14. I will give the priests plenty of food. And my people will be filled and satisfied with the good things I give them.” This message is from the Lord.
15. This is what the Lord says: “A sound is heard in Ramah— bitter crying and great sadness. Rachel cries for her children, and she refuses to be comforted, because her children are gone.”
16. But the Lord says, “Stop crying. Don’t fill your eyes with tears. You will be rewarded for your work.” This message is from the Lord. “The people of Israel will come back from their enemy’s land.
17. Israel, there is hope for you.” This message is from the Lord. “Your children will come back to their own land.
18. I have heard Ephraim crying: ‘Lord, you punished me, and I learned my lesson. I was like a calf that was never trained. Please stop punishing me, and I will come back to you. You really are the Lord my God.
19. I wandered away from you. But I finally realized how wrong I was. So I changed my heart and life. I am ashamed and embarrassed about the foolish things I did when I was young.’”
20. The Lord says, “You know that Ephraim is my dear son. I love that child. Yes, I often criticized Ephraim, but I still think about him. I love him very much, and I really do want to comfort him.
21. “People of Israel, repair the road signs. Put up signs that show the way home. Watch the road. Remember the road you are leaving on. Israel, my bride, come home. Come back to your towns.
22. Unfaithful daughter, how long will you wander around? “The Lord has created something new in the land: A woman surrounding a man.”
23. This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: “I will again do good things for the people of Judah. I will bring back those who were taken away as prisoners. At that time the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘May the Lord bless you, good home and holy mountain!’