Zechariah
Chapter 10
1 Ask God for rain when the late rains come; then God will send thunderclouds and give everyone rain for the plants in the fields.
2 The idols have said meaningless things, and the fortune-tellers have seen lies and told untrue dreams; they offer empty comfort. So the people wandered like sheep, distressed because they had no leader.
3 I became angry with the shepherds and punished the goats. God has taken care of his people, Judah, and made them strong like a fine horse in battle.
4 From him comes the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the bow for battle, from him every ruler together.
5 They will be like strong warriors, stepping on their enemies in the street mud during the fight: and they will battle because God is with them, and the horse riders will be confused.
6 I will make the people of Judah strong, and I will rescue the people of Joseph. I will bring them back and settle them because I care for them. They will be as if I had never rejected them. I am God, their God, and I will listen to them.
7 The people of Ephraim will be strong, and their hearts will be happy like when drinking wine; yes, their children will see it and be happy; their hearts will be joyful in God.
8 I will call them and bring them together; for I have saved them: and they will multiply as they did before.
9 I will scatter them among the nations, and in distant lands they will remember me; they will live with their children and return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria; I will take them to Gilead and Lebanon, where there won’t be enough room for them.
11 He will go through the sea in trouble, hit the sea’s waves, and the river’s depths will dry up. Assyria’s pride will be lowered, and Egypt’s power will leave.
12 I will make them strong in God; they will live and act in his name, says God.