Along The Way (January 19 - 25, 2024)
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Zephaniah 3
Judgment against Jerusalem
Doom, obstinate one,
the defiled one,
the violent city.
She listened to no voice;
she accepted no discipline.
She didn’t trust in the Lord,
nor did she draw near to her God.
The princes in her midst are roaring lions.
Her judges are wolves of the evening;
they leave nothing for the morning.
Her prophets are reckless, men of treachery.
Her priests pollute that which is holy;
they do violence to the Instruction.
The Lord is righteous in her midst.
He does nothing unjust.
Morning by morning he renders justice,
but the unrighteous one knows no shame.
I will cut off nations;
their towers will be destroyed;
I will devastate their streets.
No one will pass through.
Their cities will be laid waste.
There will be no person, no inhabitant left.
I said, “Surely, she will fear me;
she will take instruction
so that her habitation won’t be cut off
because of everything I did to her.”
However, they rose early to corrupt their deeds.
Therefore, wait for me, says the Lord,
wait for the day when I rise up as a witness,
when I decide to gather nations,
to collect kingdoms,
to pour out my indignation upon them,
all the heat of my anger.
In the fire of my jealousy,
all the earth will be devoured.
Restoration of the nations and Jerusalem
Then I will change the speech of the peoples into pure speech,
that all of them will call on the name of the Lord
and will serve him as one.
From beyond the rivers of Cush,
my daughter, my dispersed ones, will bring me offerings.
On that day, you won’t be ashamed of all your deeds
with which you sinned against me;
then I will remove from your midst those boasting with pride.
No longer will you be haughty on my holy mountain,
but I will cause a humble and powerless people to remain in your midst;
they will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
The few remaining from Israel won’t commit injustice;
they won’t tell lies;
a deceitful tongue won’t be found on their lips.
They will graze and lie down;
no one will make them afraid.
Rejoice, Daughter Zion! Shout, Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem.
The Lord has removed your judgment;
he has turned away your enemy.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;
you will no longer fear evil.
On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem:
Don’t fear, Zion.
Don’t let your hands fall.
The Lord your God is in your midst — a warrior bringing victory.
He will create calm with his love;
he will rejoice over you with singing.
I will remove from you those worried about the appointed feasts.
They have been a burden for her, a reproach.
Watch what I am about to do to all your oppressors at that time.
I will deliver the lame;
I will gather the outcast.
I will change their shame into praise and fame throughout the earth.
At that time, I will bring all of you back,
at the time when I gather you.
I will give you fame and praise among all the neighboring peoples
when I restore your possessions and you can see them — says the Lord.
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Haggai 1 - 2
The challenge to rebuild
The Lord’s word came through Haggai the prophet in the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month on the first day of the month, to Judah’s governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and to the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son:
This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
These people say, “The time hasn’t come,
the time to rebuild the Lord’s house.”
Then the Lord’s word came through Haggai the prophet:
Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses
while this house lies in ruins?
So now, this is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
Take your ways to heart.
You have sown much, but it has brought little.
You eat, but there’s not enough to satisfy.
You drink, but not enough to get drunk.
There is clothing, but not enough to keep warm.
Anyone earning wages puts those wages into a bag with holes.
This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
Take your ways to heart.
Go up to the highlands and bring back wood.
Rebuild the temple so that I may enjoy it
and that I may be honored, says the Lord.
You expect a surplus, but look how it shrinks.
You bring it home, and I blow it away, says the Lord of heavenly forces,
because my house lies in ruins.
But all of you hurry to your own houses.
Therefore, the skies above you have withheld the dew,
and the earth has withheld its produce because of you.
I have called for drought on the earth,
on the mountains, on the grain,
on the wine, on the olive oil,
on that which comes forth from the fertile ground,
on humanity, on beasts,
and upon everything that handles produce.
Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son, along with all who remained among the people, listened to the voice of the Lord God and to the words of Haggai the prophet because the Lord their God sent him. Then the people feared the Lord.
Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the Lord’s message to the people:
I am with you, says the Lord.
The Lord moved the spirit of Judah’s governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and the spirit of the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son, and the spirit of all the rest of the people. Then they came and did work on the house of the Lord of heavenly forces, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.
Encouraging the people
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord’s word came through Haggai the prophet: Say to Judah’s governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and to the chief priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son, and to the rest of the people:
Who among you is left who saw this house in its former glory?
How does it look to you now?
Doesn’t it appear as nothing to you?
So now, be strong, Zerubbabel, says the Lord.
Be strong, High Priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son,
and be strong, all you people of the land, says the Lord.
Work, for I am with you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
As with our agreement when you came out of Egypt,
my spirit stands in your midst.
Don’t fear.
This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
In just a little while, I will make the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land quake.
I will make all the nations quake.
The wealth of all the nations will come.
I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
The silver and the gold belong to me, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
This house will be more glorious than its predecessor, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
I will provide prosperity in this place, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
Cleansing the work
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the Lord’s word came to Haggai the prophet:
This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
Go ahead and ask the priests for a ruling:
“If someone lifts holy meat into the hem of one’s garment and that hem touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any kind of food, will it be made holy?”
And the priests responded, “No.”
Haggai said,
“If an unclean person touches any of these things, will it become unclean?”
And the priests responded, “It will be unclean.”
Then Haggai responded:
Thus has this people and this nation become to me, says the Lord,
and everything that they do with their hands.
Whatever they offer is unclean.
So now, take it to heart from this day forward.
Before stone was placed on stone in the Lord’s temple,
when one came to the granary for twenty measures,
there were only ten;
and when one came to the wine vat for fifty measures,
there were only twenty.
I struck you — everything you do with your hands —
with blight and mildew and hail;
but you didn’t return to me.
So take it to heart from this day forward,
from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month.
Take it to heart from the day when the foundation for the Lord’s temple was laid.
Is the seed yet in the granary —
or the vine, the fig tree, or the pomegranate —
or has the olive tree not borne fruit?
From this day forward, I will bless you.
Royal expectations
And the Lord’s word came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth of the month, saying:
Speak to Judah’s governor Zerubbabel:
I am about to make the heavens and the earth quake.
I will overthrow the thrones of the kingdoms;
I will destroy the strength of the nations.
I will overthrow chariot and rider;
horses and riders will fall.
Each one will fall by the sword of his companion.
On that day, says the Lord of heavenly forces:
I will take you, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, my servant, says the Lord;
I will make you like a signet ring
because I have chosen you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
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Zechariah 1 - 2
The people change
In the eighth month in the second year of Darius, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah the prophet, Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson:
The Lord was terribly angry with your ancestors.
But you must say to the people,
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: Return to me,
says the Lord of heavenly forces,
and I will return to you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
Don’t be like your ancestors to whom the former prophets preached:
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds.
But they didn’t listen;
they didn’t draw near to me.
So where are your ancestors?
Do the prophets live forever?
In fact, didn’t my words and laws,
which I gave to my servants, the prophets,
pursue your ancestors?
And then the people changed their hearts, and they said,
The Lord of heavenly forces has treated us according to
what we have done,
exactly as he planned.
First night vision
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat) in the second year of Darius, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah the prophet, Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson:
Tonight I looked and saw a man riding on a red horse,
which was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley;
and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
I said, “What are these, sir?”
The messenger speaking with me said,
“I will show you what they are.”
The man standing among the myrtles responded,
“These are the ones the Lord sent to patrol the earth.”
Then they responded to the Lord’s messenger,
who was standing among the myrtles,
“We have patrolled the earth. The whole earth is peaceful and quiet.”
Then the Lord’s messenger, who was speaking with me, said:
“Lord of heavenly forces,
how long will you withhold compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah,
with whom you have been angry these seventy years?”
The Lord responded to the messenger who was speaking with me
with kind and compassionate words.
The messenger speaking with me called out,
“This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
I care passionately about Jerusalem and Zion.
And I am exceedingly angry with those carefree nations.
Though I was somewhat angry, they added to the violence.”
Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion.
My house will be built in it, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
Let a measuring line be stretched over Jerusalem.
“Call out again,
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
My cities will again overflow with prosperity.
The Lord will again show compassion to Zion
and will again choose Jerusalem.”
Second night vision
Then I looked up and saw four horns.
I said to the messenger speaking with me,
“What are these?”
He said to me,
“These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
Then the Lord showed me four metalworkers.
I said,
“What are they coming to do?”
And he said,
“These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head.
The metalworkers have come to terrify them and to destroy the horns of the nations, those who were attacking the land of Judah with their horns to scatter it.”
Third night vision
Then I looked up and saw a man.
In his hand was a measuring line.
I said, “Where are you going?”
He said to me,
“To measure Jerusalem to see how wide and long it will be.”
As I watched, the messenger speaking with me went ahead and another messenger came to meet him.
He said to him,
“Run! Say to this young man:
Jerusalem will be inhabited like open fields
because of the throngs of people and cattle inside it.
But I will be a wall of fire around it, says the Lord,
and I will be glorious inside it.
Look out; look out! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord,
for I will scatter you like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord.
Look out, Zion.
Flee, you who dwell with Daughter Babylon!
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims (after his glory sent me)
concerning the nations plundering you:
Those who strike you strike the pupil of my eye.
But look, I am about to raise my hand against them;
they will become prey to their own slaves,
so you will know that the Lord of heavenly forces sent me.
Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Zion,
because I am about to come and dwell among you, says the Lord.
Many nations will be joined to the Lord on that day.
They will become my people,
and I will dwell among you
so you will know that the Lord of heavenly forces sent me to you.”
The Lord will possess Judah as his inheritance upon the holy land;
he will again choose Jerusalem.
Be silent, everyone, in the Lord’s
presence, because he has moved from his holy habitation!
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Zechariah 3 - 4
Fourth night vision
Then the Lord showed me the high priest Joshua, standing before the messenger from the Lord,
and the Adversary was standing by his right side to accuse him.
And the Lord said to the Adversary:
“The Lord rebukes you, Adversary.
The Lord, the one choosing Jerusalem, rebukes you.
Is this one not a log snatched from the fire?”
Joshua was wearing filthy clothes and standing before the messenger.
He responded to those standing before him,
“Take off his filthy clothes.”
And he said to Joshua,
“Look, I have removed your guilt from you.
Put on priestly robes.”
He said, “Put a clean turban upon his head.”
So they put the clean turban upon his head,
and they dressed him in garments while the Lord’s messenger stood by.
Then the Lord’s messenger admonished Joshua:
“The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
If you will walk in my paths,
if you will keep my charge,
then you will lead my house and guard my courts,
and I will allow you to walk among those standing here.
Now listen, High Priest Joshua,
you and your companions sitting before you —
for these men are a sign —
look, I am about to bring my servant, Branch.
See this stone that I have put before Joshua.
Upon one stone, there are seven facets.
I am about to engrave an inscription on it,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
I will remove the guilt of that land in one day.
On that day, says the Lord of heavenly forces,
everyone will invite their neighbors to sit beneath their vines and the fig trees.”
Fifth night vision
The messenger speaking with me returned and woke me like one who awakens someone who is asleep.
Then he said to me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a lampstand
made entirely of gold.
It has a bowl on top.
The bowl has seven lamps on top
and seven metal pipes for those lamps.
It has two olive trees beside the lampstand,
one to the right of its bowl and one to the left.”
I responded to the messenger speaking with me,
“What are these, sir?”
The messenger responded to me:
“Don’t you know what these are?”
I said, “No, sir. I don’t.”
He answered me:
“This is the Lord’s word to Zerubbabel:
Neither by power, nor by strength,
but by my spirit, says the Lord of heavenly forces.”
Who are you, great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.
He will present the capstone to shouts of great gratitude.
The Lord’s word came to me:
The hands of Zerubbabel laid the foundation of this house,
and his hands will finish it
so that you will know that the Lord of heavenly forces has sent me to you.
Those who despise a time of little things will rejoice when they see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.
These are the seven eyes of the Lord, surveying the entire earth.
I responded to him,
“What are these two olive trees on the right and left sides of the lampstand?”
Then I responded a second time,
“What are these two olive branches that empty out golden oil through the two gold pipes?”
He said to me, “Don’t you know what these are?”
I said, “No, sir.”
He said,
“These are the two anointed ones standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”
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Zechariah 5, 6 & 7
Sixth night vision
I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.
And he said to me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.”
He said to me, “This is the curse going out across all the land.
Anyone stealing will be purged according to what’s on one side of the scroll,
and anyone swearing lies will be purged according to what’s on the other side.
I sent it out, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
It will come to the house of the thief and the one swearing lies in my name.
It will lodge in their house and destroy the wood and stones of that house.”
Seventh night vision
Then the messenger speaking with me came forward and said,
“Look up and see what’s approaching.”
I said, “What’s this?”
He said, “This is the basket that is going out.
This is how it appears throughout the entire land.”
Then a lead cover was lifted,
showing a woman sitting in the middle of the basket.
He said, “This is wickedness.”
He shoved her back into the basket,
and he put the lead stone over its opening.
I looked up again and saw two women going out.
There was a wind in their wings;
their wings were like the wings of a stork.
They carried the basket between the earth and the sky.
I said to the messenger speaking with me,
“Where are they taking the basket?”
He said to me,
“To build a house for it in the land of Shinar.
It will be firmly placed there on its base.”
Eighth night vision
I looked up again
and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains;
the mountains were made of bronze.
The first chariot had red horses,
and the second chariot had black horses.
The third chariot had white horses,
and the fourth chariot had horses that were heavily spotted.
I responded and said to the messenger speaking with me,
“What are these, sir?”
The messenger answered and said to me,
“These are the four winds of heaven that are going out
after presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth.
The one with the black horses is going to the north country;
the white ones are going to the west;
and the spotted ones are going south.”
Then the powerful ones approached, intent on going to patrol the earth.
He said, “Go! Patrol the earth!”
So they patrolled the earth.
Then he called out and said to me,
“Look, the ones going north have provided rest for my spirit in the north.”
The Lord’s word came to me:
Take silver and gold from the exiles who came from Babylon,
from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah.
As for you, go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
Take silver and gold and make a crown.
Place it on the head of the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son.
Say to him,
“The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Here is a man.
His name is Branch, and he will branch out from his place;
he will build the Lord’s temple.
He will build the Lord’s temple.
He will be majestic;
he will sit and rule on his throne.
There will be a priest on his throne,
and the two of them will share a peaceable plan.
The crown will be a memorial in the Lord’s temple
for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and for Hen, Zephaniah’s son.
People from far away will come and build the Lord’s temple
so you might know that the Lord of heavenly forces has sent me to you.
It will happen if you truly obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
Answering the Bethel delegation
In the fourth year of Darius the king, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, Kislev. The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, along with his men, to seek the Lord’s favor, saying to the priests who were in the house of the Lord of heavenly forces and to the prophets: “Should I weep in the fifth month and abstain as I have done for a number of years?”
Then the word of the Lord of heavenly forces came to me: Say to all the land’s people and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth month and the seventh month for these past seventy years, did you fast for me? When you ate and drank, weren’t you the ones eating and drinking? Weren’t these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem was dwelling quietly along with the surrounding cities, and when the arid southern plain and the western foothills were inhabited?
The Lord’s word came to Zechariah:
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other! Don’t oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; don’t plan evil against each other! But they refused to pay attention. They turned a cold shoulder and stopped listening.
They steeled their hearts against hearing the Instruction and the words that the Lord of heavenly forces sent by his spirit through the earlier prophets. As a result, the Lord of heavenly forces became enraged.
So just as he called and they didn’t listen, when they called, I didn’t listen, says the Lord of heavenly forces. I scattered them throughout the nations whom they didn’t know. The land was devastated behind them, with no one leaving or returning. They turned a delightful land into a wasteland.
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Zechariah 8
The word from the Lord of heavenly forces came to me:
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
I care passionately about Zion; I burn with passion for her. The Lord proclaims: I have returned to Zion; I will settle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the city of truth; the mountain of the Lord of heavenly forces will be the holy mountain.
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Old men and old women will again dwell in the plazas of Jerusalem. Each of them will have a staff in their hand because of their great age. The city will be full of boys and girls playing in its plazas.
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Even though it may seem to be a miracle for the few remaining among this people in these days, should it seem to be a miracle for me? says the Lord of heavenly forces.
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
I’m about to deliver my people from the land of the east and the land of the west. I’ll bring them back so they will dwell in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God — in truth and in righteousness.
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Be strong, you who are now hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets spoken on the day when the foundations for the house of the Lord of heavenly forces were laid. Before this time, there were no wages for people or animals; there was no relief from distress about going out or coming in, because I set everyone against their own neighbor. But now, unlike those earlier days, I’ll be with the few remaining among this people, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
The seed is healthy:
the vine will give its fruit.
The land will give its produce;
the heavens will give its dew.
I will give the remnant of this people all these things.
Just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel,
so now I will deliver you; you will be a blessing.
Don’t fear, but be strong.
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Just as I planned evil against you when your ancestors angered me, says the Lord of heavenly forces, and did not relent, so now I have changed course and again plan to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don’t be afraid.
These are the things you should do: Speak the truth to each other; make truthful, just, and peaceable decisions within your gates. Don’t plan evil for each other. Don’t adore swearing falsely, for all of these are things that I hate, says the Lord.
The word of the Lord of heavenly forces came to me:
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, pleasant feasts for the house of Judah. Love truth and peace!
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Peoples will still come, the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city will go to another saying, “Let’s go and seek the favor of the Lord, and look for the Lord of heavenly forces. I’m going too.” Many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of heavenly forces in Jerusalem and to seek the favor of the Lord.
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
In those days ten men from nations with entirely different languages will grab hold of a Judean’s clothes and say, “Let’s go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
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Zechariah 9 - 10
Fate of the nations
A pronouncement. The Lord’s word is against the land of Hadrach,
and Damascus is its resting place,
for the city of Aram and all the tribes of Israel belong to the Lord.
Hamath also borders on it.
Tyre and Sidon, indeed, each is exceedingly wise.
Tyre built a fortress for herself.
She piled up silver like dust
and gold like mud in the streets,
but the Lord will take her possessions away
and knock her wealth into the sea.
She will be devoured with fire.
Ashkelon will look and be afraid.
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and also Ekron, because her hope has dried up.
The king will perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon won’t be inhabited.
An illegitimate child will dwell in Ashdod;
I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
I will remove bloody food from his mouth
and pieces of unclean food from between his teeth.
He will be a survivor who belongs to our God.
He will be like a chieftain in Judah;
Ekron will be like a Jebusite.
I will encamp before my house as a guard
against anyone departing or returning.
A slave driver will no longer pass through against them,
for I have seen you with my eyes.
Joy and protection for Judah and Ephraim
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion.
Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem.
Look, your king will come to you.
He is righteous and victorious.
He is humble and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the warhorse from Jerusalem.
The bow used in battle will be cut off;
he will speak peace to the nations.
His rule will stretch from sea to sea,
and from the river to the ends of the earth.
Moreover, by the blood of your covenant,
I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.
Return to the stronghold, prisoners of hope.
Moreover, declare today that I will return double to you.
Indeed, I myself will bend Judah as a bow;
I will fill it with Ephraim.
Zion, I will rouse your sons against your sons. Greece, I will make you
like a warrior’s sword.
The Lord will appear above them;
his arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the horn;
he will march forth on the stormy winds of the south.
The Lord of heavenly forces will protect them.
They will devour and subdue like sling stones.
They will drink, mumbling like one having wine.
They will be filled like a bowl, like the corners of the altar.
The Lord their God will deliver them on that day as the flock of his people;
they will be the jewels in a crown dotting his land.
What is his goodness,
and what is his beauty?
Grain will make his young men flourish;
so too wine his young women.
Fate of Judah and Ephraim
Ask the Lord for rain when it is time for the spring rain.
The Lord is the one who makes the thunderstorms.
He gives them rain showers.
He gives vegetation in the field to each of them.
The household divine images
speak idolatry, and diviners see lies.
They interpret dreams falsely
and provide empty comfort.
Therefore, they wander like sheep,
but they are oppressed because there is no shepherd.
My anger burns hot against the shepherds;
I will punish the goats.
The Lord of heavenly forces will take care of his splendor, the house of Judah.
He will make them like his majestic horse in battle.
The cornerstone, the tent peg, and the bow used in battle will come from Judah.
Every oppressor will leave Judah simultaneously.
Judah will be like warriors,
trampling through the muddy streets during battle.
They will do battle because the Lord is with them.
All the cavalry will be ashamed.
I will strengthen the house of Judah
and deliver the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though I hadn’t rejected them, for I am the Lord their God;
I will respond to them.
Ephraim will be like a warrior.
They will be as glad as if they were drinking wine.
Their children will watch and be glad.
Their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
I will whistle for them and gather them,
because I have ransomed them.
They will be as numerous as they were previously.
Though I sowed them among the peoples,
they will remember me in the distant places
where they are living with their children until they return.
I will bring them back from the land of Egypt;
I will collect them from Assyria.
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and Lebanon
until there is no more room for them.
They will pass through the sea of distress
and strike the sea with waves.
All the depths of the river will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be brought down;
the scepter of Egypt will turn away.
I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they will walk in his name, says the Lord.