15. Thus says the Lord:In Ramah is heard the sound of sobbing,bitter weeping!Rachel mourns for her children,she refuses to be consoledfor her children—they are no more!
16. Thus says the Lord:Cease your cries of weeping,hold back your tears!There is compensation for your labor—oracle of the Lord—they shall return from the enemy’s land.
17. There is hope for your future—oracle of the Lord—your children shall return to their own territory.
18. Indeed, I heard Ephraim rocking in grief:You chastised me, and I was chastised;I was like an untamed calf.Bring me back, let me come back,for you are the Lord, my God.
19. For after I turned away, I repented;after I came to myself, I struck my thigh;I was ashamed, even humiliated,because I bore the disgrace of my youth.
20. Is Ephraim not my favored son,the child in whom I delight?Even though I threaten him,I must still remember him!My heart stirs for him,I must show him compassion!—oracle of the Lord.
21. Set up road markers,put up signposts;Turn your attention to the highway,the road you walked.Turn back, virgin Israel,turn back to these your cities.
22. How long will you continue to hesitate,rebellious daughter?The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth:woman encompasses man.
23. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: When I restore their fortunes in the land of Judah and in its cities, they shall again use this greeting: “May the Lord bless you, Tent of Justice, Holy Mountain!”
24. Judah and all its cities, the farmers and those who lead the flock shall dwell there together.
25. For I will slake the thirst of the faint; the appetite of all the weary I will satisfy.
26. At this I awoke and opened my eyes; my sleep was satisfying.
27. See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of human beings and the seed of animals.
28. As I once watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, to destroy, and to harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant—oracle of the Lord.
29. In those days they shall no longer say,“The parents ate unripe grapes,and the children’s teeth are set on edge,”