1. Ask the Lord for rainin the season of spring rain.The Lord makes the rain clouds,and He will give them showers of rainand crops in the field for everyone.
2. For the idols speak falsehood,and the diviners see illusions;they relate empty dreamsand offer empty comfort.Therefore the people wander like sheep;they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.
3. My anger burns against the shepherds,so I will punish the leaders. For the Lord of Hosts has tended His flock,the house of Judah;He will make them like His majestic steed in battle.
4. The cornerstone will come from Judah. The tent peg will come from themand also the battle bow and every ruler.Together
5. they will be like warriors in battletrampling down the mud of the streets.They will fight because the Lord is with them,and they will put horsemen to shame.
6. I will strengthen the house of Judahand deliver the house of Joseph. I will restore thembecause I have compassion on them,and they will beas though I had never rejected them. For I am Yahweh their God,and I will answer them.