14 (A)I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”

15 Thus says the Lord:
(B)“A voice is heard in (C)Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping.
(D)Rachel is weeping for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted for her children,
    (E)because they are no more.”

16 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
    and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
    and (F)they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 (G)There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
    and your children shall come back to their own country.
18 I have heard (H)Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
(I)bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after (J)I had turned away, I relented,
    and after I was instructed, (K)I struck my thigh;
(L)I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 (M)Is Ephraim my dear son?
    (N)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
(O)Therefore my heart[a] yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

21 (P)“Set up road markers for yourself;
    make yourself guideposts;
(Q)consider well the highway,
    (R)the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
    return to these your cities.
22 (S)How long will you waver,
    (T)O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
    a woman encircles a man.”

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, (U)when I restore their fortunes:

(V)“‘The Lord bless you, (W)O habitation of righteousness,
    (X)O holy hill!’

24 (Y)And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and (Z)the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will (AA)satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

27 (AB)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when (AC)I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with (AD)the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that (AE)as I have watched over them (AF)to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, (AG)so I will watch over them (AH)to build and to plant, declares the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:

(AI)“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
    and the children's teeth are set on edge.’

30 (AJ)But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:20 Hebrew bowels

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