¹² I, I am he who comforts you;
    why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die,
    a human being who fades like grass?^(A)

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
    and will keep him as a shepherd does a flock.”^(A)
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.^(B)
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
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.^(C)
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.^[a]
I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow.^(D)
14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
            says the Lord.^(E)

¹³ Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
    break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people
    and will have compassion on his suffering ones.^(A)

¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
    my Lord has forgotten me.”^(B)
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child
    or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these might forget,
    yet I will not forget you.^(C)
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.^(D)