4. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.You will again be happyand dance merrily with your tambourines.
5. Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samariaand eat from your own gardens there.
6. The day will come when watchmen will shoutfrom the hill country of Ephraim,‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalemto worship the lord our God.’”
7. Now this is what the lord says:“Sing with joy for Israel.Shout for the greatest of nations!Shout out with praise and joy:‘Save your people, O lord,the remnant of Israel!’
8. For I will bring them from the northand from the distant corners of the earth.I will not forget the blind and lame,the expectant mothers and women in labor.A great company will return!
9. Tears of joy will stream down their faces,and I will lead them home with great care.They will walk beside quiet streamsand on smooth paths where they will not stumble.For I am Israel’s father,and Ephraim is my oldest child.
10. “Listen to this message from the lord,you nations of the world;proclaim it in distant coastlands:The lord, who scattered his people,will gather them and watch over themas a shepherd does his flock.
11. For the lord has redeemed Israelfrom those too strong for them.
12. They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.They will be radiant because of the lord’s good gifts—the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and olive oil,and the healthy flocks and herds.Their life will be like a watered garden,and all their sorrows will be gone.