Jeremiah 31:3–20

³The Lord appeared to me in a faraway place and said, 

“I love you with an everlasting love. 

So I will continue to show you my kindness. 

⁴Once again I will build you up, 

and you will be rebuilt, my dear people Israel. 

Once again you will take your tambourines, 

and you will go dancing with happy people. 

⁵Once again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. 

Those who plant them will enjoy the fruit. 

⁶There will be a day when watchmen on the mountains of Ephraim 

will call out this message: 

‘Arise! Let’s go to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ” 

⁷This is what the Lord says: 

Sing a happy song about Jacob. 

Sing joyfully for the leader of the nations. 

Shout, sing praise, and say, 

“O Lord, rescue your people, the remaining few from Israel.” 

⁸“I will bring them from the land of the north. 

I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth. 

Blind people and lame people will return 

together with pregnant women and those in labor. 

A large crowd will return here. 

⁹They will cry as they return. 

They will pray as I bring them back. 

I will lead them beside streams 

on a level path where they will not stumble. 

I will be a Father to Israel, 

and Ephraim will be my firstborn. 

¹⁰“You nations, listen to the Lord’s word. 

Tell it to the distant islands. 

Say, ‘The one who scattered the people of Israel will gather them 

and watch over them as a shepherd watches over his flock.’ 

¹¹The Lord will free the descendants of Jacob 

and reclaim them from those who are stronger than they are. 

¹²They will come and shout for joy on top of Mount Zion. 

They will stream to it to enjoy the Lord’s blessings: 

fresh grain, new wine, and olive oil, lambs and calves. 

Their lives will be like well-watered gardens, 

and they will never suffer again. 

¹³Then young women will rejoice and dance 

along with young men and old men. 

I will turn their mourning into joy. 

I will comfort them. 

I will give them joy in place of their sorrow. 

¹⁴I will satisfy the priests with rich food. 

My people will be filled with my blessings,” declares the Lord. 

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.