Mourning Turned to Joy
(Matthew 2:16–18)

1At the same time, saith the Lorde, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

2Thus saith the Lord, The people which escaped the sworde, founde grace in the wildernes: he walked before Israel to cause him to rest.

3The Lord hath appeared vnto me of old, say they: Yea, I haue loued thee with an euerlasting loue, therefore with mercie I haue drawen thee.

4Againe I will builde thee, and thou shalt be builded, O virgine Israel: thou shalt stil be adorned with thy timbrels, and shalt goe foorth in the dance of them that be ioyfull.

5Thou shalt yet plant vines vpon the mountaines of Samaria, and the planters that plant them, shall make them common.

6For the dayes shall come that the watchmen vpon the mount of Ephraim shall cry, Arise, and let vs go vp vnto Zion to the Lord our God.

7For thus saith the Lord, Reioyce with gladnesse for Iaakob, and shoute for ioye among the chiefe of the Gentiles: publish praise, and say, O Lord, saue thy people, the remnant of Israel.

8Beholde, I will bring them from the North countrey, and gather them from the coastes of the world, with the blinde & the lame among them, with the woman with childe, and her that is deliuered also: a great companie shall returne hither.

9They shall come weeping, and with mercie will I bring them againe: I will lead them by the riuers of water in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first borne.

10Heare the worde of the Lord, O ye Gentiles, and declare in the yles afarre off, and say, Hee that scattered Israel, wil gather him and wil keepe him, as a shepheard doeth his flocke.

11For the Lorde hath redeemed Iaakob, and ransomed him from the hande of him, that was stronger then he.

12Therefore they shall come, and reioyce in the height of Zion, and shall runne to the bountifulnes of the Lord, euen for the wheat and for the wine, and for the oyle, and for the increase of sheepe, & bullocks: and their soule shalbe as a watered garden, and they shall haue no more sorow.

13Then shall ye virgine reioyce in the dance, and the yong men and the old men together: for I wil turne their mourning into ioy, and wil comfort them, and giue them ioy for their sorowes.

14And I wil replenish the soule of the Priests with fatnesse, and my people shalbe satisfied with my goodnesse, saith the Lord.

15Thus saith the Lord, A voyce was heard on hie, a mourning and bitter weeping. Rahel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

16Thus saith the Lorde, Refraine thy voyce from weeping, and thine eyes from teares: for thy worke shalbe rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come againe from the land of the enemie:

17And there is hope in thine ende, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come againe to their owne borders.

18I haue heard Ephraim lamenting thus, Thou hast corrected me, and I was chastised as an vntamed calfe: conuert thou me, and I shalbe conuerted: for thou art the Lord my God.

19Surely after that I conuerted, I repented: and after that I was instructed, I smote vpon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, euen confounded, because I did beare the reproch of my youth.

20Is Ephraim my deare sonne or pleasant childe? yet since I spake vnto him, I still remembred him: therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I wil surely haue compassion vpon him, saith the Lorde.

21Set thee vp signes: make thee heapes: set thine heart towarde the path and way, that thou hast walked: turne againe, O virgine of Israel: turne againe to these thy cities.

22How long wilt thou goe astray, O thou rebellious daughter? for the Lorde hath created a newe thing in the earth: A woman shall compasse a man.

23Thus saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Yet shall they say this thing in the land of Iudah, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring againe their captiuitie, The Lorde blesse thee, O habitation of iustice and holy mountaine.

24And Iudah shall dwell in it, and all the cities thereof together, the husbandmen and they that goe foorth with the flocke. 25For I haue saciate the wearie soule, and I haue replenished euery sorowfull soule.

The New Covenant
(Hebrews 8:6–13)

26Therefore I awaked and behelde, and my sleepe was sweete vnto me.

27Beholde, the dayes come, saith the Lorde, that I will sowe the house of Israel, and the house of Iudah with the seede of man and with the seede of beast. 28And like as I haue watched vpon them, to plucke vp and to roote out, and to throw downe, and to destroy, and to plague them, so wil I watch ouer them, to build & to plant them, saith ye Lord.

29In those dayes shall they say no more, The fathers haue eaten a sowre grape, and the childrens teeth are set on edge.

30But euery one shall die for his owne iniquitie: euery man that eateth the sowre grape, his teeth shalbe set on edge.

31Beholde, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new couenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Iudah, 32Not according to ye couenant that I made with their fathers, when I tooke them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, the which my couenant they brake, although I was an husband vnto them, saith the Lord. 33But this shall be the couenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those dayes, saith the Lord, I will put my Lawe in their inward partes, and write it in their hearts, and wil be their God, and they shalbe my people. 34And they shall teach no more euery man his neighbour and euery man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me from the least of them vnto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I wil forgiue their iniquitie, and will remember their sinnes no more.

35Thus saith the Lorde, which giueth the sunne for a light to the day, and the courses of the moone and of the starres for a light to the night, which breaketh the sea, when the waues thereof roare: his Name is the Lord of hostes.

36If these ordinances depart out of my sight, saith the Lorde, then shall the seede of Israel cease from being a nation before me, for euer.

37Thus saith the Lorde, If the heauens can be measured, or the fundations of the earth be searched out beneath, then wil I cast off all the seed of Israel, for all that they haue done, saith the Lord.

38Behold, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that the citie shalbe built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel, vnto the gate of the corner. 39And the line of the measure shal go foorth in his presence vpon the hil Gareb, and shall compasse about to Goath. 40And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, & all the fields vnto the brooke of Kidron, and vnto the corner of the horsegate toward the East, shalbe holy vnto the Lorde, neither shal it be plucked vp nor destroyed any more for euer.