Jeremiah 31:15-20
New King James Version
Mercy on Ephraim
15 Thus says the Lord:
(A)“A voice was heard in (B)Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter (C)weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because (D)they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Refrain your voice from (E)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 (F)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 (G)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
(H)Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 Surely, (I)after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was (J)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;
(K)Therefore My [a]heart yearns for him;
(L)I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:20 Lit. inward parts
Jeremiah 31:15-20
Authorized (King James) Version
15 Thus saith the Lord;
A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, and bitter weeping;
Rahel weeping for her children
refused to be comforted for her children,
because they were not.
16 Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping,
and thine eyes from tears:
for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord;
and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord,
that thy children shall come again to their own border.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus;
Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised,
as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke:
turn thou me, and I shall be turned;
for thou art the Lord my God.
19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented;
and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh:
I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
20 Is Ephraim my dear son?
is he a pleasant child?
for since I spake against him,
I do earnestly remember him still:
therefore my bowels are troubled for him;
I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.