4. Again I will build you, and you shall stay built,virgin Israel;Carrying your festive tambourines,you shall go forth dancing with merrymakers.
5. You shall again plant vineyardson the mountains of Samaria;those who plant them shall enjoy their fruits.
6. Yes, a day will come when the watchmencall out on Mount Ephraim:“Come, let us go up to Zion,to the Lord, our God.”
7. For thus says the Lord:Shout with joy for Jacob,exult at the head of the nations;proclaim your praise and say:The Lord has saved his people,the remnant of Israel.
8. Look! I will bring them backfrom the land of the north;I will gather them from the ends of the earth,the blind and the lame in their midst,Pregnant women, together with those in labor—an immense throng—they shall return.
9. With weeping they shall come,but with compassion I will guide them;I will lead them to streams of water,on a level road, without stumbling.For I am a father to Israel,Ephraim is my firstborn.
10. Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,proclaim it on distant coasts, and say:The One who scattered Israel, now gathers them;he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
11. The Lord shall ransom Jacob,he shall redeem him from a hand too strong for him.
12. Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings:The grain, the wine, and the oil,flocks of sheep and cattle;They themselves shall be like watered gardens,never again neglected.
13. Then young women shall make merry and dance,young men and old as well.I will turn their mourning into joy,I will show them compassion and have them rejoice after their sorrows.
14. I will lavish choice portions on the priests,and my people shall be filled with my blessings—oracle of the Lord.