A bright future for Judah and Israel

1I, the LORD, am the one

who sends storm clouds

and showers of rain

to make fields produce.

So when the crops need rain,

you should pray to me.

2You can't believe idols10.2: Mt 9.36; Mk 6.34.

and fortune-tellers,

or depend on the hope

you receive from witchcraft

and interpreters of dreams.

But you have tried all of these,

and now you are like sheep

without a shepherd.

3I, the LORD All-Powerful,

am fiercely angry

with you leaders,

and I will punish you.

I care for my people,

the nation of Judah,

and I will change

this flock of sheep

into charging war horses.

4From this flock will come leaders

who will be strong

like cornerstones and tent pegs

and weapons of war.

5They will join in the fighting,

and together they will trample

their enemies like mud.

They will fight,

because I, the LORD,

will be on their side.

And they will crush

the enemy cavalry.

6I will strengthen

the kingdoms of Judah

and Israel.10.6 Israel: The Hebrew text has “family of Joseph”, the ancestor of Ephraim and Manasseh, the leading tribes of the northern kingdom (Israel).

And I will show mercy

because I am the LORD,

their God.

I will answer their prayers

and bring them home.

Then it will seem as though

I had never rejected them.

7Israel10.7 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 9.10). will be like

a tribe of warriors

celebrating with wine.

When their children see this,

they will also be happy

because of me, the LORD.

8I will give a signal

for them to come together

because I have rescued them.

And there will be as many

as ever before.

9Although I scattered my people

in distant countries,

they won't forget me.

Once their children are raised,10.9 Once…raised: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

they will return—

10I will bring them home

from Egypt and Assyria,

then let them settle

as far as Gilead and Lebanon,

until the land overflows

with them.

11My people will go through

an ocean of troubles,

but I will overcome the waves

and dry up the deepest part

of the Nile.

Assyria's great pride

will be put down,

and the power of Egypt

will disappear.

12I'll strengthen my people

because of who I am,

and they will follow me.

I, the LORD, have spoken!