Judah and Israel Will Be Restored

1Ask from YHWH the rain in the time of the spring rain;

and YHWH, the One making the storm clouds,

He will give to them the shower of rain,

to each man the herb in the field.

2For the teraphim speak delusion,

and the diviners see deception,

and they speak of dreams of emptiness;

in vain they give comfort.

Upon thus they set out like sheep;

they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.

3“Against the shepherds, My anger is kindled;

and against the he-goats,† I lay a charge.

But YHWH of Hosts will attend to His flock,

the house of Judah,

and He will set them

as a horse of His splendor in the battle.

4From him is the cornerstone,

from him the tent peg,

from him the bow of battle;

from him comes every ruler together.

5And they will be like mighty ones,

trampling in the mud of the streets in the battle;

and they will fight, for YHWH is with them,

and they will put to shame the riders of horses.

6And I will strengthen the house of Judah,

and the house of Joseph I will save;

and I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,

and they will be as though I had not cast them aside.

For I am YHWH their God,

and I will answer them.

7And Ephraim will become like a mighty one,

and their heart will be glad as with wine;

and their children will see it and will be glad;

their heart will rejoice in YHWH.

8I will whistle for them and gather them,

for I have redeemed them;

and they will be many,

as they were many.

9And I will sow them among the peoples,

and in far-off places they will remember Me;

and they will live together with their sons,

and they will return.

10And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt,

and from Assyria I will gather them,

and to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them,

until no place can be found for them.

11And He will pass through the sea of distress,

and He will strike the waves of that sea,

and He will dry up all the depths of the River.

And the pride of Assyria will be brought down,

and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

12And I will make them mighty in YHWH,

and in His name they will walk,”

a declaration of YHWH.