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.

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.

“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.
From him comes (M)the cornerstone,
From him (N)the tent peg,
From him the battle bow,
From him every [f]ruler together.
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.

“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.
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.
I will (T)whistle for them and gather them,
For I will redeem them;
(U)And they shall increase as they once increased.

“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

  1. Zechariah 10:1 Spring rain
  2. Zechariah 10:1 Or lightning flashes
  3. Zechariah 10:2 Heb. teraphim
  4. Zechariah 10:2 afflicted
  5. Zechariah 10:3 Leaders
  6. Zechariah 10:4 Or despot
  7. Zechariah 10:9 Or scatter
  8. Zechariah 10:11 The Nile

God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

10 Ask for (A)rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—

The Lord who (B)makes the [a]storm winds;
And He will give them (C)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person.
For the [b](D)household idols speak deception,
And the (E)diviners see [c]an illusion
And tell (F)deceitful dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people [d]wander like (G)sheep,
They are wretched because there is no shepherd.
“My (H)anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the [e]male goats;
For the Lord of armies has (I)visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
From [f]them will come the (J)cornerstone,
From [g]them the tent peg,
From [h]them the bow of (K)battle,
From [i]them every tyrant, all of them together.
And they will be like warriors,
(L)Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, because the Lord will be with them;
And the (M)riders on horses will be put to shame.
And I will (N)strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will (O)save the house of Joseph,
And I will [j](P)bring them back,
Because I have had (Q)compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had (R)not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will (S)answer them.
Ephraim will be like a warrior,
And their heart will be joyful as if from wine;
Indeed, their (T)children will see it and be joyful,
[k]Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.
I will (U)whistle for them and gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as (V)numerous as they [l](W)were before.
When I [m]scatter them among the peoples,
They will (X)remember Me in distant countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
10 I will (Y)bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of (Z)Gilead and Lebanon
[n]Until (AA)no room can be found for them.
11 And they will pass through the (AB)sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the (AC)Nile will dry up;
And the pride of (AD)Assyria will be brought down,
And the scepter of (AE)Egypt will depart.
12 And I will (AF)strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name (AG)they will walk,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 10:1 Or thunderbolts
  2. Zechariah 10:2 Heb teraphim
  3. Zechariah 10:2 Lit a lie
  4. Zechariah 10:2 Lit journey
  5. Zechariah 10:3 I.e., leaders
  6. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  7. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  8. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  9. Zechariah 10:4 Lit him
  10. Zechariah 10:6 Another reading is have them dwell
  11. Zechariah 10:7 Or Let their heart rejoice
  12. Zechariah 10:8 Lit were numerous
  13. Zechariah 10:9 Lit sow
  14. Zechariah 10:10 Lit And

God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

10 Ask for rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain.
It is the Lord who makes the thunder clouds;
And He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field to everyone.

For the teraphim (household idols) speak wickedness (emptiness, worthlessness),
And the diviners see lying visions
And tell false dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep,
They are afflicted and suffer because there is no shepherd.

“My anger is kindled against the shepherds [who are not true shepherds],
And I shall punish the male goats (leaders);
For the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom),
And will make them like His beautiful and majestic horse in the battle.(A)

“From them (Judah) shall come the [a]Cornerstone,
From them the tent peg,
From them the bow of battle,
From them every ruler, all of them together.(B)

“They will be like mighty men
Trampling down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle;
And they will fight because the Lord is with them,
And the [enemies’] riders on horses will be shamed.

“I will strengthen the house of Judah [making it superior],
And I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back [and allow them to live securely],
Because I have had compassion on them.
They will be as though I had not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God, and I will listen and answer them.

“Then [b]Ephraim will be like a mighty warrior,
And their heart will rejoice as if from wine;
Yes, their children will see it and rejoice;
Their heart will rejoice and shout triumphantly in the Lord.

“I will [c]whistle for them and gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will increase [again] as they have increased before [in Egypt].(C)

“When I scatter them among the nations,
They will remember Me in far countries,
And with their children they will live and come back [to Me and the land I gave them].
10 
“I will bring them (all Israel) back home again from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria,
And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon [the land on the east and on the west of the Jordan]
Until no room can be found for them.
11 
“And they will pass through the sea of distress and anxiety [with the Lord leading His people, as at the Red Sea]
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;
And the pride of Assyria will be brought down
And the scepter [of the taskmasters] of Egypt will pass away.
12 
“And I will strengthen Israel in the Lord,
And they will walk [and glory] in His name,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 10:4 Probably Messianic, see the “Cornerstone” imagery of Ps 118:22, 23; Is 28:16; Matt 21:42; Acts 4:11; Eph 2:19-22; 1 Pet 2:6-8.
  2. Zechariah 10:7 A reference to the Northern Kingdom.
  3. Zechariah 10:8 Or hiss. From this verse a rabbinical tradition was invented that if a vulture settles on the ground and hisses, the Messiah will come immediately. It was reported to have happened once, but instead of the Messiah coming, the story went that a stone fell on the vulture’s head and killed it because it was a liar.

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

10 Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.

Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.

And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.

And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.

And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.

I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.

10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.

11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.

12 And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.