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it is the Lord who makes the storm clouds.
He will gives showers of rain to men,
and crops in the field for everyone.
2 The idols speak delusion,
diviners see lying visions;
they tell false dreams,
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they suffer oppression because there is no shepherd.
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders.
For the Lord of Hosts will care
for His flock, the house of Judah,
and make them like His majestic war-horse in battle.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler.
5 Together they will be like warriors in battle
trampling in the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will overthrow the horsemen.
6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
I never rejected them;
for I am the Lord their God,
and I will answer them.
7 Those of Ephraim will be like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 “I will whistle for them
and gather them,
for I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous as before.
9 Though I sow them as seed among the nations,
yet in the distant lands they will remember Me.
They will survive, along with their children,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
and there will not be room enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of affliction;
the surging waves will be subdued,
and the depths of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be laid low,
and the sceptre of Egypt will come to an end.
12 I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and in His name they will walk,”
declares the Lord.