Jeremiah 31:3–20

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.

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.