New Century Version NCV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Ask the Lord for rain during the springtime rains. The Lord is the one who makes the clouds. He sends the showers and gives everyone green fields.
1
Ask the Lord for rain in the spring of the year. It is the Lord who sends rain clouds and showers, making the fields green for everyone.
2 Idols tell lies; fortune-tellers see false visions and tell about false dreams. The comfort they give is worth nothing. So the people are like lost sheep. They are abused, because there is no shepherd.
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People consult idols and fortunetellers, but the answers they get are lies and nonsense. Some interpret dreams, but only mislead you; the comfort they give is useless. So the people wander about like lost sheep. They are in trouble because they have no leader.
3 The Lord says, "I am angry at my shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. I, the Lord All-Powerful, care for my flock, the people of Judah. I will make them like my proud war horses.
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The Lord says, "I am angry with those foreigners who rule my people, and I am going to punish them. The people of Judah are mine, and I, the Lord Almighty, will take care of them. They will be my powerful war-horses.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone, and the tent peg, the battle bow, and every ruler.
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From among them will come rulers, leaders, and commanders to govern my people.
5 Together they will be like soldiers marching to battle through muddy streets. The Lord is with them, so they will fight and defeat the horsemen.
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The people of Judah will be victorious like soldiers who trample their enemies in the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will defeat even the enemy cavalry.
6 "I will strengthen the people of Judah and save the people of Joseph. I will bring them back, because I care about them. It will be as though I had never left them, because I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.
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"I will make the people of Judah strong; I will rescue the people of Israel. I will have compassion on them and bring them all back home. They will be as though I had never rejected them. I am the Lord their God; I will answer their prayers.
7 The people of Ephraim will be strong like soldiers; they will be glad as when they have drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will be happy in the Lord.
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The people of Israel will be strong like soldiers, happy like those who have been drinking wine. Their descendants will remember this victory and be glad because of what the Lord has done.
8 I will call my people and gather them together. I will save them, and they will grow in number as they grew in number before.
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"I will call my people and gather them together. I will rescue them and make them as numerous as they used to be.
9 I have scattered them among the nations, but in those faraway places, they will remember me. They and their children will live and return.
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Though I have scattered them among the nations, yet in far-off places they will remember me. They and their children will survive and return home together.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria. until there isn't enough room for them all.
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From Egypt and Assyria I will bring them home and settle them in their own country. I will settle them in Gilead and Lebanon also; the whole land will be filled with people.
11 They will come through the sea of trouble. The waves of the sea will be calm, and the Nile River will dry up. and destroy Egypt's power over other countries.
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When they pass through their sea of trouble, I, the Lord, will strike the waves, and the depths of the Nile will go dry. Proud Assyria will be humbled, and mighty Egypt will lose her power.
12 I will make my people strong, and they will live as I say," says the Lord.
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I will make my people strong; they will worship and obey me." The Lord has spoken.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.