JeremiahChapter 31

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¹"At that time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel. And they will be my people." ²This is what the LORD says:
"The people who lived through the sword
found kindness in the wilderness.
That was when Israel went to find rest." ³Long ago the LORD appeared to us and said,
"I have loved you with a love that lasts forever.
So I have drawn you close with faithful love. ⁴I will build you up again,
and you will be rebuilt, virgin Israel.
You will pick up your tambourines again.
You will go out and dance with joy. ⁵You will plant vineyards again
on the hills of Samaria.
The farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit. ⁶For a day will come when watchmen will call out
on the hills of Ephraim,
'Get up! Let's go up to Zion,
to the LORD our God!'" ⁷For this is what the LORD says:
"Sing with joy for Jacob.
Shout for the greatest of the nations!
Let your praises be heard.
Say, 'LORD, save your people,
the ones left in Israel!' ⁸Look, I will bring them from the land of the north.
I will gather them from the far ends of the earth.
The blind and the lame will be with them.
Women who are pregnant and women giving birth will come too.
A great crowd will come back! ⁹They will come crying.
They will pray as I lead them.
I will lead them beside streams of water,
on a flat path where they will not trip.
For I am Israel's Father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son." ¹⁰Nations, hear the word of the LORD.
Announce it in coastlands far away.
Say, "The one who scattered Israel will gather them.
He will watch over them like a shepherd watches his flock." ¹¹For the LORD has paid the price to free Jacob.
He has redeemed him from the hand
of someone too strong for him. ¹²They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion.
Their faces will shine because of the LORD's good gifts.
He will give them grain, new wine, and olive oil.
He will give them young sheep and young cattle.
Their lives will be like a garden with plenty of water.
They will never grow weak and sad again. ¹³Then the young women will dance with joy.
The young men and old men will be glad too.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort them and give them joy instead of sorrow. ¹⁴I will give the priests more than enough.
My people will be filled with my good gifts," says the LORD. ¹⁵This is what the LORD says:
"A voice is heard in Ramah.
There is mourning and loud crying.
Rachel is crying for her children.
She will not be comforted,
because her children are gone." ¹⁶This is what the LORD says:
"Stop your crying.
Wipe the tears from your eyes.
For your work will be rewarded, says the LORD.
Your children will come back from the land of the enemy. ¹⁷So there is hope for your future, says the LORD.
Your children will come back to their own land. ¹⁸I have surely heard Ephraim groaning.
He says, 'You corrected me hard,
like a young bull that was never trained.
Bring me back so I can return,
for you are the LORD my God. ¹⁹After I came back, I was sorry for my sins.
After I learned my lesson,
I struck my thigh in sadness.
I was ashamed and embarrassed,
for I carried the shame of the sins I did when I was young.'a ²⁰Isn't Ephraim my dear son?
Isn't he the child I delight in?
I often speak against him,
but I still remember him.
So my heart longs for him.
I have great mercy on him," says the LORD. ²¹"Set up road markers.
Put up signs to show the way.
Remember the highway,
the road you traveled on.
Come back, virgin Israel.
Come back to these towns of yours. ²²How long will you wander,
you unfaithful daughter?
For the LORD has made something new in the land.
A woman will protect a man." ²³This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "I will bring them back from being captives. Then once again in the land of Judah and its towns, people will say this: 'May the LORD bless you, home of what is right, holy mountain.' ²⁴Judah and all its towns will live together in the land. The farmers and those who move around with their flocks will live there. ²⁵For I will refresh the tired soul. I will give new strength to all who are weak." ²⁶At this I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet to me. ²⁷"The days are coming," says the LORD, "when I will plant the people of Israel and the people of Judah like seed. It will be the seed of people and of animals. ²⁸I watched over them to pull them up and tear them down. I watched over them to knock them down, destroy them, and bring disaster. In the same way, I will watch over them to build them up and to plant them," says the LORD. ²⁹"In those days people will no longer say,
'The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.' ³⁰Instead, each person will die for his own sin. Whoever eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will be set on edge. ³¹Look, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers. I made that one when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, even though I was a husband to them," says the LORD. ³³"But this is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will put my law in their minds. I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD.' For they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD. For I will forgive their sins, and I will never again remember their sins." ³⁵This is what the LORD says.
He gives the sun for light in the day.
He sets the moon and stars in order
to give light at night.
He stirs up the sea so its waves roar.
The LORD of Hosts is his name. ³⁶"Suppose this fixed order could disappear from my sight, says the LORD.
Only then would Israel's children
ever stop being a nation before me." ³⁷This is what the LORD says:
"Suppose the heavens above could be measured.
Suppose the foundations of the earth below could be explored.
Only then would I reject all of Israel's children
for all they have done," says the LORD. ³⁸"The days are coming," says the LORD, "when this city will be rebuilt for me. It will be built from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. ³⁹The measuring line will stretch out straight again to the hill of Gareb. Then it will turn toward Goah. ⁴⁰The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown will be holy to the LORD. So will all the fields out to the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate on the east. The city will never again be pulled up or torn down."