2  Thus says the Lord:

“The people who survived the sword

found grace in the wilderness;

when Israel sought for rest,

3  the Lord appeared to him¹ from far away.

I have ^tloved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

4  Again I will build you, and you shall be built,

O virgin Israel!

Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines

and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.

5  Again you shall ^uplant vineyards

on the mountains of Samaria;

the planters shall plant

and shall enjoy the fruit.

6  For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in the hill country of Ephraim:

‘Arise, and ^vlet us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.’”

7  For thus says the Lord:

“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

‘O Lord, save your people,

the remnant of Israel.’

8  Behold, I will bring them ^wfrom the north country

and ^xgather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame,

the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

9  ^yWith weeping they shall come,

and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,

I will make them walk by brooks of water,

in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,

for ^zI am a father to Israel,

and ^aEphraim is 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 gather him,

and will keep him ^bas a shepherd keeps his flock.’

11  For the Lord ^chas ransomed Jacob

and has ^dredeemed him from hands too strong for him.

12  They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,

over the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd;

their life shall be ^elike a watered garden,

and they shall languish no more.

13  Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

I will turn their mourning into ^fjoy;

I will ^gcomfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

14  I 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:

^h“A voice is heard in Ramah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

because ⁱthey 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 they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

17  There is ^jhope for your future,

declares the Lord,

and your children shall come back to their own country.

18  I have heard Ephraim grieving,

‘You have ^kdisciplined me, and I was disciplined,

like an untrained calf;

^lbring me back that I may be restored,

for you are the Lord my God.

19  For after I had turned away, I relented,

and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;

I was ashamed, and I was confounded,

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

20  Is Ephraim my dear son?

Is he my darling child?

For as often as I speak against him,

I do remember him still.

Therefore my heart² yearns for him;

I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.

21  “Set up road markers for yourself;

make yourself guideposts;

consider well the highway,

the road by which you went.

Return, O virgin Israel,

return to these your cities.

22  How long will you waver,

O faithless daughter?

For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:

a woman encircles a man.”

“‘The Lord bless you, O ^mhabitation of righteousness,

O holy hill!’

^o“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’