| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Ask the LORD for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture. | 1Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain-- The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. |
| 2Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd. | 2For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. |
| 3“My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle. | 3"My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. |
| 4From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers. | 4"From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, all of them together. |
| 5They 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 enemy’s horsemen. | 5"They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. |
| 6“I will strengthen Judah and save Israel ; I will restore them because of my compassion. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the LORD their God, who will hear their cries. | 6"I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. |
| 7The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine. Their children, too, will see it and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD. | 7"Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD. |
| 8When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few who are left, they will grow as numerous as they were before. | 8"I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. |
| 9Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, they will still remember me in distant lands. They and their children will survive and return again to Israel. | 9"When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. |
| 10I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon until there is no more room for them all. | 10"I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. |
| 11They 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 dry up. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end. | 11"And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. |
| 12By my power I will make my people strong, and by my authority they will go wherever they wish. I, the LORD, have spoken!” | 12"And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk," declares the LORD. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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