Chapter
10:1-12
Ask the Lord for rain
in the spring, and he will give it. It is the Lord who makes storm
clouds that drop showers of rain so that every field becomes a lush
pasture.
Household gods give
false advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of
dreams pronounce comfortless falsehoods. So my people are wandering
like lost sheep, without a shepherd to protect and guide them.
"My anger burns
against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the Lord
Almighty has arrived to look after his flock of Judah; he will make
them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle. From Judah
will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and all the
rulers. They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their
enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the Lord is with them as
they fight, they will overthrow even the horsemen of the enemy.
"I will
strengthen Judah and save Israel; I will reestablish them because I
love them. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am
the Lord their God, who will hear their cries. The people of Israel
will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be happy as if
by wine. Their children, too, will see it all and be glad; their
hearts will rejoice in the Lord. When I whistle to them, they will
come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few that are left,
their population will grow again to its former size. Though I have
scattered them like seeds among the nations, still they will remember
me in distant lands. With their children, they will survive and come
home again to Israel. I will bring them back from Egypt and Assyria
and resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon. There won’t be enough room
for them all! They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for
the waves of the sea will be held back. And the waters of the Nile
will become dry. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of
Egypt will end. I will make my people strong in my power, and they
will go wherever they wish by my authority. I, the Lord, have
spoken!"
