Holman Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1"At that time"--this is the LORD's declaration--"I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people."

1“In that day,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.

2This is what the LORD says: They found favor in the wilderness-- the people who survived the sword. When Israel went to find rest,

2This is what the LORD says: “Those who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land, for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”

3the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.

3Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

4Again I will build you so that you will be rebuilt, Virgin Israel. You will take up your tambourines again and go out in joyful dancing.

4I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines.

5You will plant vineyards again on the mountains of Samaria; the planters will plant and will enjoy the fruit.

5Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.

6For there will be a day when watchmen will call out in the hill country of Ephraim, "Get up, let's go up to Zion, to Yahweh our God!"

6The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD our God.’”

7For this is what the LORD says: Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the chief of the nations! Proclaim, praise, and say, " LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel!"

7Now 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!’

8Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land. I will gather them from remote regions of the earth-- the blind and the lame will be with them, along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth. They will return here as a great assembly!

8For I will bring them from the north and 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!

9They will come weeping, but I will bring them back with consolation. I will lead them to wadis filled with water by a smooth way where they will not stumble, for I am Israel's Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.

9Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child.

10Nations, hear the word of the LORD, and tell it among the far off coastlands! Say: The One who scattered Israel will gather him. He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,

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 them as a shepherd does his flock.

11for the LORD has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he.

11For the LORD has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them.

12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant with joy because of the LORD's goodness, because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and because of the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.

12They 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.

13Then the young woman will rejoice with dancing, while young and old men rejoice together. I will turn their mourning into joy, give them consolation, and bring happiness out of grief.

13The young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.

14I will refresh the priests with an abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness. This is the LORD's declaration.

14The priests will enjoy abundance, and my people will feast on my good gifts. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Rachel’s Sadness Turns to Joy

15This is what the LORD says: A voice was heard in Ramah, a lament with bitter weeping-- Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they are no more.

15This is what the LORD says: “A cry is heard in Ramah— deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted— for her children are gone.”

16This is what the LORD says: Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come-- this is the LORD's declaration-- and your children will return from the enemy's land.

16But now this is what the LORD says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the LORD. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.

17There is hope for your future-- this is the LORD's declaration-- and your children will return to their own territory.

17There is hope for your future,” says the LORD. “Your children will come again to their own land.

18I have heard Ephraim moaning, "You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined like an untrained calf. Restore me, and I will return, for you, LORD, are my God.

18I have heard Israel saying, ‘You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD my God.

19After I returned, I repented; After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth."

19I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’

20Isn't Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Whenever I speak against him, I certainly still think about him. Therefore, My inner being yearns for him; I will truly have compassion on him. This is the LORD's declaration.

20“Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the LORD. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.

21Set up road markers for yourself; establish signposts! Keep the highway in mind, the way you have traveled. Return, Virgin Israel! Return to these cities of yours.

21Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Mark well the path by which you came. Come back again, my virgin Israel; return to your towns here.

22How long will you turn here and there, faithless daughter? For the LORD creates something new in the land-- a female will shelter a man.

22How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the LORD will cause something new to happen— Israel will embrace her God. ”

23This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "When I restore their fortunes, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, 'May the LORD bless you, righteous settlement, holy mountain.'

23This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns will again say, ‘The LORD bless you, O righteous home, O holy mountain!’

24Judah and all its cities will live in it together--also farmers and those who move with the flocks--

24Townspeople and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness.

25for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak."

25For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”

26At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.

26At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.

27"The days are coming"--this is the LORD's declaration--"when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.

27“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will greatly increase the human population and the number of animals here in Israel and Judah.

28Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I be attentive to build and to plant them," says the LORD.

28In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the LORD, have spoken!

29"In those days, it will never again be said: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

29“The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’

30Rather, each will die for his own wrongdoing. Anyone who eats sour grapes--his own teeth will be set on edge.

30All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker.

31"Look, the days are coming"--this is the LORD's declaration--"when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

31“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

32This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant they broke even though I had married them"--the LORD's declaration.

32This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD.

33"Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days"--the LORD's declaration. "I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.

33“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them"--this is the LORD's declaration. "For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.

34And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

35This is what the LORD says: The One who gives the sun for light by day, the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar-- Yahweh of Hosts is His name:

35It is the LORD who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night, and who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and this is what he says:

36If this fixed order departs from My presence-- this is the LORD's declaration-- then also Israel's descendants will cease to be a nation before Me forever.

36“I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!”

37This is what the LORD says: If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below explored, I will reject all of Israel's descendants because of all they have done-- this is the LORD's declaration.

37This is what the LORD says: “Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundations of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away for the evil they have done. I, the LORD, have spoken!

38"Look, the days are coming"--the LORD's declaration--"when the city from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate will be rebuilt for the LORD.

38“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

39A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.

39A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah.

40The whole valley--the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east--will be holy to the LORD. It will never be uprooted or demolished again."

40And the entire area—including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the Horse Gate—will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be captured or destroyed.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.