12
Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the Lord-- For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all.
13
"Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
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I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord."
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Thus says the Lord: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."
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Thus says the Lord: "Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
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There is hope in your future, says the Lord, That your children shall come back to their own border.
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"I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: 'You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the Lord my God.
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Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.'
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Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
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"Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities.
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How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth-- A woman shall encompass a man."
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Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: 'The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!'
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And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.
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For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul."
26
After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.
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"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.
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And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord.
29
In those days they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.'
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But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31
"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
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not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.