1:5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion
and the sins of the nation of Israel.
How has Jacob rebelled, you ask?
Samaria epitomizes their rebellion!
Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask?
They are right in Jerusalem!
5:4 He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the Lord’s strength,
by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God.
They will live securely, for at that time he will be honored
even in the distant regions of the earth.
5:7 Those survivors from Jacob will live
in the midst of many nations.
They will be like the dew the Lord sends,
like the rain on the grass,
that does not hope for men to come
or wait around for humans to arrive.
5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples.
They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which attacks when it passes through;
it rips its prey and there is no one to stop it.
7:14 Shepherd your people with your shepherd’s rod,
the flock that belongs to you,
the one that lives alone in a thicket,
in the midst of a pastureland.
Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead,
as they did in the old days.