^9 (A)With weeping they shall come,
    ^(B)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them ^(C)walk by brooks of water,
    ^(D)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for ^(E)I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is ^(F)my firstborn.

⁴ Have you not just now ^(A)called to me,
    ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—

^20 (A)Is Ephraim my dear son?
    ^(B)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
^(C)Therefore my heart^[a] yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

¹³     who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
    they did not stumble.

²     He makes me lie down in green ^(A)pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.^[a]

¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne ^(A)will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of ^(B)living water,
and ^(C)God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”