Israel's Mourning Turned to Joy
1
"At that
time,"
declares the
LORD, "I will be the
God of
all the
families of
Israel, and they shall be My
people."
3
The
LORD appeared to him from
afar, saying, "I have
loved you with an
everlasting love ;
Therefore * I have
drawn you with
lovingkindness.
4
"
Again I will
build you and you will be
rebuilt, O
virgin of
Israel !
Again you will
take up your
tambourines, And
go forth to the
dances of the
merrymakers.
5
"Again you will
plant vineyards On the
hills of
Samaria ; The
planters will
plant And will
enjoy them.
6
"For
there will be a
day when
watchmen On the
hills of
Ephraim call out,
'Arise, and let us
go up to
Zion, To the
LORD our
God.' "
8
"Behold, I am
bringing them from the
north country, And I will
gather them from the
remote parts of the
earth, Among them the
blind and the
lame, The
woman with
child and she who is in
labor with child,
together ; A
great company, they will
return here.
9
" With
weeping they will
come, And by
supplication I will
lead them; I will make them
walk by
streams of
waters, On a
straight path in which they will not
stumble ; For I
am a
father to
Israel, And
Ephraim is My
firstborn."
10
Hear the
word of the
LORD, O
nations, And
declare in the
coastlands afar off, And
say, "He who
scattered Israel will
gather him And
keep him as a
shepherd keeps his
flock."
11
For the
LORD has
ransomed Jacob And
redeemed him from the
hand of him
who was
stronger than he.
12
"They will
come and
shout for
joy on the
height of
Zion, And they will be
radiant over the
bounty of the
LORD -
Over the
grain and the
new wine and the
oil, And
over the
young of the
flock and the
herd ; And their
life will be like a
watered garden, And they will
never * languish again.
13
"Then the
virgin will
rejoice in the
dance, And the
young men and the
old,
together, For I will
turn their
mourning into
joy And will
comfort them and
give them
joy for their
sorrow.
14
"I will
fill the
soul of the
priests with
abundance, And My
people will be
satisfied with My
goodness,"
declares the
LORD.
16
Thus says the
LORD, "
Restrain your
voice from
weeping And your
eyes from
tears ; For your
work will be
rewarded,"
declares the
LORD, "And they will
return from the
land of the
enemy.
17
"There is
hope for your
future,"
declares the
LORD, "And your
children will
return to their own
territory.
18
"I have
surely heard Ephraim grieving, 'You have
chastised me, and I was
chastised, Like an
untrained * calf ;
Bring me
back that I may be
restored, For You are the
LORD my
God.
20
"Is
Ephraim My
dear son ? Is he a
delightful child ?
Indeed, as
often as I have
spoken against him, I
certainly still
remember him;
Therefore * My
heart yearns for him; I will
surely have mercy on him,"
declares the
LORD.
21
"Set up for yourself
roadmarks,
Place for yourself
guideposts ;
Direct your
mind to the
highway, The
way by which you
went.
Return, O
virgin of
Israel,
Return to
these your
cities.
23
Thus says the
LORD of
hosts, the
God of
Israel, "Once
again they will
speak this word in the
land of
Judah and in its
cities when I
restore their
fortunes, 'The
LORD bless you, O
abode of
righteousness, O
holy hill !'
24
"Judah and
all its
cities will
dwell together in it, the
farmer and they who
go about with
flocks.
26
At
this I
awoke and
looked, and my
sleep was
pleasant to me.
A New Covenant
27
"Behold,
days are
coming,"
declares the
LORD, "when I will
sow the
house of
Israel and the
house of
Judah with the
seed of
man and with the
seed of
beast.
28
"As I have
watched over them to
pluck up, to
break down, to
overthrow, to
destroy and to
bring disaster,
so I will
watch over them to
build and to
plant,"
declares the
LORD.
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29
"In
those days they will not
say again, ' The
fathers have
eaten sour grapes, And the
children's teeth are
set on
edge.'
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30
"But
everyone will
die for his own
iniquity ;
each man who
eats the
sour grapes, his
teeth will be
set on
edge.
31
"
Behold,
days are
coming,"
declares the
LORD, "when I will
make a
new covenant with the
house of
Israel and with the
house of
Judah,
32
not like the
covenant which I
made with their
fathers in the
day I
took them by the
hand to
bring them out of the
land of
Egypt, My
covenant which they
broke, although I was a
husband to them,"
declares the
LORD.
33
"But
this is the
covenant which I will
make with the
house of
Israel after those days,"
declares the
LORD, " I will
put My
law within them and on their
heart I will
write it; and I will be their
God, and they shall be My
people.
34
"They will not
teach again,
each man his
neighbor and
each man his
brother,
saying,
'Know the
LORD,' for they will
all know Me, from the
least of them to the
greatest of them,"
declares the
LORD, "for I will
forgive their
iniquity, and their
sin I will
remember no more."
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35
Thus says the
LORD, Who
gives the
sun for
light by
day And the
fixed order of the
moon and the
stars for
light by
night, Who
stirs up the
sea so that its
waves roar ; The
LORD of
hosts is His
name :
38
"Behold,
days are
coming,"
declares the
LORD, "when the
city will be
rebuilt for the
LORD from the
Tower of
Hananel to the
Corner Gate.
39
"The
measuring line will
go out
farther straight ahead to the
hill Gareb ; then it will
turn to
Goah.
40
"And the
whole valley of the
dead bodies and of the
ashes, and
all the
fields as
far as the
brook Kidron, to the
corner of the
Horse Gate toward the
east, shall be
holy to the
LORD ; it will not be
plucked up or
overthrown anymore forever."