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Fluent Translation · Read & Reflect

Zechariah 10

Ask the LORD for Rain

Ask the LORD for rain
in the season of the spring rain.
The LORD makes the storm clouds
and gives showers of rain to everyone,
and plants of the field. For the household gods speak emptiness,
and the diviners see falsehood.
They tell empty dreams
and give comfort in vain.
So the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted
because there is no shepherd.

The LORD Will Care for the Flock

My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the male goats.
For the LORD of Hosts has attended to the flock,
the house of Judah,
and will make them
like a majestic horse in battle. From Judah will come the cornerstone,
from Judah the tent peg,
from Judah the battle bow,
from Judah every ruler, all together. They will be like warriors in battle,
trampling their enemies
in the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the LORD is with them,
and the riders on horses will be put to shame.

I Will Bring Them Back

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 will be as if
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 heart will rejoice as with wine.
Their children will see and rejoice;
their hearts will exult in the LORD. I will whistle for them
and gather them,
for I have redeemed them,
and they will become as numerous
as they once were.

Though I scattered them among the peoples,
they will remember me in distant lands.
They will live with their children
and return. I will bring them back from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead
and Lebanon,
until there is no room for them. They will pass through the sea of distress;
the waves of the sea will be struck,
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be brought down,
and the scepter of Egypt will depart. I will strengthen them in the LORD,
and they will walk in the LORD’s name,
says the LORD.

Translation guide

Two ways of attending to Scripture

TSW helps readers examine how the text is shaped. Fluent helps readers hear and absorb how the passage moves as a whole. They complement one another; neither is presented as the better or more faithful Bible.

TSW

Study & Discuss

Keeps more of the source text’s wording, patterns, structure, repetition, and interpretive questions visible. Use it to slow down, notice details, prepare to teach or preach, and explore Scripture with others.

Fluent

Read & Reflect

Expresses the passage in natural English for sustained reading, prayer, devotion, teaching, and growing biblical fluency. Use it to follow the movement of a passage and absorb Scripture as a whole.

Study help

Notes

Translation notes for Zechariah 10.

v01

“spring rain” — The later seasonal rains were especially important for bringing crops toward maturity. The verse contrasts dependence upon the LORD with the false religious practices condemned immediately afterward.

v02

“household gods” — The Hebrew teraphim refers to cultic or household objects associated with divination or domestic religious practice.

v03

“shepherds … male goats” — Both images refer to leaders. The LORD condemns failed leadership and then personally attends to the flock.

v04

“cornerstone … tent peg … battle bow” — Several images of stability, support, military strength, and leadership accumulate around Judah without being reduced to a single figure.

v06

“as though I had never rejected them” — Restoration is described so fully that the former experience of rejection no longer determines the relationship.

v08

“I will whistle for them” — The image portrays the LORD summoning a scattered people with a simple signal they recognize.

v09

“they will remember me” — Dispersion among the nations does not end the covenant relationship. Memory becomes part of the movement toward return.

v10

Egypt and Assyria represent major places of historical oppression and dispersion. The gathering extends beyond the immediate Babylonian exile.

v11

“sea of distress” — The Hebrew wording evokes both literal waters and the experience of oppression. The following references to sea and Nile recall earlier biblical deliverance traditions without explicitly identifying one event.

v12

“walk in the LORD’s name” — The restored community’s life is characterized by belonging to and acting under the identity of the LORD.

Study help

Vocabulary

Selected source-language vocabulary for Zechariah 10.

v01

מַלְקוֹשׁ (malqosh)

“Spring rain” or “latter rain.” Seasonal rain arriving toward the end of the rainy season.

v02

תְּרָפִים (teraphim)

“Household gods.” Cultic objects associated with domestic religion or divination.

v02

קָסַם (qasam)

“To divine.” To seek hidden knowledge or guidance through divinatory practice.

v03

פָּקַד (paqad)

“To attend to,” “visit,” or “call to account.” The same root can describe both judgment and attentive care depending on context.

v04

פִּנָּה (pinnah)

“Corner” or “cornerstone.” That which gives strength or orientation to a structure.

v06

רָחַם (racham)

“To have compassion.” To show deep mercy or care toward one in distress.

v08

שָׁרַק (sharaq)

“To whistle.” To summon by a sharp sound, here used for the LORD gathering the dispersed people.

v08

פָּדָה (padah)

“To redeem” or “ransom.” To secure release or reclaim someone from bondage.

v12

הָלַךְ (halakh)

“To walk.” Frequently used metaphorically for a manner or pattern of life.