Jeremiah 31:8-22

English Standard Version

⁸Behold, I will bring them ^(A)from the north country
    and ^(B)gather them from ^(C)the farthest parts of the earth,
among them ^(D)the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
⁹^(E)With weeping they shall come,
    ^(F)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them ^(G)walk by brooks of water,
    ^(H)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for ^(I)I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is ^(J)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 ^(K)gather him,
    and will keep him ^(L)as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
¹¹^(M)For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from ^(N)hands too strong for him.
¹²They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    ^(O)and they shall be radiant ^(P)over the goodness of the Lord,
^(Q)over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and over the young of the flock and the herd;
^(R)their life shall be like a watered garden,
    ^(S)and they shall languish no more.
¹³^(T)Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.
^(U)I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
¹⁴^(V)I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”

¹⁵Thus says the Lord:
^(W)“A voice is heard in ^(X)Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping.
^(Y)Rachel is weeping for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted for her children,
    ^(Z)because they are no more.”

¹⁶Thus 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 ^(AA)they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷^(AB)There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
    and your children shall come back to their own country.
¹⁸I have heard ^(AC)Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
^(AD)bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the Lord my God.
¹⁹For after ^(AE)I had turned away, I relented,
    and after I was instructed, ^(AF)I struck my thigh;
^(AG)I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
²⁰^(AH)Is Ephraim my dear son?
    ^(AI)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
^(AJ)Therefore my heart^[a] yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

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