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God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

¹ Ask for ^(C1)rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain—

The LORD who ^(C2)makes the ^(F1)storm winds;
And He will give them ^(C3)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person.

² For the ^(F1)(C1)household idols speak deception,
And the ^(C2)diviners see ^(F2)an illusion
And tell ^(C3)deceitful dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people ^(F3)wander like ^(C4)sheep,
They are wretched because there is no shepherd.

³ "My ^(C1)anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the ^(F1)male goats;
For the LORD of armies has ^(C2)visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.

⁴ "From ^(F1)them will come the ^(C1)cornerstone,
From ^(F1)them the tent peg,
From ^(F1)them the bow of ^(C2)battle,
From ^(F1)them every tyrant, all of them together.

⁵ "And they will be like warriors,
^(C1)Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, because the LORD will be with them;
And the ^(C2)riders on horses will be put to shame.

⁶ "And I will ^(C1)strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will ^(C2)save the house of Joseph,
And I will ^(F1)(C3)bring them back,
Because I have had ^(C4)compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had ^(C5)not rejected them,
For I am the LORD their God and I will ^(C6)answer them.

⁷ "Ephraim will be like a warrior,
And their heart will be joyful as if from wine;
Indeed, their ^(C1)children will see it and be joyful,
^(F1)Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.

⁸ "I will ^(C1)whistle for them and gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as ^(C2)numerous as they ^(F1)(C3)were before.

⁹ "When I ^(F1)scatter them among the peoples,
They will ^(C1)remember Me in distant countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.

¹⁰ "I will ^(C1)bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of ^(C2)Gilead and Lebanon
^(F1)Until ^(C3)no room can be found for them.

¹¹ "And they will pass through the ^(C1)sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the ^(C2)Nile will dry up;
And the pride of ^(C3)Assyria will be brought down,
And the scepter of ^(C4)Egypt will depart.

¹² "And I will ^(C1)strengthen them in the LORD,
And in His name ^(C2)they will walk," declares the LORD.