“Then the Lord will pity His people and jealously guard the honor of His land. The Lord will reply,’Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy your needs. You will no longer be a mockery among the surrounding nations. I will drive away these armies from the north. I will send them into parched wastelands. Those in front will be driven into the Dead Sea, and those at the rear into the Mediterranean. The stench of he rotting bodies will rise over the land.’
Surely the Lord has done great things. Don’t be afraid, my people. Be glad now and rejoice, for the Lord has doe great things. Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field, for the wilderness pastures will soon b e green. The trees will again be filed with fruit; fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rain He sends demonstrates His faithfulness. Once more the autumn rains will come as well as the rains of spring.” (vv. 18-23, NLT)