1
At that time, says the
2
Thus says the
The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,
3
the
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
4
Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall take 3 your tambourines,
and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
5
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant,
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6
For there shall be a day when sentinels will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
"Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the
7
For thus says the
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
"Save, O
the remnant of Israel."
8
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9
With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations 4 I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10
Hear the word of the
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
11
For the
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
13
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
+qsays the
15
Thus says the
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
16
Thus says the
Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears;
for there is a reward for your work,
+qsays the
they shall come back from the land of the enemy;
17
there is hope for your future,
+qsays the
your children shall come back to their own country.
18
Indeed I heard Ephraim pleading:
"You disciplined me, and I took the discipline;
I was like a calf untrained.
Bring me back, let me come back,
for you are the
19
For after I had turned away I repented;
and after I was discovered, I struck my thigh;
I was ashamed, and I was dismayed
because I bore the disgrace of my youth."
20
Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he the child I delight in?
As often as I speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore I am deeply moved for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
+qsays the
21
Set up road markers for yourself,
make yourself signposts;
consider well the highway,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
22
How long will you waver,
O faithless daughter?
For the
a woman encompasses 5 a man.
23
Thus says the
"The
O holy hill!"
24
And Judah and all its towns shall live there together, and the farmers and those who wander 6 with their flocks.
25
I will satisfy the weary,
and all who are faint I will replenish.
26 Thereupon I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.
27
The days are surely coming, says the
29
In those days they shall no longer say:
"The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge."
30 But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.