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!’
24. “People in all the towns of Judah will live together in peace. Farmers and those who move around with their flocks will live peacefully together in Judah.
25. I will give rest and strength to those who are weak and tired.”
26. After hearing that, I, Jeremiah, woke up and looked around. My sleep was very pleasant.
27. “The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will help the family of Israel and Judah to grow. I will help their children and animals to grow too. It will be like planting and caring for a plant.
28. In the past I watched over Israel and Judah, but I watched for the time to pull them up. I tore them down. I destroyed them. I gave many troubles to them. But now I will watch over them to build them up and make them strong.” This message is from the Lord.
29. “People will not use this saying anymore: ‘The parents ate the sour grapes, but the children got the sour taste.’
30. No, people will die for their own sins. Those who eat sour grapes will get the sour taste.”
31. This is what the Lord said, “The time is coming when I will make a new agreement with the family of Israel and with the family of Judah.
32. It will not be like the agreement I made with their ancestors. I made that agreement when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. I was their master, but they broke that agreement.” This message is from the Lord.
33. “In the future I will make this agreement with the people of Israel.” This message is from the Lord. “I will put my teachings in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.