² Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
    found grace in the wilderness;
^(C)when Israel sought for rest,
³     the Lord appeared to him^[a] from far away.
^(D)I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore ^(E)I have continued ^(F)my faithfulness to you.
^4 (G)Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
    O virgin Israel!
^(H)Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
    and shall go forth in ^(I)the dance of the merrymakers.
^5 (J)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 watchmen will call
    in ^(K)the hill country of Ephraim:
^(L)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”

⁷ For thus says the Lord:
^(M)“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
    and raise shouts for ^(N)the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
    ^(O)‘O Lord, save your people,
    the remnant of Israel.’
⁸ Behold, I will bring them ^(P)from the north country
    and ^(Q)gather them from ^(R)the farthest parts of the earth,
among them ^(S)the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
^9 (T)With weeping they shall come,
    ^(U)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them ^(V)walk by brooks of water,
    ^(W)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for ^(X)I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is ^(Y)my firstborn.

¹⁰ “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will ^(Z)gather him,
    and will keep him ^(AA)as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
^11 (AB)For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from ^(AC)hands too strong for him.
¹² They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    ^(AD)and they shall be radiant ^(AE)over the goodness of the Lord,
^(AF)over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and over the young of the flock and the herd;
^(AG)their life shall be like a watered garden,
    ^(AH)and they shall languish no more.
^13 (AI)Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.
^(AJ)I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
^14 (AK)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:
^(AL)“A voice is heard in ^(AM)Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping.
^(AN)Rachel is weeping for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted for her children,
    ^(AO)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 ^(AP)they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
^17 (AQ)There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
    and your children shall come back to their own country.
¹⁸ I have heard ^(AR)Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
^(AS)bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the Lord my God.
¹⁹ For after ^(AT)I had turned away, I relented,
    and after I was instructed, ^(AU)I struck my thigh;
^(AV)I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
^20 (AW)Is Ephraim my dear son?
    ^(AX)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
^(AY)Therefore my heart^[b] yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

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

^(BF)“‘The Lord bless you, ^(BG)O habitation of righteousness,
    ^(BH)O holy hill!’

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

³⁵ Thus says the Lord,
who ^(CG)gives the sun for light by day
    and ^(CH)the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    ^(CI)the Lord of hosts is his name:
^36 (CJ)“If this fixed order departs
    from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
    from being a nation before me forever.”

³⁷ Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
    and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
^(CK)then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
    for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.”