Jeremiah 31:15–20

15  Thus saith the Lord;

qA voice was heard in rRamah,

Lamentation, and sbitter weeping;

Rahel weeping for her children

Refused to be comforted for her children, because tthey were not.

16  Thus saith the Lord;

Refrain thy voice from weeping,

And thine eyes from tears:

For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord;

And uthey shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17  And vthere is hope in thine end, saith the Lord,

That wthy children shall come again to their own border.

18  I have surely heard zzEphraim bemoaning himself thus;

Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised,

As a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke:

xTurn thou me, and I shall be turned;

For thou art the Lord my God.

19  Surely yafter that I was turned, I repented;

And after that I was instructed, I zsmote upon my thigh:

I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,

Because I did bear the reproach aof my youth.

20  Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a bpleasant child?

For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still:

Therefore cmy bowels †are troubled for him;

I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.