At that time, the Lord’s plant (Judah) will be very beautiful and great. The people still living in Israel will be very proud of the things the land grows.
He grew up like a small plant before the Lord. He was like a root growing in dry ground. He did not look special. He had no special glory. If we looked at him, we would see nothing special that would cause us to like him.
Look how the Lord has set\par the Daughter of Zion {\cf2\super [8]} under a cloud.\par He has thrown the glory of Israel\par from the sky to the ground.\par The Lord didn’t keep in mind that Israel was his footstool,\par on the day of his anger.\par
So I took care of the sheep that had been raised to be killed—those poor sheep. I found two sticks. I called one stick Favor, and I called the other stick Union. Then I began caring for the sheep.