16  Thus says the Lord:

“Keep your voice from weeping,

and your eyes from tears,

for there is a reward for your work,

declares the Lord,

and nthey shall come back from the land of the enemy.

17  oThere is hope for your future,

declares the Lord,

and your children shall come back to their own country.

18  I have heard pEphraim grieving,

‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,

like an untrained calf;

qbring me back that I may be restored,

for you are the Lord my God.

19  For after rI had turned away, I relented,

and after I was instructed, sI struck my thigh;

tI was ashamed, and I was confounded,

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

20  pIs Ephraim my dear son?

uIs he my darling child?

For as often as I speak against him,

I do remember him still.

vTherefore my heart2 yearns for him;

I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.

21  w“Set up road markers for yourself;

make yourself guideposts;

xconsider well the highway,

wthe road by which you went.

Return, O virgin Israel,

return to these your cities.