Jeremiah 31:15–20

¹⁵This is what the LORD says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

mourning and great weeping,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more.”^b

¹⁶This is what the LORD says:

“Keep your voice from weeping

and your eyes from tears,

for the reward for your work will come,

declares the LORD.

Then your children will return

from the land of the enemy.

¹⁷So there is hope for your future,

declares the LORD,

and your children will return

to their own land.

¹⁸I have surely heard Ephraim’s^c moaning:

‘You disciplined me severely,

like an untrained calf.

Restore me, that I may return,

for You are the LORD my God.

¹⁹After I returned, I repented;

and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief.

I was ashamed and humiliated

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

²⁰Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me,

a delightful child?

Though I often speak against him,

I still remember him.

Therefore My heart yearns for him;^d

I have great compassion for him,”

declares the LORD.