8. Then I will reply, ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north.I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth.Blind and lame people will come with them,so will pregnant women and women about to give birth.A vast throng of people will come back here.
9. They will come back shedding tears of contrition.I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance.I will lead them besides streams of water,along smooth paths where they will never stumble.I will do this because I am Israel’s father;Ephraim is my firstborn son.’”
10. Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”
11. For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.He will secure their release from those who had overpowered them.