Zechariah 10

The Lord Will Care for Judah

10Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;

it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.

He gives showers of rain^q to all people,

and plants of the field^r to everyone.

²The idols^s speak deceitfully,

diviners^t see visions that lie;

they tell dreams^u that are false,

they give comfort in vain.^v

Therefore the people wander like sheep

oppressed for lack of a shepherd.^w

³“My anger burns against the shepherds,

and I will punish the leaders;^x

for the Lord Almighty will care

for his flock, the people of Judah,

and make them like a proud horse in battle.^y

⁴From Judah will come the cornerstone,^z

from him the tent peg,^a

from him the battle bow,^b

from him every ruler.

⁵Together they^a will be like warriors in battle

trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.^c

They will fight because the Lord is with them,

and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.^d

⁶“I will strengthen^e Judah

and save the tribes of Joseph.

I will restore them

because I have compassion^f on them.^g

They will be as though

I had not rejected them,

for I am the Lord their God

and I will answer^h them.

⁷The Ephraimites will become like warriors,

and their hearts will be glad as with wine.ⁱ

Their children will see it and be joyful;

their hearts will rejoice^j in the Lord.

⁸I will signal^k for them

and gather them in.

Surely I will redeem them;

they will be as numerous^l as before.

⁹Though I scatter them among the peoples,

yet in distant lands they will remember me.^m

They and their children will survive,

and they will return.

¹⁰I will bring them back from Egypt

and gather them from Assyria.ⁿ

I will bring them to Gilead^o and Lebanon,

and there will not be room^p enough for them.

¹¹They will pass through the sea of trouble;

the surging sea will be subdued

and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.^q

Assyria’s pride^r will be brought down

and Egypt’s scepter^s will pass away.^t

¹²I will strengthen^u them in the Lord

and in his name they will live securely,^v”

declares the Lord.