Jeremiah 31:3-20

3the Lord appeared to him
Septuagint; Hebrew me
from far away.
bI have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore cI have continued dmy faithfulness to you.
4 eAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
fAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in gthe dance of the merrymakers.
5 hAgain you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in ithe hill country of Ephraim:
jArise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord:
kSing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for lthe chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
m‘O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8Behold, I will bring them nfrom the north country
and ogather them from pthe farthest parts of the earth,
among them qthe blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9 rWith weeping they shall come,
sand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them twalk by brooks of water,
uin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for vI am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is wmy firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will xgather him,
and will keep him yas a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 zFor the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from aahands too strong for him.
12They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
aband they shall be radiant acover the goodness of the Lord,
adover the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
aetheir life shall be like a watered garden,
afand they shall languish no more.
13 agThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
ahI will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 aiI will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,

declares the Lord.”
15 Thus says the Lord:
aj“A voice is heard in akRamah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
alRachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
ambecause they are no more.”
16 Thus 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 anthey shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 aoThere is hope for your future,

declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
18I have heard apEphraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
aqbring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
19For after arI had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, asI struck my thigh;
atI was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 auIs Ephraim my dear son?
avIs he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
awTherefore my heart
Hebrew bowels
yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.
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