Jeremiah 31:16-26

New King James Version

“Refrain your voice from ^(A)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 ^(B)hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.

¹⁸ “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have ^(C)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
^(D)Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
¹⁹ Surely, ^(E)after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was ^(F)ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
²⁰ Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
^(G)Therefore My ^[a]heart yearns for him;
^(H)I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

²¹ “Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
^(I)Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
^[b]Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
²² How long will you ^(J)gad about,
O you ^(K)backsliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”