Zechariah 9:10-10:12

New International Version

¹⁰I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
    and the battle bow will be broken.^(A)
He will proclaim peace^(B) to the nations.
    His rule will extend from sea to sea
    and from the River^[a] to the ends of the earth.^(C)
¹¹As for you, because of the blood of my covenant^(D) with you,
    I will free your prisoners^(E) from the waterless pit.^(F)
¹²Return to your fortress,^(G) you prisoners of hope;
    even now I announce that I will restore twice^(H) as much to you.
¹³I will bend Judah as I bend my bow^(I)
    and fill it with Ephraim.^(J)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
    against your sons, Greece,^(K)
    and make you like a warrior’s sword.^(L)

The Lord Will Appear

¹⁴Then the Lord will appear over them;^(M)
    his arrow will flash like lightning.^(N)
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;^(O)
    he will march in the storms^(P) of the south,
¹⁵    and the Lord Almighty will shield^(Q) them.
They will destroy
    and overcome with slingstones.^(R)
They will drink and roar as with wine;^(S)
    they will be full like a bowl^(T)
    used for sprinkling^[b] the corners^(U) of the altar.
¹⁶The Lord their God will save his people on that day^(V)
    as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
    like jewels in a crown.^(W)
¹⁷How attractive and beautiful they will be!
    Grain will make the young men thrive,
    and new wine the young women.

The Lord Will Care for Judah

10 Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
    it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain^(X) to all people,
    and plants of the field^(Y) to everyone.
²The idols^(Z) speak deceitfully,
    diviners^(AA) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams^(AB) that are false,
    they give comfort in vain.^(AC)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
    oppressed for lack of a shepherd.^(AD)

³“My anger burns against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders;^(AE)
for the Lord Almighty will care
    for his flock, the people of Judah,
    and make them like a proud horse in battle.^(AF)
⁴From Judah will come the cornerstone,^(AG)
    from him the tent peg,^(AH)
from him the battle bow,^(AI)
    from him every ruler.
⁵Together they^[c] will be like warriors in battle
    trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.^(AJ)
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.^(AK)

⁶“I will strengthen^(AL) Judah
    and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
    because I have compassion^(AM) on them.^(AN)
They will be as though
    I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
    and I will answer^(AO) them.
⁷The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
    and their hearts will be glad as with wine.^(AP)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
    their hearts will rejoice^(AQ) in the Lord.
⁸I will signal^(AR) for them
    and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
    they will be as numerous^(AS) as before.
⁹Though I scatter them among the peoples,
    yet in distant lands they will remember me.^(AT)
They and their children will survive,
    and they will return.
¹⁰I will bring them back from Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.^(AU)
I will bring them to Gilead^(AV) and Lebanon,
    and there will not be room^(AW) enough for them.
¹¹They will pass through the sea of trouble;
    the surging sea will be subdued
    and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.^(AX)
Assyria’s pride^(AY) will be brought down
    and Egypt’s scepter^(AZ) will pass away.^(BA)
¹²I will strengthen^(BB) them in the Lord
    and in his name they will live securely,^(BC)”
declares the Lord.