1Ask Yahweh for rain in the springtime. Yahweh makes the storm clouds and gives everyone rain showers for the plants in the field.
2For the idol-gods have spoken falsely, and the fortune-tellers have seen lies. They have told false dreams and given empty comfort. So they wander like sheep; they are suffering because there is no shepherd.
3My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the male goats. For Yahweh of Armies has visited his flock, the people of Judah, and will make them like his magnificent warhorse.
4From them will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and every ruler.
5They will be like mighty men, trampling through muddy streets in battle. They will fight because Yahweh is with them, and the horse riders will be confused.
6“I will strengthen the people of Judah and save the people of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them. They will be as if I had never rejected them, for I am Yahweh their God, and I will listen to them.
7Ephraim will be like a mighty warrior, and their hearts will rejoice as if from wine. Yes, their children will see it and rejoice. Their hearts will be glad in Yahweh.
8I will signal for them and gather them, for I have set them free. They will increase as they did before.
9I will scatter them among the nations, but they will remember me in distant lands. They will live with their children and return.
10I will also bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be enough room for them.
11He will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the power of Egypt will disappear.
12I will make them strong in Yahweh, and they will live their lives according to his name,” says Yahweh.