Zechariah 10
1 Ask the Lord for rain in springtime, for he makes the rainclouds and sends showers to grow crops for everyone.
They asked of Jehovah rain in a time of latter rain, Jehovah is making lightnings, And rain [in] showers He doth give to them. To each — the herb in the field.
2 Household idols give worthless answers, fortune-tellers tell lies, while interpreters of dreams just make things up and offer only false hope. As a result, people wander aimlessly like sheep, suffering because there is no shepherd.
Because the teraphim did speak iniquity, And the diviners have seen a falsehood, And dreams of the vanity they speak, [With] vanity they give comfort, Therefore they have journeyed as a flock, They are afflicted, for there is no shepherd.
3 I am angry with the shepherds, I will punish the leaders. For the Lord Almighty cares for his flock, the people of Judah, and will make them like his splendid warhorse.
Against the shepherds did Mine anger burn, And against the he-goats I lay a charge, For inspected hath Jehovah of Hosts His flock, the house of Judah, And set them as His beauteous horse in battle.
4 From the people of Judah will come the cornerstone, from them the tent-peg, the bow used in battle—all their rulers together.
From him [is] a corner-stone, From him a nail, from him a battle-bow, From him goeth forth every exactor together.
5 They will be like warriors going into battle, trampling their enemies in the mud. Because the Lord is with them they will fight and defeat the enemy cavalry.
And they have been as heroes, Treading in mire of out-places in battle, And they have fought, for Jehovah [is] with them, And have put to shame riders of horses.
6 I will strengthen the people of Judah; I will save the people of Joseph. I will bring them back home because I am concerned for them. It will be like I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer their cries for help.
And I have made mighty the house of Judah, And the house of Joseph I do save, And I have caused them to dwell, for I have loved them, And they have been as [if] I had not cast them off, For I [am] Jehovah their God, And I answer them.
7 The people of Ephraim will become like warriors, and they will become so happy—as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see what is happening and will be glad too, joyful in the Lord.
And Ephraim hath been as a hero, And rejoiced hath their heart as wine, And their sons see, and they have rejoiced, Rejoice doth their heart in Jehovah.
8 I will whistle to them and they will run to me. I will rescue them, and there will be as many as there were before.
I hist for them, and I gather them, For I have redeemed them, And they have multiplied as they did multiply.
9 I have scattered them like seed among the nations, and in distant places they will remember me. They will bring up their children, and together they will return.
And I sow them among peoples, And in far-off places they remember Me, And they have lived with their sons, And they have turned back.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt; I will gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there won't be enough room for them!
And I have brought them back from the land of Egypt, And from Asshur I do gather them, And unto the land of Gilead and Lebanon I do bring them in, And there is not found for them [space].
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble and strike the waves of the sea, and the waters of the Nile will dry up. Assyria's pride will be brought down, and Egypt's rule will pass away.
And He hath passed over through the sea, And hath pressed and smitten billows in the sea, And dried up have been all depths of a flood, And brought down hath been the excellency of Asshur, And the rod of Egypt doth turn aside.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord, and they will follow all he says, declares the Lord.
And I have made them mighty in Jehovah, And in His name they walk up and down, An affirmation of Jehovah!
