Jeremiah 31:15–20

¹⁵This is what the Lord says: 

A sound is heard in Ramah, 

the sound of crying in bitter grief. 

Rachel is crying for her children. 

She refuses to be comforted, 

because they are dead. 

¹⁶This is what the Lord says: 

Stop your crying, and wipe away your tears. 

You will be rewarded for your work, declares the Lord. 

You will return from the land of the enemy. 

¹⁷Your future is filled with hope, declares the Lord. 

Your children will return to their own territory. 

¹⁸“I have certainly heard Ephraim mourn and say, 

‘You disciplined me, and I was disciplined. 

I was like a young, untrained calf. 

Turn me, and I will be turned, 

because you are the Lord my God. 

¹⁹After I was turned around, I changed the way I thought and acted. 

After I was taught a lesson, I hung my head in shame. 

I was so ashamed and humiliated, 

because of all the stupid things I have done 

ever since I was young.’ 

²⁰Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? 

Even though I have often spoken against him, I still think fondly of him. 

That is why my heart longs for him, 

and I will certainly have compassion on him,” declares the Lord.