18. ‘I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:“You disciplined me like an unruly calf,and I have been disciplined.Restore me, and I will return,because you are the Lord my God.
19. After I strayed,I repented;after I came to understand,I beat my breast.I was ashamed and humiliatedbecause I bore the disgrace of my youth.”
20. Is not Ephraim my dear son,the child in whom I delight?Though I often speak against him,I still remember him.Therefore my heart yearns for him;I have great compassion for him,’declares the Lord.
21. ‘Set up road signs;put up guideposts.Take note of the highway,the road that you take.Return, Virgin Israel,return to your towns.
22. How long will you wander,unfaithful Daughter Israel?The Lord will create a new thing on earth –the woman will return to the man.’
23. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: “The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.”
24. People will live together in Judah and all its towns – farmers and those who move about with their flocks.
25. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.’
26. At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.
27. ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals.
28. Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,’ declares the Lord.