| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 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 the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field. |
| 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 idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a 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 burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle. |
| 4From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers. | 4The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler 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. | 5They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen 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. | 6I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have 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. | 7Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts 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. | 8I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were. |
| 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. | 9Though I sow them among the nations, they will remember Me in distant lands; they and their children will live and return. |
| 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. | 10I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon until no more room is 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. | 11They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. 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!” | 12I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD. |
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