7For thus says the LORD; “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the foremost nations. Proclaim your praises, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel’. 8Behold, I will bring them from the north lands, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth. They will include the blind, the lame, women with child and those in labor; a great company shall return. 9They shall come with tears of joy, and will I bring them with great care; I will lead them by the streams of water on a level path in which they shall not stumble; for I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn son.

10Hear the word of the LORD, O you nations, and declare this in the far off coastlands: ‘He Who scattered Israel will gather and watch over them, as a shepherd does for his flock. 11For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and rescued him from those who were stronger than he. 12They shall come and sing for joy in the heights of Zion, and shall bask in the goodness and bounty of the LORD - for grain, wine, and oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd; and they shall be like a well-watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. 13Then the young women shall dance and rejoice, young men and old, as well; for I will turn their sorrow into joy, and will give them comfort and joy, rather than sorrow. 14And I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and My people shall be filled with My goodness”, says the LORD.

15Thus says the LORD; “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamenting with bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, for her children are no more.” 16Thus says the LORD; “Refrain from weeping and shedding tears; for your work shall be rewarded and they shall return from the land of their enemy. 17And so there is hope for your descendants”, says the LORD, “your children shall return to their own land.

18I have surely heard Ephraim moaning: ‘You have chastised and disciplined me like an unruly young ox unaccustomed to the yoke; turn me back to You, and I shall be restored; for You are the LORD, my God. 19Surely after I turned away, I repented; and after I came to understand, I slapped my thigh out of shame; yes, I was humiliated, because I bore the disgrace of my younger days’. 20Is Ephraim not My dear son, in whom I delight? For even when I must speak correct him, I still do fondly remember him; therefore, My heart is grieved for him. I will surely have mercy upon him, says the LORD. 21Set up road signs and guideposts; take note of the highway, the road that you travelled, and turn around, O virgin of Israel, return to these, your cities. 22How long will you wander off the path, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD will create something new on the earth, Israel will finally embrace her God.”

23Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; “When I shall bring them back from their captivity, they shall once again use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘The LORD bless you, O prosperous city of justice, and sacred mountain’. 24And townspeople, farmers, and shepherds shall dwell together in peace here in Judah, and in all its towns. 25For I have given rest to the weary soul, and I have restored joy to every sorrowing soul.” 26Upon this I awakened, and looked around; and my sleep had been sweet and pleasant to me.

27“Behold, the day is coming”, says the LORD, “that I will plant Israel and Judah with people and animals, and cause both their families and animals to flourish. 28And as I have watched over them, to uproot, tear down, afflict and destroy; even so, I will watch over them, to plant, and to build,” says the LORD.

29In those days they shall no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.’ 30But instead, every one shall die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grape will have their own teeth set on edge.

31The days are coming”, says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel, and of Judah, 32Not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they broke that covenant with Me, although I was like a faithful husband to them”, says the LORD; 33“But this is the new covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: ‘I will write my law within them - in their hearts and minds - and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ 34And men shall no longer have need to teach his brother or neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD’; for they shall all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”, says the LORD; “for I will forgive their wickedness, and I will remember their sin no more.”

35Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, and provides light from the moon and the stars by night, Who stirs the sea and causes its waves to roar; the LORD of hosts is His name: 36“Only if I abolish those laws of nature that I have established”, says the LORD, “Will I ever reject or forsake Israel as a nation before Me”. 37Thus says the LORD; “Only if the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth fully explored and understood, will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all that they have done.”

38“The days are coming”, says the LORD, “when this city shall be rebuilt for Me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39And the measuring line shall stretch straight from there to the hill of Gareb, and then turn to Goah. 40And the whole valley where dead bodies, and ashes are thrown, and all the fields and terraces out to the brook of Kidron, on the east, as far as to the corner of the Horse Gate, shall be holy unto the LORD. It shall never again be uprooted or demolished.”