Jeremiah 31:15–20

¹⁵Thus says the Lord,

“^aA voice is heard in ^bRamah,

Lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

She ^crefuses to be comforted for her children,

Because ^dthey are no more.”

¹⁶Thus says the Lord,

“^aRestrain your voice from weeping

And your eyes from tears;

For your ^bwork will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,

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

¹⁷“There is ^ahope for your future,” declares the Lord,

“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;

^dBring me back that I may be restored,

For You are the Lord my God.

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

And after I was instructed, I ^bsmote on my thigh;

I was ^cashamed and also humiliated

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 ^1bheart yearns for him;

I will surely ^chave mercy on him,” declares the Lord.