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31 “At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

Yahweh says, “The people who survive the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”

Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying,

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love.
    Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.
I will build you again,
    and you will be built, O virgin of Israel.
You will again be adorned with your tambourines,
    and will go out in the dances of those who make merry.
Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
    The planters will plant,
    and will enjoy its fruit.
For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry,
    ‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’”

For Yahweh says,

“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
    and shout for the chief of the nations.
Publish, praise, and say,
    ‘Yahweh, save your people,
    the remnant of Israel!’
Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
    and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth,
along with the blind and the lame,
    the woman with child and her who travails with child together.
    They will return as a great company.
They will come with weeping.
    I will lead them with petitions.
I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters,
    in a straight way in which they won’t stumble;
for I am a father to Israel.
    Ephraim is my firstborn.

10 “Hear Yahweh’s word, you nations,
    and declare it in the distant islands. Say,
‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
    and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob,
    and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
12 They will come and sing in the height of Zion,
    and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh,
to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil,
    and to the young of the flock and of the herd.
Their soul will be as a watered garden.
    They will not sorrow any more at all.
13 Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance;
    the young men and the old together;
for I will turn their mourning into joy,
    and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness,
    and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” says Yahweh.

15 Yahweh says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children.
    She refuses to be comforted for her children,
    because they are no more.”

16 Yahweh says:

“Refrain your voice from weeping,
    and your eyes from tears;
    for your work will be rewarded,” says Yahweh.
    “They will come again from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope for your latter end,” says Yahweh.
    “Your children will come again to their own territory.

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving thus,
    ‘You have chastised me,
    and I was chastised, as an untrained calf.
Turn me, and I will be turned;
    for you are Yahweh my God.
19 Surely after that I was turned.
    I repented.
After that I was instructed.
    I struck my thigh.
I was ashamed, yes, even confounded,
    because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim my dear son?
    Is he a darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I still earnestly remember him.
therefore my heart yearns for him.
    I will surely have mercy on him,” says Yahweh.

21 “Set up road signs.
    Make guideposts.
Set your heart toward the highway,
    even the way by which you went.
Turn again, virgin of Israel.
    Turn again to these your cities.
22 How long will you go here and there,
    you backsliding daughter?
For Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth:
    a woman will encompass a man.”

23 Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Yet again they will use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I reverse their captivity: ‘Yahweh bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness.’ 24 Judah and all its cities will dwell therein together, the farmers, and those who go about with flocks. 25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

26 On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me.

27 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of animal. 28 It will happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” says Yahweh. 29 “In those days they will say no more,

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

30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity. Every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

31 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh,
    “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
    and with the house of Judah:
32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
    which covenant of mine they broke,
    although I was a husband to them,” says Yahweh.
33 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,”
    says Yahweh:
“I will put my law in their inward parts,
    and I will write it in their heart.
I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
34 They will no longer each teach his neighbor,
    and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’
for they will all know me,
    from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh:
“for I will forgive their iniquity,
    and I will remember their sin no more.”
35 Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day,
    and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night,
who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar;
    Yahweh of Armies is his name, says:
36 “If these ordinances depart from before me,” says Yahweh,
    “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.”
37 Yahweh says: “If heaven above can be measured,
    and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
    then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” says Yahweh.

38 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that the city will be built to Yahweh from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner. 39 The measuring line will go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and will turn toward Goah. 40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever.”

The Exiles Return

31 At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.

Thus says the Lord:

The people who survived the sword
    found grace in the wilderness,
    when I went to give Israel rest.

The Lord has appeared to him from afar, saying:

Indeed, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
Again I will build you
    and you will be built, O virgin of Israel.
You will again be adorned with your tambourines
    and shall go forth in the dances of those who make merry.
You will yet plant vines
    on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters will plant
    and will enjoy them.
For there will be a day when the watchmen
    on the hills of Ephraim will proclaim,
“Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.”

For thus says the Lord:

Sing with gladness for Jacob,
    and shout among the chief of the nations;
publish, praise, and say,
    “O Lord, save Your people,
    the remnant of Israel.”
See, I will bring them from the north country,
    and gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
and with them the blind and the lame,
    the woman with child and her who is in labor with child, together;
    a great company will return here.
They will come with weeping,
    and with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk 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 firstborn.

10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far off, and say,
“He who scattered Israel will gather him
    and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.”
11 For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
    and ransomed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
12 Therefore they will come and sing in the height of Zion,
    and will be joyful over the goodness of the Lord,
for wheat and for wine and for oil
    and for the young of the flock and of the herd;
and their souls will be as a watered garden.
    And they will not sorrow any more at all.
13 Then the virgin shall rejoice in the dance,
    both young men and old together;
for I will turn their mourning into joy,
    and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness,
    says the Lord.

15 Thus says the Lord:

A voice is heard in Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
    refusing to be comforted for her children,
    because they are no more.

16 Thus says the Lord:

Keep your voice from 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 hope for your future,
    says the Lord,
    that your children will come back to their own border.

18 I have surely heard Ephraim pleading:
    “You have chastised me,
    and I was chastised, as an untrained calf;
turn me back and I will be turned,
    for you are the Lord my God.
19 Surely after I turned back,
    I repented;
and after I was instructed,
    I struck myself on my thigh;
I was ashamed and even humiliated
    because I bore the reproach of my youth.”
20 Is Ephraim My dear son?
    Is he a pleasant child?
For since I spoke against him,
    I surely do remember him still;
therefore My heart longs for him.
    I will surely have mercy on him,
    says the Lord.

21 Set up road marks,
    place guideposts.
Set your heart toward the highway,
    even the way by which you went.
Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
    turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you go about,
    O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth:
    A woman shall obtain a man.

23 Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Once again they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities when I restore their fortunes: “May the Lord bless you, O habitation of righteousness and mountain of holiness!” 24 And Judah and all its cities will dwell there, the farmer and those who go out with the flocks. 25 For I satiate the weary souls and I replenish every languishing soul.

26 Upon this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was sweet to me.

27 Surely, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 It shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them, to build, and to plant, says the Lord. 29 In those days they will say no more:

“The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
    and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity. Every man that eats the sour grape, his teeth will be set on edge.

A New Covenant

31 Surely, the days are coming, says the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
    and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be according to the covenant
    that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand
    to bring them out of the land of Egypt,
because they broke My covenant,
    although I was a husband to them,
    says the Lord.
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
    after those days, says the Lord:
I will put My law within them
    and write it in their hearts;
and I will be their God,
    and they shall be My people.
34 They shall teach no more every man his neighbor
    and every man his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”
for they all shall know Me,
    from the least of them to the greatest of them,
    says the Lord,
for I will forgive their iniquity,
    and I will remember their sin no more.

35 Thus says the Lord,

who gives the sun
    for a light by day
and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars
    for a light by night,
who stirs up the sea
    so that the waves roar,
    the Lord of Hosts is His name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before Me,
    says the Lord,
then the seed of Israel also will cease
    from being a nation before Me forever.

37 Thus says the Lord:

If heaven above can be measured,
    and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
    for all that they have done,
    says the Lord.

38 Surely, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the city will be built to the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line shall stretch out straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, will be holy to the Lord. It will not be plucked up nor thrown down any more forever.