Jeremiah 31:3–20

³Yahweh appeared to ¹him from afar, saying,

“I have ^aloved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you with ^blovingkindness.

⁴“^aAgain I will build you, and you will be rebuilt,

O virgin of Israel!

Again you will ¹take up your ^btambourines

And go forth to the dances of those ^ccelebrating.

⁵“Again you will ^aplant vineyards

On the ¹hills of Samaria;

The planters will plant

And will ²enjoy them.

⁶“For there will be a day when watchmen

On the hills of Ephraim call out,

‘Arise, and ^alet us go up to Zion,

To Yahweh our God.’”

⁷For thus says Yahweh,

“^aSing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

And shout among the ^bhead of the nations;

Make it heard, give praise, and say,

‘O Yahweh, ^csave Your people,

The ^dremnant of Israel.’

⁸“Behold, I am ^abringing them from the north country,

And I will ^bgather them from the remote parts of the earth,

Among them the ^cblind and the ^dlame,

The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;

A great assembly, they will return here.

⁹“^aWith weeping they will come,

And by supplication I will lead them;

I will make them walk by ^bstreams of waters,

On a straight path in which they will ^cnot stumble;

For I am a ^dfather to Israel,

And Ephraim is ^eMy firstborn.”

¹⁰Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations,

And declare in the ^acoastlands far away,

And say, “He who dispersed Israel will ^bgather him

And keep him as a ^cshepherd keeps his flock.”

¹¹For Yahweh has ^aransomed Jacob

And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^bstronger than he.

¹²“They will ^acome and sing for joy on the ^bheight of Zion,

And they will be ^cradiant over the goodness of Yahweh—

Over the ^dgrain and the new wine and the oil,

And over the young of the ^eflock and the herd;

And their soul will be like a ^fwatered garden,

And they will ^gnever waste away again.

¹³“Then the virgin will be glad in the ^adance,

And the young men and the old, together,

For I will ^bturn their mourning into joy

And will comfort them and give them ^cgladness for their sorrow.

¹⁴“I will ¹fill the soul of the priests with ²richness,

And My people will be ^asatisfied with My goodness,” declares Yahweh.

¹⁵Thus says Yahweh,

“^aA voice is heard in ^bRamah,

Wailing and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

She ^crefuses to be comforted for her children

Because ^dthey are no more.”

¹⁶Thus says Yahweh,

“^aRestrain your voice from weeping

And your eyes from tears,

For your ^bwork will be rewarded,” declares Yahweh,

“And they will ^creturn from the land of the enemy.

¹⁷“And there is ^ahope for your future,” declares Yahweh,

“And your children will return to their own territory.

¹⁸“I have surely heard Ephraim ^agrieving,

‘You have ^bchastised me, and I was chastised,

Like an untrained ^ccalf;

^dCause me to return that I may return,

For You are Yahweh my God.

¹⁹‘For after I turned away, I ^arepented;

And after I was instructed, I ^bslapped my thigh;

I was ^cashamed and also dishonored

Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’

²⁰“Is ^aEphraim My dear son?

Is he a delightful child?

Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,

I certainly still remember him;

Therefore My ^1binmost being yearns for him;

I will surely ^chave compassion on him,” declares Yahweh.