Zechariah 10:3-7 - Compare All Versions

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“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD Almighty will care for his flock, the people of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle. From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler. Together they will be like warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame. “I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. The Ephraimites will become 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.

“My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler—all of them together. They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the LORD is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD.

“My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle. From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers. They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the LORD is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen. “I will strengthen Judah and save Israel; I will restore them because of my compassion. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the LORD their God, who will hear their cries. The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine. Their children, too, will see it and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

My anger burns against the shepherds, so I will punish the leaders.  For the LORD of Armies has tended his flock, the house of Judah; he will make them like his majestic steed in battle. The cornerstone,  the tent peg,  the battle bow,  and every ruler — all will go out from him together. They will be like warriors in battle trampling down the mud of the streets. They will fight because the  LORD is with them, and they will put horsemen to shame. I will strengthen the house of Judah and deliver the house of Joseph.  I will restore   them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had never rejected them.  For I am the LORD  their God, and I will answer them. Ephraim  will be like a warrior, and their hearts will be glad as if with wine. Their children will see it and be glad;  their hearts will rejoice in the  LORD.

Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.

“My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle. From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, From him every ruler together. They shall be like mighty men, Who tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the LORD is with them, And the riders on horses shall be put to shame. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the LORD their God, And I will hear them. Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see it and be glad; Their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.

“Store-bought gods babble gibberish. Religious experts spout rubbish. They pontificate hot air. Their prescriptions are nothing but smoke. And so the people wander like lost sheep, poor lost sheep without a shepherd. I’m furious with the so-called shepherds. They’re worse than billy goats, and I’ll treat them like goats.” * * * GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies will step in and take care of his flock, the people of Judah. He’ll revive their spirits, make them proud to be on God’s side. God will use them in his work of rebuilding, use them as foundations and pillars, Use them as tools and instruments, use them to oversee his work. They’ll be a workforce to be proud of, working as one, their heads held high, striding through swamps and mud, Courageous and vigorous because GOD is with them, undeterred by the world’s thugs. * * * “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah; I’ll save the people of Joseph. I know their pain and will make them good as new. They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened. And why? Because I am their very own GOD, I’ll do what needs to be done for them. The people of Ephraim will be famous, their lives brimming with joy. Their children will get in on it, too— oh, let them feel blessed by GOD! I’ll whistle and they’ll all come running. I’ve set them free—oh, how they’ll flourish! Even though I scattered them to the far corners of earth, they’ll remember me in the faraway places. They’ll keep the story alive in their children, and they will come back. I’ll bring them back from the Egyptian west and round them up from the Assyrian east. I’ll bring them back to sweet Gilead, back to leafy Lebanon. Every square foot of land will be marked by homecoming. They’ll sail through troubled seas, brush aside brash ocean waves. Roaring rivers will turn to a trickle. Gaudy Assyria will be stripped bare, bully Egypt exposed as a fraud. But my people—oh, I’ll make them strong, GOD-strong! and they’ll live my way.” GOD says so! * * *

“My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of armies has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every tyrant, all of them together. “And they will be like warriors, 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 riders on horses will be put to shame. “And I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. “Ephraim will be like a warrior, And their heart will be joyful as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be joyful, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.

“My anger is kindled against the shepherds [who are not true shepherds], And I shall punish the male goats (leaders); For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom), And will make them like His beautiful and majestic horse in the battle. [Ezek 34:1-10] “From them (Judah) shall come the Cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, all of them together. [Jer 30:21] “They will be like mighty men Trampling down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle; And they will fight because the LORD is with them, And the [enemies’] riders on horses will be shamed. “I will strengthen the house of Judah [making it superior], And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back [and allow them to live securely], Because I have had compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God, and I will listen and answer them. “Then Ephraim will be like a mighty warrior, And their heart will rejoice as if from wine; Yes, their children will see it and rejoice; Their heart will rejoice and shout triumphantly in the LORD.

I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead-goats. For the LORD who rules over all has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse. From him will come the cornerstone, the wall peg, the battle bow, and every ruler. And they will be like warriors trampling the mud of the streets in battle. They will fight, for the LORD will be with them, and will defeat the enemy cavalry. “I (says the LORD) will strengthen the kingdom of Judah and deliver the people of Joseph and will bring them back because of my compassion for them. They will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and therefore I will hear them. The Ephraimites will be like warriors and will rejoice as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will celebrate in the things of the LORD.