The Lord’s Care for Judah
10 “Ask the Lord for rain in the spring[a]—
the Lord who fashions lightning thunderstorms,
giving rain showers to mankind[b]
along with grain in the fields.[c]
2 Truly the family idols[d] talk nonsense
and the diviners discern lies,
describing delusional dreams.
Since their comfort is vacuous,
they wander off on their own like sheep,
because there is no shepherd.
3 “Against the shepherds my anger rises—
I am punishing the leaders[e] also,
because the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has visited his flock, the house of Judah,
appointing them as his royal war horse for battle.
4 From them arises[f] the cornerstone and tent peg,
from them the battle bow,
from them arise all sorts of oppressive rulers.
5 They will be like mighty soldiers
who trample mud in the streets during battle.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and the opposing[g] horsemen will be confused.
6 “I will fortify the house of Judah,
and the house of Joseph I will save.
I will surely bring them back,
because I care about them.
They will be as if I had never cast them away.
Since I am the Lord their God,
I will answer them.
7 “The people of Ephraim will become like mighty soldiers;
they will be glad, like those who have wine.
Their children will see this and rejoice;
their hearts will find joy in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them, gathering them together,
because I have redeemed them,
and they will multiply as they were before.[h]
9 I will scatter them among the nations,
and so they will remember me in distant countries.
They will rear their children,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them once again out of the land of Egypt,
gathering them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
but there will not be enough space for them.
11 They[i] will pass through the sea of affliction,
and they[j] will strike the waves[k] in that sea.
All of the depths of the Nile will evaporate,
Assyria’s arrogance will be brought down low,
and the ruling power[l] of Egypt will disappear.
12 “I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they will march here and there in his name,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 10:1 Lit. the season of the latter rain; i.e. the March and April rains
- Zechariah 10:1 Lit. them
- Zechariah 10:1 Lit. fields to a man
- Zechariah 10:2 Lit. the teraphim; i.e. household images apparently used for divination
- Zechariah 10:3 Lit. rams
- Zechariah 10:4 The Heb. lacks arises
- Zechariah 10:5 The Heb. lacks opposing
- Zechariah 10:8 Lit. will increase as they increased
- Zechariah 10:11 So LXX. MT reads He will
- Zechariah 10:11 So LXX. MT reads He will
- Zechariah 10:11 I.e. perhaps reminiscent of Elijah striking the Jordan River; cf. 2Kings 2:8
- Zechariah 10:11 Lit. the scepter