“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when ^(C)I went to give him rest.”

³ The Lord has appeared ^[a]of old to me, saying:
“Yes, ^(D)I have loved you with ^(E)an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have ^(F)drawn you.
⁴ Again ^(G)I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your ^(H)tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
^5 (I)You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and ^[b]eat them as ordinary food.
⁶ For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
^(J)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”

^(K)“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
⁸ Behold, I will bring them ^(L)from the north country,
And ^(M)gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
^9 (N)They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk ^(O)by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My ^(P)firstborn.

¹⁰ “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the ^[c]isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel ^(Q)will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
¹¹ For ^(R)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him ^(S)from the hand of one stronger than he.
¹² Therefore they shall come and sing in ^(T)the height of Zion,
Streaming to ^(U)the goodness of the Lord—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a ^(V)well-watered garden,
^(W)And they shall sorrow no more at all.

¹³ “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
¹⁴ I will ^[d]satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

^(X)“A voice was heard in ^(Y)Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter ^(Z)weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because ^(AA)they are no more.”

“Refrain your voice from ^(AB)weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷ There is ^(AC)hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.