask the Lord for rain in spring.
It is the Lord who makes the clouds and the storms.
He gives the rain to men.
He gives the plants of the field to everyone.
2 People ask idols for help,
but the idols do not speak true words.
Some people explain what a dream means.
But they do not speak true words.
The help that they give is not good.
So the people move from place to place like sheep.
They are not safe. They have no leaders.
3 ‘I am angry with the leaders.
I will cause them to be sorry.
Judah's people are mine,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I will watch over them.
I will make them as strong as horses that are ready for war.
4 From Judah's descendants will come a strong leader.
He is like a strong stone at the corner of a building.
He is like a strong peg in a wall.
He is like a bow that is ready to shoot arrows.
Every strong ruler will come from Judah's descendants.
5 Together they will be like brave soldiers
who march through the mud in the streets of their enemies.
The Lord is with them and they will fight their enemies.
They will pull down the soldiers from their horses.
6 I will make Judah's people strong,
and I will make Israel's people become free.
I will bring them back to me,
because I am sorry for them.
I am their God,
and I will answer them.
It will be as if I had never turned away from them.
7 Israel's people will become like strong men.
They will be as happy as men that drink wine.
Their children will see their happy fathers
and so the children will be happy.
They will sing to the Lord.
8 I will cause my people to come to me and I will bring them all together.
I will buy them and I will make them free people.
And there will be as many people as there were before.
9 I will send them to foreign countries among foreign people.
But, in these far countries, they will remember me.
They and their children will not die.
They will return to Jerusalem.
10 I will bring my people back from Egypt,
and I will bring them here together from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and to Lebanon.
There will not be enough room for them all.
11 And he will come to the difficult sea.
But it will be no trouble to him.
He will stop the waves in the sea.
He will make the river Nile dry.[a]
Proud Assyria will have nothing to be proud about and
the power of Egypt's people will finish.’
12 ‘I will make my people strong.
They will obey me because they love my name.’
Footnotes
- 10:11 Many years ago, Moses led Israel's people out of Egypt. The Lord made a dry path for them through the Red Sea. The Lord will make the river Nile dry as he did to the Red Sea then.
Zechariah 10
New King James Version
Restoration of Judah and Israel
10 Ask (A)the Lord for (B)rain
In (C)the time of the [a]latter rain.
The Lord will make [b]flashing clouds;
He will give them showers of rain,
Grass in the field for everyone.
2 For the (D)idols[c] speak delusion;
The diviners envision (E)lies,
And tell false dreams;
They (F)comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wend their way like (G)sheep;
They are [d]in trouble (H)because there is no shepherd.
3 “My anger is kindled against the (I)shepherds,
(J)And I will punish the [e]goatherds.
For the Lord of hosts (K)will visit His flock,
The house of Judah,
And (L)will make them as His royal horse in the battle.
4 From him comes (M)the cornerstone,
From him (N)the tent peg,
From him the battle bow,
From him every [f]ruler together.
5 They shall be like mighty men,
Who (O)tread down their enemies
In the mire of the streets in the battle.
They shall fight because the Lord is with them,
And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.
6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph.
(P)I will bring them back,
Because I (Q)have mercy on them.
They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;
For I am the Lord their God,
And I (R)will hear them.
7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man,
And their (S)heart shall rejoice as if with wine.
Yes, their children shall see it and be glad;
Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will (T)whistle for them and gather them,
For I will redeem them;
(U)And they shall increase as they once increased.
9 “I(V) will [g]sow them among the peoples,
And they shall (W)remember Me in far countries;
They shall live, together with their children,
And they shall return.
10 (X)I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt,
And gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
(Y)Until no more room is found for them.
11 (Z)He shall pass through the sea with affliction,
And strike the waves of the sea:
All the depths of [h]the River shall dry up.
Then (AA)the pride of Assyria shall be brought down,
And (AB)the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 “So I will strengthen them in the Lord,
And (AC)they shall walk up and down in His name,”
Says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 10:1 Spring rain
- Zechariah 10:1 Or lightning flashes
- Zechariah 10:2 Heb. teraphim
- Zechariah 10:2 afflicted
- Zechariah 10:3 Leaders
- Zechariah 10:4 Or despot
- Zechariah 10:9 Or scatter
- Zechariah 10:11 The Nile
Zechariah 10
English Standard Version
The Restoration for Judah and Israel
10 Ask rain (A)from the Lord
in the season of (B)the spring rain,
from the Lord (C)who makes the storm clouds,
and (D)he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For (E)the household gods (F)utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
(G)they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore (H)the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
3 (I)“My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and (J)I will punish the leaders;[a]
for (K)the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come (L)the cornerstone,
from him (M)the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—(N)all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
(O)trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame (P)the riders on horses.
6 (Q)“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and (R)I will save the house of Joseph.
(S)I will bring them back (T)because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for (U)I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and (V)their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 (W)“I will whistle for them and (X)gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and (Y)they shall be as many as they were before.
9 (Z)Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries (AA)they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
10 (AB)I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and (AC)I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
(AD)till there is no room for them.
11 (AE)He shall pass through the sea of troubles
and strike down the waves of the sea,
(AF)and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and (AG)the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 (AH)I will make them strong in the Lord,
and (AI)they shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 10:3 Hebrew the male goats
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
