⁹ They will come with weeping;^(A)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead^(B) them beside streams of water^(C)
    on a level^(D) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,^(E)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

⁴ Have you not just called to me:
    ‘My Father,^(A) my friend from my youth,^(B)

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.^(A)

⁴ “In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together^(A)
    will go in tears^(B) to seek^(C) the Lord their God.

²⁰ Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child^(A) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember^(B) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion^(C) for him,”
declares the Lord.

¹³ who led^(A) them through the depths?^(B)
Like a horse in open country,
    they did not stumble;^(C)

¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;^(A)
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’^[a](B)
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’^[b]”^(C)