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Yahweh Gives Rain

10 Ask rain from Yahweh in the season of the spring rain—

Yahweh, who makes storm clouds,
and he gives showers of rain to them,
    to everyone vegetation in the field.
Because the household gods[a] speak deceit,
    and those who practice divination see a lie,
and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain.
    Therefore the people wander like sheep;[b]
they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
My anger burns[c] against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders,[d]
because Yahweh of hosts watches over his flock,[e]
    the house of Judah;
        and he will make them like his majestic horse in war.
From them[f] the cornerstone will go out,
    from them[g] the tent peg,
from them[h] the battle bow,
    from them[i] every ruler,
        all together.
And they will be like warriors,
    trampling in the mud of the streets in the battle.
They will fight, because Yahweh is with them,
    and they will put to shame the riders on horses.
And I will strengthen the house of Judah,
    and the house of Joseph I will save.
And I will bring them back, because I have compassion on them,
    and they will be as if I had not rejected them,
    for I am Yahweh their God, and I will answer them.
And the people of Ephraim will be like a warrior,
    and their heart will be glad as with wine.
And their children will see and rejoice;
    their heart will shout in exultation in Yahweh.
I will whistle to them and gather them,
    for I have redeemed them,
    and they will become numerous as they have been numerous before.
Though I sow[j] them among the nations,
    in the distant places they will remember me,
    and they will stay alive with their children, and they will return.
10 And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt,
    and from Assyria I will gather them.
To the land of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them,
    until no room will be found for them there.
11 And he[k] will pass through the sea of distress,
    and he will strike the waves of the sea,
    and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be brought low,
    and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
12 I will make them strong in Yahweh,
    and in his name they will walk,
        declares[l] Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 10:2 Hebrew teraphim
  2. Zechariah 10:2 Or “flocks”; the Hebrew term refers collectively to both sheep and goats (small livestock animals)
  3. Zechariah 10:3 Literally “My nose becomes hot”
  4. Zechariah 10:3 Or “male goats”
  5. Zechariah 10:3 Or “herd”
  6. Zechariah 10:4 Hebrew “him” (or “it”), referring to the flock in v. 3
  7. Zechariah 10:4 Hebrew “him” (or “it”), referring to the flock in v. 3
  8. Zechariah 10:4 Hebrew “him” (or “it”), referring to the flock in v. 3
  9. Zechariah 10:4 Hebrew “him” (or “it”), referring to the flock in v. 3
  10. Zechariah 10:9 Or “scatter”
  11. Zechariah 10:11 LXX reads “they,” referring to the Israelites (so NIV, NRSV, NASB)
  12. Zechariah 10:12 Literally “declaration of”

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