1Ask of the LORD for rain in the springtime and the latter rains; for it is the LORD Who makes and brings the clouds, and gives showers of rain, to everyone for the greenery in the field. 2For the idols deceive, and the diviners see visions that lie, and tell false dreams; they give vain assurances; therefore, they wander like a flock troubled because there is no shepherd.

3“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the goats (the leaders); for the LORD Almighty will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and make them like His majestic horse in the battle. 4For from him (Judah) will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from the battle bow, out of him every ruler. 5And together they shall be like warriors, who tread down their enemies in the mud of the streets in the battle. They shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and they who put riders on horses shall be confounded. 6And I will strengthen Judah, and I will save the tribes of Joseph, and I will bring them back again; for I have compassion on them; and they shall be as though I had not cast them off; for I am the LORD, their God, and I will hear and answer them. 7And they of Ephraim shall become mighty warriors, and their heart shall rejoice as from wine. Their children shall see it, and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8I will whistle for them, and gather them in; for I will redeem them; and they shall become as numerous as before. 9And though I will scatter them among the peoples; yet they shall remember Me in far countries; and they shall survive with their children, and will return. 10I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and there shall not be enough room for them. 11And they shall pass through the sea of trouble, and shall subdue the surging waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile River shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall pass away. 12And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and by My authority they shall go safely wherever they wish,” says the LORD.