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The Lord Promises Deliverance

10 Ask the Lord for rain in the spring of the year. It is the Lord who sends rain clouds and showers, making the fields green for everyone. (A)People consult idols and fortunetellers, but the answers they get are lies and nonsense. Some interpret dreams, but only mislead you; the comfort they give is useless. So the people wander about like lost sheep. They are in trouble because they have no leader.

The Lord says, “I am angry with those foreigners who rule my people, and I am going to punish them. The people of Judah are mine, and I, the Lord Almighty, will take care of them. They will be my powerful war-horses. From among them will come rulers, leaders, and commanders to govern my people.[a] The people of Judah will be victorious like soldiers who trample their enemies in the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will defeat even the enemy cavalry.

“I will make the people of Judah strong;
    I will rescue the people of Israel.
I will have compassion on them
    and bring them all back home.
They will be as though I had never rejected them.
    I am the Lord their God; I will answer their prayers.
The people of Israel will be strong like soldiers,
    happy like those who have been drinking wine.
Their descendants will remember this victory
    and be glad because of what the Lord has done.

“I will call my people
    and gather them together.
I will rescue them
    and make them as numerous as they used to be.
(B)Though I have scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far-off places they will remember me.
They and their children will survive
    and return home together.
10 From Egypt and Assyria I will bring them home
    and settle them in their own country.
I will settle them in Gilead and Lebanon also;
    the whole land will be filled with people.
11 When they pass through their sea of trouble,
    I, the Lord, will strike the waves,
    and the depths of the Nile will go dry.
Proud Assyria will be humbled,
    and mighty Egypt will lose her power.
12 I will make my people strong;
    they will worship and obey me.”

The Lord has spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 10:4 From among … people; or All oppressors—rulers, leaders, and commanders—will depart together from Judah.

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