Jeremiah 31:1–14

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

¹“At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the ^aGod of all the ^bfamilies of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

²Thus says the Lord,

“The people who survived the sword

^aFound grace in the wilderness—

Israel, when it went to ^bfind its rest.”

³The Lord 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 the ^cmerrymakers.

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 the Lord our God.’ ”

⁷For thus says the Lord,

“^aSing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

And shout among the ^1bchief of the nations;

Proclaim, give praise and say,

‘O Lord, ^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 ¹company, 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 the Lord, O nations,

And declare in the ^acoastlands afar off,

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

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

¹¹For the Lord has ^aransomed Jacob

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

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

And they will be ^cradiant over the ¹bounty of the Lord—

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

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

And their life will be like a ^fwatered garden,

And they will ^gnever languish again.

¹³“Then the virgin will rejoice 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 ^cjoy for their sorrow.

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

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