Jeremiah 31:12-22

12 They will come and sing for joy on Mount Zion and be delighted with my gifts - gifts of grain and wine and olive oil, gifts of sheep and cattle. They will be like a well-watered garden; they will have everything they need.
13 Then the young women will dance and be happy, and men, young and old, will rejoice. I will comfort them and turn their mourning into joy, their sorrow into gladness.
14 I will fill the priests with the richest food and satisfy all the needs of my people. I, the Lord, have spoken."
15 The Lord says, 1 "A sound is heard in Ramah, the sound of bitter weeping. Rachel is crying for her children; they are gone, and she refuses to be comforted.
16 Stop your crying and wipe away your tears. All that you have done for your children will not go unrewarded; they will return from the enemy's land.
17 There is hope for your future; your children will come back home. I, the Lord, have spoken.
18 "I hear the people of Israel say in grief, "Lord, we were like an untamed animal, but you taught us to obey. Bring us back; we are ready to return to you, the Lord our God.
19 We turned away from you, but soon we wanted to return. After you had punished us, we hung our heads in grief. We were ashamed and disgraced because we sinned when we were young.'
20 "Israel, you are my dearest child, the one I love best. Whenever I mention your name, I think of you with love. My heart goes out to you; I will be merciful.
21 Set up signs and mark the road; find again the way by which you left. Come back, people of Israel, come home to the towns you left.
22 How long will you hesitate, faithless people? I have created something new and different, as different as a woman protecting a man."

Cross References 1

  • 1. 31.15 aGenesis 35.16-19; bMatthew 2.18.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. I mention . . . I think; [or] I threaten to punish, I still think.
  • [b]. as different . . . man; [Hebrew unclear.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.