Jeremiah 31:3–20

³the Lord appeared to him¹ from far away.

^cI have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore ^dI have continued ^emy faithfulness to you.

^4fAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,

O virgin Israel!

^gAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines

and shall go forth in ^hthe dance of the merrymakers.

⁵ⁱAgain you shall plant vineyards

on the mountains of Samaria;

the planters shall plant

and shall enjoy the fruit.

⁶For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in ^jthe hill country of Ephraim:

^k‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.’ ”

⁷For thus says the Lord:

^l“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for ^mthe chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

ⁿ‘O Lord, save your people,

the remnant of Israel.’

⁸Behold, I will bring them ^ofrom the north country

and ^pgather them from ^qthe farthest parts of the earth,

among them ^rthe blind and the lame,

the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

^9sWith weeping they shall come,

^tand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,

I will make them ^uwalk by brooks of water,

^vin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,

for ^wI am a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is ^xmy firstborn.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,

and declare it in the coastlands far away;

say, ‘He who scattered Israel will ^pgather him,

and will keep him ^yas a shepherd keeps his flock.’

^11zFor the Lord has ransomed Jacob

and has redeemed him from ^ahands too strong for him.

¹²They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

^band they shall be radiant ^cover the goodness of the Lord,

^dover the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd;

^etheir life shall be like a watered garden,

^fand they shall languish no more.

^13gThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

^hI will turn their mourning into joy;

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

¹⁴ⁱI will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,

and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,

declares the Lord.”

¹⁵Thus says the Lord:

^j“A voice is heard in ^kRamah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

^lRachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

^mbecause they are no more.”

¹⁶Thus 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.

^17oThere is hope for your future,

declares the Lord,

and your children shall come back to their own country.

¹⁸I 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.

¹⁹For 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.’

^20pIs 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.