God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

1 Ask arain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—

The Lord who bmakes the 1storm clouds;

And He will give them cshowers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.

2 For the ateraphim speak 1iniquity,

And the bdiviners see 2lying visions

And tell cfalse dreams;

They comfort in vain.

Therefore the people 3wander like dsheep,

They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.

3 “My aanger is kindled against the shepherds,

And I will punish the 1male goats;

For the Lord of hosts has bvisited His flock, the house of Judah,

And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.

4 “From 1them will come the acornerstone,

From 1them the tent peg,

From 1them the bow of bbattle,

From 1them every 2ruler, all of them together.

5 “They will be as mighty men,

aTreading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle;

And they will fight, for the Lord will be with them;

And the briders on horses will be put to shame.

6 “I will astrengthen the house of Judah,

And I will bsave the house of Joseph,

And I will 1cbring them back,

Because I have had dcompassion on them;

And they will be as though I had enot rejected them,

For I am the Lord their God and I will fanswer them.

7 “Ephraim will be like a mighty man,

And their heart will be glad as if from wine;

Indeed, their achildren will see it and be glad,

1Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.

8 “I will awhistle for them to gather them together,

For I have redeemed them;

And they will be as bnumerous as they 1cwere before.

9 “When I 1scatter them among the peoples,

They will aremember Me in far countries,

And they with their children will live and come back.

10 “I will abring them back from the land of Egypt

And gather them from Assyria;

And I will bring them into the land of bGilead and Lebanon

1Until cno room can be found for them.

11 “And they will pass through the asea of distress

And He will strike the waves in the sea,

So that all the depths of the bNile will dry up;

And the pride of cAssyria will be brought down

And the scepter of dEgypt will depart.

12 “And I will astrengthen them in the Lord,

And in His name bthey will walk,” declares the Lord.